The Distinguished Conduct Medal (or DCM) was a medal awarded for exceptional bravery. It was awarded to the Other Ranks (N.C.O.’s and Men) and was first instituted in 1854 during The Crimean War, to recognise gallantry.
The First World War saw the first large-scale awarding of the D.C.M. medal due to the numbers involved in the first truly global conflict.
The DCM Collection on TheGenealogist covers those medal recipients in the Second Boer War and The First World War covering the years from 1898 to 1902 and 1914 through to 1923. These records are available to Diamond subscribers.
The records offer a full name, service number, rank and regiment with the date the medal was awarded. There is a link to a copy of the image of the actual card and uniquely there is a link to the listing in the London Gazette. The Gazette is the one of the official journals of the British Government and can be classed as one of the oldest surviving English newspapers.
TheGenealogist.co.uk has released over 25,000 new records of Non Commissioned Officer’s and Other Ranks who were awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal in The First World War and The Second Boer War. Uniquely these new records show details of the Recipients Medal Card with full details combined with a link to The London Gazette which can sometimes contain full details of the heroic deed that won them the medal.
Case Studies
Lance Corporal Joseph Thomas
Lance Corporal Joseph Thomas fought with great personal courage, he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal at Hooge in Belgium in September 1915.…
Read More…Sergeant John William Russell
Sergeant John William Russell of The Royal Engineers (Signals Service) received his DCM in the King’s Birthday Honours gazetted on 21 June 1916.…
Read More…Maurice Vincent Buckley (aka Gerald Sexton)
Maurice Buckley, a deserter, re-enlisted under a false name and was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery in attacking German machine guns in 1918.…
Read More…TheGenealogist has a wide and varied collection of military records available to access. Find out more on how you can discover your ancestors from a range of subscriptions available.