Medal Quiz

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee saw nearly 60,000 Canadians recognized with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of various services. Never have so many commemorative medals been bestowed, and this has naturally resulted in all sorts of breeches of protocol.

Rather than simply post photos of the offenders along with explanations of what they are doing wrong it is time for you to do the actual work. Some of these are quite easy. Test your knowledge of wearing your medals correctly against the following photographs. Feel free to use the new Wearing Guide and CF Dress Manual (A-DH-265) to spot the offenders, some of whom are committing multiple errors. Not every person represented here is an offender!

Honorary Captain (N) Sona Bata  Question 1              a) nothing        b)    should be wearing a breast star        c)     wearing full size medals in mess dress        d)    should be wearing a white pique vest with RCN mess dress
The Hon. John Crosbie, former Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador Question 2        a)     too many neck badges        b)    breast star is too high        c)     medal bar not regulation length        d)    nothing
The Hon. David Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario at the Opening of Queen's Park for a Throne Speech Question 3        a)     nothing                b)    wearing Knight of St. John neck insignia on a medal bar             c)     medals mounted too high        d)    too many lapel pins
The Hon. David Onley as Hon. Colonel of the Queen's York Rangers Question 4        a)     not wearing orders, decorations and medals he is entitled to        b)    nothing        c)     wrong collar dogs        d)    needs a swagger stick
Question 5        a)     wearing Alberta Order of Excellence in a medal bar group        b)    medal bar too long        c)     medal bar not long enough        d)    wrong bar on the France and Germany Star
HRH the PRince of Wales being presented with a book during the 2009 Royal Visit by a senior officer in the Canadian Coast Guard Question 6        a)     RCMP officer in middle should be wearing medals,  not just an undress ribbon        b)    Coast Guard Officer wearing an unrecognized  medal at the end of his group        c)     A & B        d)    nothing
Former OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino Question 7        a)     Order of Ontario not included in miniature medal group        b)    Bar on the Police Exemplary Service Medal            in the wrong place        c)     Order of Ontario should be worn from a miniature           ribbon around neck        d)    A & C
Isabelle Butters, CM, SOM, being invested with the Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan Question 8        a)     Investitures are an occasion when only miniatures         should be worn        b)    Recipient is wearing Saskatchewan Order of Merit on her medal bar when it should be on a bow or around neck        c)     Too many medals        d)    Swing mounting is not permitted anymore
Brigitte, Duchess of Gloucester, GCVO. Question 9        a)     nothing        b)    Wearing miniatures with full size insignia         during the daytime        c)     The insignia on the yellow bow is not recognized        d)    B & C
The great leaders of North Korea's military. Question 10        a)     Too many breast stars        b)    Not enough neck decorations        c)     Pantaloons should be covered in breast stars        d)    This is the DPRK, anything is possible!

Answer Key: c,d,b,a,a,c,d,b,b,d.

The Problem with Honoraries

A survey of the online world reveals that many of those who hold honorary appointments in the Canadian Forces are rather clueless about how to wear their medals.  Sonja Bata who has served as an Honorary Captain in the Canadian Navy for many years is pictured here wearing her full size medals on mess dress. 

Honorary Captain (N) Bata

This photo explains well why we have miniature medals – full size medals look ridiculous on mess dress and are never to be worn in this fashion. It would have been much better if  Bata had decided just to wear her Officer of the Order of Canada. On the bright side at least she knew to wear her OC on a miniature ribbon. Given the good work Bata has done for the CF I feel a bit reluctant to post this, nevertheless it is a significant error and dress faux pas. 

Below is the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, David Onley who serves as honorary Colonel for a number of regiments. What's wrong with this photo? He isn't wearing any ribbons or any of his full size insignia. He is a Knight of the Order of St. John, Chancellor of the Order of Ontario and has the Canada 125 Medal and the Diamond Jubilee Medal, but for whatever reason he has decided not to wear any of them, despite the dress regulations. Here we see a CF DEU treated as just a business suit that you can pin stuff on if you want, or leave it empty. Onley features prominently in our upcoming Vice-Regal Report Card as he has thrown the wearing guide out the window. 

