George V: Medals and decorations

[oamotme]

George V became King in 1910.

Owain

[filfoster]

yes, so awards after that, if named, would reflect that 'HM...'.  The VO chain, given by Edward VII, for example, would have 'HRH ..Prince of Wales'?  As would other medals he had received between his investiture and accession.

Edited September 2, 2020 by filfoster

[oamotme]

Bar the WW1 medals, and with the possible exception of the ISO, none would have been named. Regards, Owain

[B93]

I agree with all that has been offered so far. 

I think an accepted practice at the time was to wear lower classes of an order that could fit neatly on a medal bar.  George V was never "just" a companion of most of these orders, but by wearing the companion medal, he could show off the order and cut back on wearing a larger number of breast stars and have to choose between them.  George V created the Order of the British Empire and was thus the order's first sovereign.  He was never "just" an OBE.

In fact, this continues today.   Princes Andrew and Edward were both KCVO before GCVO, but can be seen wearing the LVO medal in their stacks.  Prince Harry is KCVO, but now wears an LVO medal at the front of his stack. 

What I enjoyed by the higher resolution pic of George V's medals was the stripe pattern on the OBE - which clearly indicated the military version and (I presume) the Type I ribbon colors.

Thanks for sharing.