Distinguished Gallantry Medal

The Distinguished Gallantry Medal was instituted by the State President of the Republic of Bophuthatswana in 1982, for award to all ranks for extraordinary gallantry.[1][2][3]

Distinguished Gallantry Medal
TypeMilitary decoration for bravery
Awarded forExtraordinary gallantry
Country Bophuthatswana
Presented bythe State President
EligibilityAll Ranks
StatusDiscontinued in 1994
Established1982
Ribbon bar
BDF pre-1994 & SANDF post-2002 orders of wear
Next (higher)
BDF precedence:
SANDF precedence:
Next (lower)
BDF succession:
SANDF succession:

The Bophuthatswana Defence Force

The Bophuthatswana Defence Force (BDF) was established upon that country's independence on 6 December 1977. The Republic of Bophuthatswana ceased to exist on 27 April 1994 and the Bophuthatswana Defence Force was amalgamated with six other military forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).[4][5][6]

Institution

The Distinguished Gallantry Medal was instituted by the State President of Bophuthatswana in 1982. It is the junior award of a set of two decorations for bravery, along with the Distinguished Gallantry Cross.[1][3][7]

Bophuthatswana's military decorations and medals were modelled on those of the Republic of South Africa and these two decorations are the approximate equivalents of, respectively, the Louw Wepener Decoration and Louw Wepener Medal.[1]

Award criteria

The medal could be awarded to all ranks for extraordinary gallantry.[1]

Order of wear
Main article: South African military decorations order of wear § Order of wear

Since the Distinguished Gallantry Medal was authorised for wear by one of the statutory forces which came to be part of the South African National Defence Force on 27 April 1994, it was accorded a position in the official South African order of precedence on that date. The position of the Distinguished Gallantry Medal in the official order of precedence was revised on 27 April 2003, to accommodate the institution of a new set of honours.[1][8]

Bophuthatswana Defence Force until 26 April 1994

South African National Defence Force from 27 April 1994

South African National Defence Force from 27 April 2003

  • Official SANDF order of precedence:
    • Preceded by the Louw Wepener Medal (LWM) of the Republic of South Africa.
    • Succeeded by the Nkwe ya Boronse (NB) of the Republic of South Africa.[1]
  • Official national order of precedence:
    • Preceded by the Louw Wepener Medal (LWM) of the Republic of South Africa.
    • Succeeded by the Medal for Valour in the Prisons Service of the Republic of Bophuthatswana.[1]

Description
Obverse

The Distinguished Gallantry Medal is a silver-gilt medallion, 38 millimetres in diameter, with a 4 millimetres wide rim and a leopard head on a roundel in the centre, framed in a decorated circle. The suspender is in the shape of buffalo horns.[3][9]

Reverse

The reverse displays the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Bophuthatswana.

Ribbon

The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and red, with an 8 millimetres wide green band in the centre.[9]

Discontinuation

Conferment of the Distinguished Gallantry Medal was discontinued when the Republic of Bophuthatswana ceased to exist on 27 April 1994.[6]

References
  1. Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005, OCLC 72827981
  2. Republic of Bophuthatswana Constitution Act, 1977
  3. South African Medal Website - Bophuthatswana Defence Force (Accessed 30 April 2015)
  4. South Africa Homeland Militaries, May 1996 (Accessed 1 May 2015)
  5. Peled, Alon (1998), A Question of Loyalty: Military Manpower Policy in Multiethnic States, Cornell Studies in Security Affairs, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, pp. 50f, ISBN 0-8014-3239-1
  6. Warrant of the President of the Republic of South Africa for the Institution of the "UNITAS MEDAL-UNITAS-MEDALJE", Gazette no. 16087 dated 25 November 1994.
  7. Republic of South Africa Government Gazette no. 15093, Pretoria, 3 September 1993
  8. Uniform: SA Army: Former Forces Medals - Bophuthatswana Defence Force (BDF)
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