The Hon. David Onley,
Honorary Colonel of 25 Field Ambulance

In this next photo we find an Honorary Naval Captain, Myra Freeman wearing an unofficial Commissionaires ribbon  at the very end of her undress ribbons and on her Order of Canada ribbon she is wearing a RED maple leaf signifying that she is a COMPANION  of the Order of Canada (the highest level of the Order), when in fact she should be wearing a SILVER maple leaf as a MEMBER of the Order of Canada (most junior level of the Order). The Governor General's website confirms she is indeed a Member and not a Companion. Not a bad self inflicted promotion! The same issue appears in an earlier photo found on the web. This honorary Captain (N) was featured in one of our first posts on October 9, 2010 with a variety of issues. 

Honorary Captain Myra Freeman

Freeman's Undress Ribbons

To be fair, here is an RCAF Honorary Colonel for 439 Squadron from about a decade ago. This Honorary is well turned out aside from wearing two completely unofficial, unauthorized decoration of unknown origin. Interestingly the Honorary Colonel this offender took over from also had several green ribbons at the end of his medal group. 

Our token RCAF Honorary Colonel Offender, Ross Gaudreault

There are some honoraries who wear thier uniforms and medals correctly. Not surprisingly, as one recent commentator on this Blog noted, most of them tend to be retired members of the military. 

All this highlights a serious problem with the Honorary Captains(N) / Honorary Colonels program run by the Canadian Forces. So many of these dress-up officers have no clue how to wear a CF uniform and the accompanying insignia that they are entitled to. It is difficult to understand why no one has nicely corrected them in their various errors. It would save the regiment(s) embarrassment and set a good example for the regular and reserve members of the CF. 

So Many Errors: Offender of the Summer

A loyal reader came across this photo of Roy H. Vickers, CM, OBC, displayed on the front of a magazine. Mr. Vickers is a well regarded artist and motivational speaker. We can only hope that he does not wear his medals frequently. It is also our sincere hope that in speaking motivationally he does not delve into the topic of wearing medals.

So what all is wrong with our Offender of the Summer as shown on the right? We will not pass judgement on his lack of a neck or bow tie.

Mr. Hugo Vickers (aka Mr. Wrong)

Around his neck, where he should be wearing his full size Order of British Columbia, we see Mr. Vickers wearing some sort of amulet? Perhaps he has been watching too many Dracula movies.

When dressing as Count Dracula,
avec amulet/neck doodad,
you do not wear full or miniature
size medals on the breast.

When wearing medals gentlemen should refrain from wearing amulets or necklaces -- this is a rule that will serve any man well, regardless of whether or not he is wearing medals. If you happen to be Dracula or a member of his clan you are exempted from this rule thanks to Hollywood custom. 

Placing the lack of a neck or bow tie and presence of the amulet/neck doodad to the side, we pass to Mr. Vickers' group. He seems to be following the mix-and-match method of medal wear. The Member of the Order of Canada insignia is being worn correctly, then we have a miniature Order of British Columbia, for which there is NEVER an occasion to wear when also wearing your full size insignia Member of the Order of Canada insignia or full size medals. This is followed by a blue and white ribbon, which looks very much like the ribbon from the Egypt Medal (1882-1889), a medal awarded to just under 400 Canadians who served as boatmen on the Nile in the 1880s. Perhaps Mr. Vickers is wearing this in honour of some long departed relative who served on the Nile. Needless to say, this blue and white ribbon needs to be removed. The Egypt Medal ribbon is followed by his Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in full size form, which is correct. 

Mr. Vickers, given that you received a Diamond Jubilee Medal last year, we here at Wearing Your Medals Wrong strongly suggest that you have your medals properly mounted. Your full size group (for wear during the day) should display as follows:-  Member of the Order of Canada, Golden Jubilee Medal and Diamond Jubilee Medal, with your Order of British Columbia worn around the neck (in place of the amulet thing you have on in the photo presented here). For your miniature group (for wear in the evening) you will have to purchase these yourself, other than the miniature OBC which you already have, and your mini group should display:- Member of the Order of Canada, Order of British Columbia, Golden Jubilee Medal, Diamond Jubilee Medal, and you should wear your full size OBC around your neck on a miniature ribbon. Any military tailor will be able to assist you in correcting your medals faux pas. We are a forgiving lot here at Wearing Your Medals Wrong and would take great pleasure in adding an entry about how you have reformed. 

