Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)

Distinguished Service Cross
The medal. Ribbon: 36mm, three equal parts of dark blue, white, and dark blue.
Awarded by United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Type	Military decoration.
Eligibility	British, (formerly) Commonwealth, and allied forces.
Awarded for	... gallantry during active operations against the enemy.
Status	Currently awarded.
Description	43mm max height and width; plain silver cross with rounded ends. (Obverse) Royal Cypher in centre, surrounded by a ring; (reverse) plain.
Statistics
Established	15 June 1901 (as Conspicuous Service Cross), renamed October 1914.
Total awarded	During World War I: 1,983. Since 1945: fewer than 100.
Order of Wear
Next (higher)	Royal Red Cross, First Class
Next (lower)	Military Cross
Related	Distinguished Service Medal

The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a third level military decoration awarded to officers, and (since 1993) other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.

The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is granted in recognition of "... gallantry during active operations against the enemy at sea."

The award was originally created in 1901 as the Conspicuous Service Cross, for award to warrant and junior officers ineligible for the DSO. It was renamed the Distinguished Service Cross in October 1914, eligibility being extended to all naval officers (commissioned and warrant) below the rank of Lieutenant Commander. In 1931, the award was made available to members of the Merchant Navy and in 1940 eligibility was further extended to non-naval personnel (British Army and Royal Air Force) serving aboard a British vessel. Since the 1993 review of the honours system, as part of the drive to remove distinctions of rank in awards for bravery, the Distinguished Service Medal, formerly the third level decoration for ratings, has been discontinued. The DSC now serves as the third level award for gallantry at sea for all ranks.

Since 1916, bars to the DSC have been awarded in recognition of the performance of further acts of gallantry meriting the award. Recipients are entitled to the post-nominal "DSC".

Only one person has ever been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross four times. Norman Eyre Morley served in the Royal Naval Reserve during World War I and World War II. He was awarded the DSC for the first time in 1919. He was awarded his second DSC in 1944. He was awarded the DSC a further two times in 1945. He gained an entry into the Guinness Book of Records as the most decorated reserve officer.