The George Medal, along with the George Cross, was instituted by His Majesty King George VI on 24th September 1940.
His desire, that the many acts of bravery being performed on home soil, in a type of warfare never experienced before, and primarily by civilians for whom military awards were inappropriate, was the driving force behind their creation.
The medal has been awarded to civilians and military personnel over the past 75 years, all of whose names are contained within this register. Never before has a register of the George Medal been produced that presents the information behind the awards. It stands as a testament to the selfless acts performed by the men and women within its pages.
Author Phil McDermott has a lifelong interest in medals started at the age of nine with a rare trip out of the UK to Jersey where, with his father, he found a shop selling coins and medals. In 1988 he started mounting medals and subsequently formed Worcestershire Medal Service with his first wife, to help support his new family. In 1986 he had started work on his first book For Distinguished Conduct in The Field and had been appointed Archivist of the Distinguished Conduct Medal League. That book was followed by For Conspicuous Gallantry.
