British Empire Medal

British Empire Medal
Obverse (left) and reverse: British Empire Medal, civil division ribbon
TypeMedal affiliated with an order
Awarded forMeritorious service
CountryUnited Kingdom
Presented byCharles III
Post-nominalsBEM
MottoFor God and the Empire
StatusCurrently awarded
Established1922–present
1993–2011 Commonwealth but not UK
Last awarded2024 New Year Honours

Ribbon bars: Civil and Military BEM (to 1937)

Ribbon bars: Civil and Military BEM (since 1937)
Precedence
Next (higher)Royal Victorian Medal[1]
Next (lower)King's Police Medal[1]
RelatedOrder of the British Empire
Medal of the Order of the British Empire, obverse. Awarded 1917–22.

The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown.[1] The current honour was created in 1922 to replace the original medal, which had been established in 1917 as part of the Order of the British Empire.

  1. ^ a b c "ORDERS OF WEAR" (PDF). direct.gov.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2012.