Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
Obverse of the medal
Type	Medal
Awarded for	Community contribution
Presented by	The monarch of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and United Kingdom
Eligibility	Commonwealth citizens
Clasps	None
Status	No longer awarded
Established	6 February 1977
First awarded	1977
Last awarded	1977
Total	68,377
Ribbon of the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
Precedence
Next (higher)	Dependent on state
Next (lower)	Dependent on state

The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (French: Médaille du jubilé d'argent de la reine Elizabeth II)^[1] is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is physically identical in all realms where it was awarded, save for Canada, where it contained unique elements. As an internationally distributed award, the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal holds a different place in each country's order of precedence for honours.

Basis of award and numbers awarded

The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal was created by a Royal Warrant from the Queen.^[2]

Until 1977, the practice for coronation and jubilee medals was for the United Kingdom authorities to decide on a total number of medals to be produced and allocate how many were to be distributed by each Dominion and possession across the British Empire, and later, to each Commonwealth country. From 1977, the award of the medals was at the discretion of each national government. Thus, 30,000 were distributed in Britain, 1,507 in New Zealand,^[2] 6,870 in Australia,^[3] and 30,000 in Canada.^[4]

Design

The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal in the UK was designed by David Wynne.^[5] It is in the form of a 32 millimetres (1.3 in) diameter silver disc with, on the obverse, the words ELIZABETH II DEI GRA. REGINA FID. DEF. (Latin abbreviation for "Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, Queen, Defender of the Faith") surrounding an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, symbolising her role as fount of honour.^[6] On the reverse is a crown atop a wreath that contains the words THE 25th YEAR OF THE REIGN OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II 6 February 1977 in six lines.

British version

Canadian version

The Canadian version has a number of differences, with the medal slightly thicker and the crown on the Queen's effigy more upright. The reverse has a distinct design, and bears a stylised maple leaf with CANADA above and the Royal Cypher below, flanked with the dates 1952 and 1977.^[7]

Both versions of the medal are worn on the left chest, suspended from a brooch bar on a 31.8 millimetres (1.25 in) wide white ribbon with cardinal red bands along the edges, each 1mm wide, and a 7mm wide garter blue stripe down the centre, bisected by another 1mm wide line of cardinal red; the colours carried on the tradition for jubilee medals.^[2] Women may wear the medal near the left shoulder with the ribbon tied in a bow.^[8] Like the Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal and Queen's Police Medal, ribbon bars are also available.^[7] The medal, which came with a certificate, was awarded unnamed.^[8]

Eligibility and allocation

The Canadian medal was intended to award individuals who had been deemed to have made a significant contribution to their fellow citizens, their community or to Canada. So that all regions of the country would be recognised equally, the federal, provincial, and civic governments all forwarded names to Rideau Hall, as did private organisations in the fields of the arts, sports, philanthropy, and charity. The full membership of the Order of Canada and Order of Military Merit, as well as all recipients of Canadian Bravery Decorations received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal automatically, while for members of the Canadian Forces, merit with length of service and prestige of current appointment was considered.^[7]

The 30,000 medals awarded within the United Kingdom included 9,000 to armed forces personnel, with others given to members of the Royal Household and to people engaged in a wide range of activities, including industry, trade, local services, voluntary work, the arts, entertainment and sport.^[5]

Precedence

Some orders of precedence are as follows:

Country	Preceding	Following
Australia Order of precedence[9]	Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal	Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal
Canada Order of precedence	Canadian Centennial Medal	125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal
New Zealand Order of precedence	Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal	Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal
United Kingdom Order of precedence[10]	Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal	Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal

Notable recipients

Cook Islands

The following list includes notable Cook Islanders who received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal,^[11] and is not an exhaustive list of recipients.

New Zealand

The following list includes notable New Zealanders who received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal,^[11] and is not an exhaustive list of recipients.

Niue

The following list includes notable Niueans who received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal,^[11] and is not an exhaustive list of recipients.

• Enetama Lipitoa
• Frank Lui
• Lapati Paka
• Patricia Rex
• Robert Rex
• Sam Pata Emani Tagelagi
• Pope Talagi
• Young Vivian

See also

• Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal
• Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal
• Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
• Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal

References

External links

• Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal at Canada.ca
• Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal at pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au