Castle of Good Hope Decoration
| Castle of Good Hope Decoration | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Awarded by the Monarch of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms and, from 1961, the State President | |
| Country |
  South Africa
|
| Type | Military decoration for bravery |
| Eligibility | All Ranks |
| Awarded for | Most conspicuous bravery |
| Status | Discontinued in 2003 |
| Post-nominals | CGH |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 1952 |
| First awarded | Never awarded |
 Ribbon bar |
|
The Castle of Good Hope Decoration was a military decoration for bravery which was instituted by the Union of South Africa on 6 April 1952, but never awarded. The decoration was intended for award to members of the South African Defence Force for a signal act of valour or most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy.
The Castle of Good Hope Decoration was instituted by Queen Elizabeth II on 6 April 1952, during the Van Riebeeck Festival, as the most senior of a series of military decorations and medals which substituted many of the British and Commonwealth awards which had earlier been used.
The Castle of Good Hope Decoration could be awarded to members of the South African Defence Force for a signal act of valour or most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy in wartime. A Bar could be awarded for a further similar deed of bravery. It was the most senior of all South African orders, decorations and medals from 1952 to 2003. It was formally authorised by Queen Elizabeth II on 26 January 1953 as a South African substitute for the Victoria Cross (VC), for which South African servicemen had previously been eligible.
In 1986, during the undeclared 1966-1989 Border War, the restriction to wartime acts was removed to make the decoration available to reward actions during other military operations.
The Castle of Good Hope Decoration still appeared in the official order of precedence table which was published on 3 September 1993 but, since it was never awarded and was officially discontinued on 27 April 2003, it was no longer listed when a new table was published on 11 March 2005.
The Castle of Good Hope Decoration was a gold pentagon representing the outline of South Africa's oldest military building, the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town. The obverse shows Van Riebeeck's three ships sailing into Table Bay in 1652, framed in a double ring, the inner ring decorated with a wreath of proteas and the outer inscribed "CASTEEL DE GOEDE HOOP DEKORASIE" at the top and "CASTLE OF GOOD HOPE DECORATION" at the bottom.
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