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8 unusual facts about Distinguished Service Order


Alan Cockeram

When World War I broke out he enlisted as a private in the 21st Battalion of Kingston with which he saw service in France, earned three field commissions, was wounded three times, and awarded the Distinguished Service Order after wiping out a German machine-gun nest.

Clarence Stork

Stork served overseas with the Canadian Army during World War I and received the Distinguished Service Order.

Distinguished Service Order

The medal signifying its award is a gold (silver-gilt) cross, enamelled white and edged in gold.

George Mackie, Baron Mackie of Benshie

George Yull Mackie, Baron Mackie of Benshie CBE DSO DFC (born 10 July 1919) is a former Scottish Liberal Party politician.

Joseph Peart

During his military service, Peart was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.

Noreuil

A Distinguished Service Order (and his first of two) was awarded to then-Major Noel Medway LOUTIT, an original ANZAC, who 'relieved the pressure' during these operations by working his way partly around the enemy flank and inflicting significant effective opposition.

For his efforts in that engagement Smith was awarded a bar to his Distinguished Service Order (DSO).

Templecombe

General Sir Richard McCreery GCB, KBE, DSO, MC (1898 - 1967), Chief of Staff to Field Marshal Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, at the time of the Second Battle of El Alamein and later commanded the British Eighth Army in Northern Italy during 1944-45, died in Templecombe.


13th Lancers

General Sir Frank Messervy, KCSI, KBE, CB, DSO & Bar (WWII Commander & First Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army 1947-48)

Alan Mcilwraith

He convinced a number of charities and media outlets that he was "Captain Sir Alan Mcilwraith, KBE, DSO, MC".

Alan Ramsay

Major General Sir Alan Hollick Ramsay CB, CBE, DSO, ED (12 March 1895 – 19 September 1973) was a soldier in the Australian Army, who served in the First World War and was a general during the Second World War.

All Saints Church, Siddington

There is a memorial to Lieutenant Colonel Wilfrith Elstob VC DSO MC (1888 – 1918), recipient of the Victoria Cross in World War II, whose father was Vicar of All Saints.

Anthony Buxton

Anthony Buxton DSO DL JP (2 September 1881 - 9 August 1970) was a British soldier and author.

Arnold Horace Santo Waters

Sir Arnold Horace Santo Waters VC, CBE, DSO, MC (23 September 1886, Plymouth – 22 January 1981, Sutton Coldfield) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Arthur Samuel Allen

Major General Arthur Samuel "Tubby" Allen CB CBE DSO VD (10 March 1894 – 25 January 1959) was an Australian soldier.

Ben Dunkelman

During his career with the regiment he earned numerous commendations and a Distinguished Service Order for his service in the Hochwald campaign.

Bill McCann

For his action at Mont de Merris on 29 July he received a Bar to his Military Cross, and he was given the Distinguished Service Order after his leadership at Crépey Wood.

Billy Congreve

His younger brother, Geoffrey, first of the Congreve baronets of Congreve, Staffordshire, was a distinguished sailor, awarded the DSO for a raid on Norway and killed in 1941 during a raid on the French coast.

Charles Duncombe, 3rd Earl of Feversham

He was also a Lieutenant-Colonel in the 13th/18th Royal Hussars and an Honorary Colonel in the Queen's Own Yorkshire Yeomanry and fought in the Second World War, where he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1945.

Charles Gordon-Lennox, 8th Duke of Richmond

Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 8th Duke of Richmond, 8th Duke of Lennox, 3rd Duke of Gordon DSO MVO (30 December 1870 – 7 May 1935) was a British Peer, the son of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 7th Duke of Richmond by his first wife, Amy Mary Ricardo (1849–1879), daughter of Percy Ricardo, of Bramley Park and Mathilde Hensley.

Charles Rudkin

He was twice mentioned in despatches and received the Distinguished Service Order in 1918, the 1914 Star and two Italian awards, the Medaglia al Valore and the Croce di Guerra.

Christopher Robert Ingham Brooke

He was also a Brigadier-General who fought in the Second Boer War and the First World War, and received the DSO.

Clan Blackadder

William Francis Blackadder played in the Scottish rugby team in 1938, and was awarded the DSO and OBE as an RAF ace in World War II.

Claude Tozer

In November he was mentioned in dispatches by the Commander of British Forces, Field Marshal Douglas Haig for "distinguished and gallant service and devotion to duty in the field" and awarded the Distinguished Service Order.

Cyril Clowes

He received a promotion to major in January 1917 and the following year was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his work at Villers-Bretonneux.

Duncan Frederick Campbell

Lieutenant Colonel Duncan Frederick Campbell, DSO (28 April 1876 Simcoe, Ontario – 4 September 1916) was Unionist MP for North Ayrshire who died in World War I.

Edmund Phipps-Hornby

The following men were also awarded the Victoria Cross in the same action: Lieutenant Francis Maxwell (VC, CSI, DSO & Bar), Sergeant Charles Parker (VC), Gunner Isaac Lodge (VC) and Driver Horace Glasock (VC).

