List of Australian George Cross recipients

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An ellipse of orange pavers surrounded by a grey border, with a man-made rock structure on one side of the ellipse displaying plaques. On the other side are two bench seats. Grass surrounds the ellipse and trees can be seen in the background.
Memorial to Australian recipients of the George Cross, George Cross Park, Canberra.

The George Cross (GC) is the highest civil decoration for heroism in the United Kingdom and formerly for the British Empire. The GC is awarded to civilians for "acts of the greatest heroism" or to military personnel for heroic acts that are not "in the face of the enemy".[1][2] King George VI announced the institution of the GC and George Medal in an official radio broadcast on 23 September 1940 to recognise individual acts of bravery performed during the Blitz.[3] Australians received the GC under the Imperial honours system. Australia began to transition to its own honours system from 1975, though the Governor-General of Australia and each of the state governors retained the right to recommend Australians for British honours. The last Australian recommendation for the GC was thus made by the Governor of Victoria in 1978 for Constable Michael Pratt.[4] On 5 October 1992, following more than two years of negotiations with the state governments, Prime Minister Paul Keating announced that Australia would make no further recommendations for Imperial honours.[5] By then, the GC had been replaced by the Cross of Valour as Australia's highest civil decoration for heroism.[6][7]

Between the first award of the GC to an Australian in 1942 and the final bestowal to Constable Pratt in 1978, 14 Australians were directly awarded the GC. Nine awards were to military personnel and five were to civilians. Eight of the awards were posthumous.[8][9] At the time of the institution of the GC, all living recipients of the Empire Gallantry Medal (which included two Australians) were deemed holders of the GC. In October 1971, the British Government announced that living recipients of the Albert Medal and Edward Medal would also henceforth be considered recipients of the GC. The decision was due to the decline in the status and significance of the two awards, leading recipients to feel they were not receiving the recognition they were due.[8][10] Unlike the 1940 Empire Gallantry Medal exchange, when it was mandatory for recipients to exchange insignia, the former Albert Medal and Edward Medal recipients had the option of retaining their insignia. Of the 27 Australian holders of the Albert Medal, six were living at the time and all opted to exchange their insignia. Five of the six received the GC from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in 1972. None of the eight Australians awarded the Edward Medal were thought to be alive in 1971,[11] and thus no Australian swapped their Edward Medal for the GC. However, subsequent research discovered that miner Frank Duller lived until 1983—twelve years after the first offer to exchange—and his name was added to the GC Register as a recipient in 2017.[12][13] Including exchange awards, a total of 23 Australians received the GC.[14]

Recipients

The George Cross

  This along with the * (asterisk) indicates that the George Cross was awarded posthumously.
  This along with the ^ indicates that the George Cross was awarded to military personnel for actions "not in the face of the enemy".

Direct awards of the George Cross

Name Date of action Organisation Summary of action(s) Notes
Eric Bailey1945-01-1212 January 1945*New South Wales Police ForceApprehended a suspect while mortally wounded[15]
Raymond Donoghue1960-04-2929 April 1960*Metropolitan Tram TrustAttempting to regain control of tram during accident[16]
Errol Emanuel1969-07-01July 1969 –
August 1971*		District Commissioner, Territory of Papua New GuineaResolving factional conflicts and restoring local government in Papua New Guinea[17]
Leon Goldsworthy^1943-06-1212 June 1943 –
10 April 1944		Royal Australian Naval Volunteer ReserveMine recovery and defusion, Second World War[18]
George Gosse^1945-05-088–19 May 1945Royal Australian Naval Volunteer ReserveMine recovery and defusion, Second World War[19]
Benjamin Gower Hardy^1944-08-055 August 1944*Citizens Military ForceGallantry during Cowra breakout[20]
Ralph Jones^1944-08-055 August 1944*Citizens Military ForceGallantry during Cowra breakout[20]
Horace Madden^1951-04-2424 April 1951 –
6 November 1951*		Australian ArmyFortitude while a prisoner of war, Korean War[21]
Lionel Matthews^1942-08-01August 1942 –
March 1944*		Second Australian Imperial ForceFortitude while a prisoner of war, Second World War[22]
John Mould^1941-11-1414 November1941 – 30 June 1942Royal Australian Naval Volunteer ReserveMine recovery and defusion, Second World War[23]
Michael Pratt1976-06-044 June 1976Victoria Police ForceIntervention in an armed robbery[24]
Jonathan Rogers^1964-02-1010 February 1964*Royal Australian NavyGallantry during Melbourne-Voyager collision[25]
Hugh Syme^1941-05-1919 May 1941 –
25 December 1942		Royal Australian Naval Volunteer ReserveMine recovery and defusion, Second World War[26]
Anthony Taylor1951-01-01January–March 1951Commonwealth Bureau of Mineral ResourcesGallantry during eruption of Mount Lamington, Papua New Guinea[27]

Empire Gallantry Medal, Albert Medal and Edward Medal exchanges

EGM = This indicates a recipient of the Empire Gallantry Medal who exchanged the award for the George Cross.
AM = This indicates a recipient of the Albert Medal who exchanged the award for the George Cross.
EM = This indicates a recipient of the Edward Medal who exchanged the award for the George Cross.