Health Advisory: Instant Dictator Syndrome

Have you ever wondered what Instant Dictator Syndrome looks like? The symptoms are overt and horrible. 

Not even Emperor Bokassa could out do these North Korean Generals.
Thirty-Six breast stars is a bit much. 

Emperor Bokassa of the Central African Republic was much more modest,
only eleven breast stars. 

In Canada thankfully there are only a few people who suffer from the most acute form of this ailment. Nevertheless we must remain vigilant against the spread of this problem, the pathology of which begins with the wearing of one medal wrong, then two, and suddenly the afflicted patient is wearing multiple neck orders in a business suit, or worse yet, unrecognized orders, decorations and medals alongside those officially granted and approved national/provincial honours and foreign honours that have been approved by the Government of Canada.

A Miniature Royal Error

Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence (back row),
not a miniatures occasion. 

Here is Sir Timothy wearing his medals correctly. 

Yes, even members of the Royal Family occasionally make errors when it comes to wearing their orders, decorations and medals. Above we have a photo of HRH The Princess Royal's husband, Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, KCVO, CB, ADC wearing miniatures on the RN Naval Ceremonial Day Coat (aka Flag Officer's Frock Coat). To be fair RN Dress Regs, do not cover this order of dress in detail, no doubt because its wear is limited to members of the Royal Family, Admirals of the Fleet, Second Sea Lord, full Admirals and the Defense Services Secretary (when an RN Officer), so the pool of eligible candidates is small. Given that it is specifically listed as a Naval Ceremonial DAY Coat, it should be obvious that only full size insignia should be worn. Spink's Guide to the Wearing of Orders, Decorations and Medals covers this topic and there is no provision for the wearing of miniature insignia on the Naval Ceremonial Day Coat. Everyone else in the photo is property turned out. One cannot imagine that HRH was terribly impressed with her husband on this occasion! There are many photos of Sir Timothy wearing his medals correctly, so one must assume this was just a wardrobe malfunction. It is also nice to see some RCN representation in the photo above! The RCN Petty Officer 1st Class is wearing his medals correctly.

A New National Wearing Guide!

The Chancellery of Honours at Rideau Hall has recently issued a very helpful and well written publication on how to wear orders, decorations and medals correctly and in accordance with the rules set out by the Government of Canada. Wearing Orders, Decorations and Medals provides useful photos covering a variety of dress modes and officially sanctioned methods for wearing honours in Canada.

Cover of the new guide

The guide  provides explicit instruction on how to wear your medals and the Governor General's website continues to state some of the cardinal rules of who can wear what:

-Only the actual recipient of an honour can wear its insignia.

-No family member or any person other than the original recipient may wear the insignia of an order, decoration or medal, even posthumously.

-Insignia that are purchased or otherwise acquired may be used for display purposes only and cannot be worn on the person any any form or manner.

-The insignia of orders, decorations and medals not listed in the Order of Precedence, as well as foreign awards, an award of which has not been approved by the Government of Canada, shall not be mounted or worn in conjunction with orders, decorations and medals listed in the Order of Precedence. 

You can access the Order of Precedence by clicking on the link above or HERE. The Order of Precedence has been updated to include the addition of the Diamond Jubilee Medal. Notably absent from the list of approved honours are a host of as yet un-authorized and un-recognized provincial long service medals that have been popping up across Canada -- a topic for future discussion. 

Despite this excellent book there continues to be a host of familiar and new offenders, sadly even amongst those occupying some of the most senior officers in the land. With the conclusion of the school year, the long overdue Vice-Regal Report Card will soon be out.

Return of the Inspector General

I had no idea so many people were interested in this blog. Over the next few weeks new material will be posted, along with an updated Vice-Regal Report Card, reflections on Remembrance Day 2012 and a new offender of the month. Progress has been made on a few fronts and a few offenders have reformed their ways; while I doubt this has much to do with "Wearing Your Medals Wrong" it is reassuring that corrective action has been taken by some. Thanks to all who have taken the time to email photographs, post material, ideas and encouragement.