To mark The Queen's Diamond Jubilee, an official medal will be awarded to those in the Armed Forces and emergency services, and to prison service personnel.
The medals will be awarded during the first half of 2012. (We do thank an alert reader for drawing this to our attention.)
The following people will be eligible for The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal:
· members of the Armed Forces (regular and reserves) who have completed five full calendar years of service on 6 February 2012
· emergency services personnel who have been in paid service, retained or in a voluntary capacity, who have to face the prospect of dealing with emergencies as part of their conditions of service, and have completed five full calendar years of service on 6 February 2012
· operational prison services personnel who regularly face difficult and sometimes emergency situations and have completed five full calendar years of service on 6 February 2012
· all Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) who are in service on 6 February 2012 and have completed five full calendar years of service
· living holders of the Victoria Cross and George Cross
· members of the Royal Household
The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, Jeremy Hunt, said:
"The Queen has dedicated her life to the service of this country and the Diamond Jubilee will offer us all the opportunity to celebrate the commitment, loyalty and faithfulness with which she has led the country across the last sixty years. It is right that we reward those people who, like The Queen, also dedicate their lives to public good and who represent the very best of the British spirit.
"I hope the official medal will serve as a mark of thanks to all those who give so much in the name of society and public service and I extend my congratulations to all the recipients.
"The medals will be awarded during the first half of 2012.”
It is to be hoped that Australia also awards the medal, as indeed Canada and othe Relams are doing. ACM has asked all governments to do this. We invite supporters to sign our petition calling on our governments to do this.