Name Date of action Organisation Summary of action(s) Notes
Arthur Bagot^1918-05-1212 April 1918Royal Naval Volunteer ReserveGallantry during engine room explosion on HM Motor Launch 356AM[28]
John Chalmers1922-02-044 February 1922North Bondi Surf Life Saving ClubRescue of swimmer during shark attackAM[29]
Frank Duller1918-07-1212 July 1918CivilianRisked his life in an attempt to save a fellow minerEM[30]
Stanley Gibbs1927-01-033 January 1927CivilianRescue of swimmer during shark attackAM[31]
Robert Kavanaugh1929-01-1919 January 1929CivilianRescue of swimmer during shark attackAM[32]
Frederick March1924-11-1919 November 1924Chauffeur to Governor-General of SudanGallantry during assassination of the Governor-General of SudanEGM[33]
William McAloney^1937-08-3131 August 1937Royal Australian Air ForceAttempted rescue of an officer trapped in a burning aircraftAM[34]
Richard Richards1915-10-099 October 1915 –
19 March 1916		Imperial Trans-Antarctic ExpeditionGallantry during Trans-Antarctic ExpeditionAM[35]
Patrick Taylor1935-05-1515 May 1935Australia-New Zealand mail flightGallantry during flight when the aircraft's starboard engine failedEGM[36]

Notes

  1. "No. 35060". The London Gazette. 31 January 1941.
  2. Macklin 2008, p. 16
  3. "The Decoration". George Cross Database. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
  4. Staunton 2005, p. 339
  5. Petre, Clare (December 1995). A Matter of Honour: The Report of the Review of Australian Honours and Awards (Report). Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. pp. 21–22.
  6. "Cross of Valour". It's an Honour. Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 27 February 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
  7. Blanch 2020, p. viii
  8. Staunton 2005, pp. 291–339
  9. Blanch 2020, pp. viii–ix
  10. "George Cross "Exchanges"". George Cross Database. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
  11. "Imperial Awards". It's an Honour. Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 23 June 2006. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
  12. "Frank Gordon Duller GC (EM non-exchanger)". Victoria Cross Online. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  13. Blanch 2020, p. 16
  14. Blanch 2020, p. ix
  15. "No. 37771". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 October 1946. p. 5307.
  16. "No. 42162". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 October 1960. p. 6849.
  17. "No. 45588". The London Gazette. 1 February 1972. p. 1281.
  18. "No. 36707". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 September 1944. p. 4333.
  19. "No. 37549". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 April 1946. p. 2085.
  20. "No. 39008". The London Gazette. 1 September 1950. p. 4431.
  21. "No. 40665". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1955. p. 7299.
  22. "No. 38134". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 November 1947. p. 5635.
  23. "No. 35769". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 November 1942. p. 4761.
  24. "No. 47582". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 July 1978. p. 8045.
  25. "No. 43604". The London Gazette. 19 March 1965. p. 2797.
  26. "No. 36118". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 August 1943. p. 3499.
  27. "No. 39519". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 April 1952. p. 2165.
  28. "No. 30852". The London Gazette. 20 August 1918. p. 9700.
  29. "No. 32727". The London Gazette. 7 July 1922. p. 5103.
  30. "No. 31401". The London Gazette. 13 June 1919. p. 7552.
  31. "No. 33246". The London Gazette. 8 February 1927. p. 864.
  32. "No. 33653". The London Gazette. 17 October 1930. pp. 6316–6317.
  33. "No. 32999". The London Gazette. 5 December 1924. p. 8851.
  34. "No. 34485". The London Gazette. 18 February 1938. p. 1069.
  35. "No. 32842". The London Gazette. 6 July 1923. p. 4686.
  36. "No. 34416". The London Gazette. 9 July 1937. pp. 4414–4415.

References

  • Blanch, Craig (2020). For Gallantry: Australians Awarded the George Cross & the Cross of Valour. Sydney: NewSouth Publishing. ISBN 9781742236827.
  • Macklin, Robert (2008). Bravest: How Some of Australia's Greatest War Heroes Won Their Medals. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74114-882-4.
  • Staunton, Anthony (2005). Victoria Cross: Australia's Finest and the Battles they Fought. Prahran: Hardie Grant Books. ISBN 1-74066-288-1.