Governor General's Office honours and awards files

Accession Number AWM88
Collection type Official Record
Object type Official Record
Date made 1939-1957
Copyright

Item copyright: Commonwealth of Australia copyright
Copying Provisions Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction.
Description

This series consists of recommendations for honours and awards for the Second World War, Korean War and Malayan Emergency. During this period the Australian Government still followed the British system of honours and awards when making recommendations for deeds of bravery and gallantry and for distinguished conduct or service.



Recommendations from within the Australian Army, the Royal Australian Navy or the Royal Australian Air Force were forwarded to their respective service boards and then forwarded to Government House for approval by the Governor-General. A number of awards were also made to civilians, members of the Allied forces and the Merchant Navy. Once they were approved, notifications were made in the London Gazette and the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette.



Award ceremonies or investitures were usually held at Government House in the state of origin of the recipient. A number of ceremonies were also held at Buckingham Palace in London. Where recipients could not attend a ceremony an award was sent to them by mail.



The series also contains details of awards to Australians from overseas countries, e.g., a copy of the United States Presidential Citation, which was awarded to the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, during the Korean War.



The files and index cards relating to recommendations for the Second World War were transferred to the Australian War Memorial (AWM) in November 1962. The files for the Korean War and Malayan Emergency were transferred in January and March 1971. The index cards for this later period were retained by the Governor-General’s Office until July 1993 when they were transferred to the AWM and accessioned as OW93/14.



The series became known as AWM88 in the mid 1980s when the Memorial adopted its new numbering system for Official Records.