Edward L. Atkinson

In 1916 he served on the Western Front and fought at the Somme, receiving the Distinguished Service Order.

Edward Milford

In command of the 11th Battery from February 1918, he was recommended and awarded the Distinguished Service Order as well as a mention in despatches for his efforts in controlling artillery support during operations on the Somme and the Battle of Amiens.

Francis Aylmer Maxwell

Brigadier General Francis Aylmer Maxwell VC, CSI, DSO & Bar (7 September 1871 – 21 September 1917) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Frederick F. Minchin

Frederick Frank Reilly Minchin CBE DSO MC was born in Madras on 16 June 1890 and was educated at Eastbourne College.

Frederick Kisch

Frederick Hermann Kisch CBE, CB, DSO (August 23, 1888 – April 7, 1943) was a decorated British Army officer and Zionist leader.

Geoffrey Rhodes Bromet

Air Vice Marshal Sir Geoffrey Rhodes Bromet KBE CB DSO, DL (28 August 1891 – 16 November 1983) was an Air Vice Marshal during World War II and a former Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man.

George Herbert Farrar

Sir George Herbert Farrar, 1st Baronet, DSO (17 June 1859 Chatteris, Cambridgeshire – 20 May 1915 Kuibis, South West Africa, was a South African mining magnate, politician and soldier - Colonel and assistant Quartermaster General - Central Force, Union Defence Forces, Hon.

Hubert Acland

Captain Sir Hubert Guy Dyke Acland, 4th Baronet Acland of St. Mary Magdalen, Oxford, DSO (8 June 1890 – 6 May 1976) was an officer in the British Royal Navy who served during both World Wars.

John Adrian Chamier

Air Commodore Sir John Adrian Chamier CB, CMG, DSO, OBE (26 December 1883 - 3 May 1974) is known as "The Founding Father of the ATC" for his role in the foundation of the Air Training Corps.

John Elliott Smart

Lieutenant Commander John Elliott "Jack" Smart DSO OBE VRD (1 March 1916 – 3 February 2008) was an officer in the Royal Navy commanding one of the midget submarines that attacked the German cruiser Lützow and the Japanese cruiser Takao during the Second World War.

John McKinna

Brigadier John Gilbert McKinna CMG, CBE, DSO, LVO, ED (11 December 1906 - 28 January 2000) was a senior officer in the Australian Army during World War II.

Maurice Wilder-Neligan

Lieutenant Colonel Maurice Wilder-Neligan CMG, DSO & Bar, DCM (20 April 1886–10 January 1923), born Maurice Neligan, was a British-born Australian soldier.

Originally receiving the rank of Private, he was commissioned and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel by the conclusion of the war, as well as receiving many decorations, including a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, a Distinguished Service Order & Bar, a Distinguished Conduct Medal, five Mention in Despatches and the French Croix de Guerre.

Robert Poore

Robert Montagu Poore DSO, CIE (20 March 1866 in Dublin, Ireland – 14 July 1938 in Boscombe, Bournemouth, England) was a cricketer and British army officer who, whilst serving in South Africa in 1896, played in three Tests for the South African cricket team.

Ronald Cuthbert Hay

An award of the Distinguished Service Order came after leading the attacks on the Palembang oil refineries on 4 January 1945, when Hay's fighters shot down eight Japanese aircraft for the loss of one Corsair.

Ronald Gervase Mountain

Ronald Gervase Mountain DSO MC (16 January 1897 – 1983) was an officer in the British Indian Army during World War II.

Sir George Abercromby, 8th Baronet

Sir George William Abercromby of Birkenbog, 8th Baronet DSO (18 March 1886 – 9 September 1964) was a Scottish baronet and landowner, who served as Lord Lieutenant of Banffshire between 1946 and 1964.

Sir James Hutchison, 1st Baronet

So effective was Hutchison that he was nicknamed the "Pimpernel of the Maquis"; he was not captured during four months in France, and at the end of the war he received the Distinguished Service Order from the British.

Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 9th Baronet

Sir (Robert William Herbert) Watkin Williams-Wynn, 9th Baronet, KCB, DSO, of Bodelwyddan in the County of Flint, and of Gray's Inn in the county of Middlesex (1862 – 1951), was a Welsh soldier and landowner.

Thomas Brownrigg

Captain Thomas Marcus Brownrigg CBE DSO RN (Retired) (8 July 1902—9 October 1967) was a British Royal Navy officer before and during World War II who later became the first General Manager of Bracknell New Town Development Corporation before founding Europe's first commercial television station, Associated-Rediffusion.

Wilfrid Foster

Major Wilfrid Lionel Foster CBE DSO (2 December 1874 – 22 March 1958) was an English cricketer: a right-handed batsman who played for Worcestershire County Cricket Club in their early years in first-class cricket.

Wyndham Portal, 1st Viscount Portal

Wyndham Raymond Portal, 1st Viscount Portal PC GCMG DSO MVO (9 April 1885 – 6 May 1949) was a British politician.


see also

DUBC

Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang, the Singapore Distinguished Service Order uses the post-nominal letters DUBC