History

The Canadian Memorial Cross was instituted by King George V on December 1, 1919. The Silver Cross is awarded to the next of kin of Canadian service personnel who died on active duty or whose death is attributable to duty. The Silver Cross was initially awarded in commemoration of service personnel who fought during the First World War, but the award was subsequently extended in 1940 to also commemorate personnel who fought during the Second World War, merchant seaman, and civilian firefighters. The Cross was later amended in 1950 to commemorate service in the Korean War and in peacekeeping operations in 1950, and once again in 2001 to commemorate all service related deaths since October 7, 2001.

There are 4 versions of the Cross which differs by the royal cypher of the Monarch at the time of issue. The first version was instituted by King George V in 1914. The second and third versions were instituted by King George VI. The second version was established in 1940 and features a ring suspension while the third was established in 1942 and features a bar suspension. The fourth version was instituted by Queen Elizabeth in 1952.

The Cross features a reverse engraving of the commemorated service personnel’s name, rank, and service number.