LORD ASHCROFT: GEORGE CROSS FOR HEALTH WORKERS

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V23 2020 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 23, Number 16, April 19, 2020, Article 30

The Dickin medal is often called "the Animals' Victoria Cross", the equivalent of the Victoria Cross medal given to Britains for valor in battle. The George Cross is for similar acts of bravery by civilians.

The greatest collector of Victoria and George Cross medals is Lord Ashcroft, and he has issued a call to award the George Cross to front line medical workers in the coronavirus pandemic. Here's an excerpt from his April 14, 2020 article, an open letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is now recovering from COVID-19. -Editor

I am so relieved that you are out of hospital and out of danger, and I thought your generous words of praise for the NHS echoed the gratitude of the country towards the astonishing dedication of frontline staff. You were spot-on to describe the NHS as the "country's greatest national asset", "the beating heart of this country" and "powered by love".

In fact, it is the subject of the NHS that I would like to address in my letter. As you know only too well from our discussions over the years, I have a passion for bravery, in general, and gallantry awards, in particular.

On September 24, the George Cross (GC) will mark its 80th anniversary. It is a wonderful gallantry medal, created early in the Second World War by George VI primarily to reward the courage of civilians engaged in rescue work and bomb disposal teams.

Relevant groups and charities, such as the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association, have been considering the best way of marking this landmark anniversary.

As the proud custodian of the world's largest collection of VCs and GCs and the author of six books on courage, I would like to make a humble suggestion to both you and the Queen for when you have your next audience together: would it not be fitting for Her Majesty to bestow a collective GC on the NHS for the incredible efforts of its staff in treating coronavirus patients?

It is true that gallantry medals are usually awarded to individuals but the rules and regulations relating to the GC allow for a collective award. In fact, it has happened on two previous occasions: to the island of Malta in 1942 and to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) in 1999.

In recent days, it has become apparent just how much the nation is already indebted to our frontline health workers and this great respect for the NHS will only grow over the coming weeks and months.

We are now nearly a month into the "lockdown" and the nation's weekly Thursday night clapping for the NHS gets louder and louder. In Manchester and other parts of the country, people have even painted roads with messages such as "Thank you NHS".

During this current emergency, many people from all walks of life have stepped up to the plate – but it has been our 1.3 million NHS workers who have borne the brunt of the burden.

I had initially thought that striking a new service medal, perhaps even called the Covid-19 Medal, specifically for those frontline workers, would be the best way of rewarding such commitment and public service. This might have been similar to the Ebola Medal awarded for humanitarian work in West Africa from 2014-16. However, such a service medal might still be given as well the collective GC.

Here's a follow-up piece from The Sun, which endorsed Ashcroft's idea. I added an image of a George Cross medal.

A former Labour councillor, who does not share my political views, emailed to say it was a "fantastic idea''. A commentator said I was a "genius".

Others said all NHS staff wanted was a pay rise and protective masks — and that medals were "worthless".

Let me explain my thinking. I am not saying that a medal — be it the collective GC or a newly-created award — is an alternative to looking after our NHS workers properly in terms of pay and equipment.

I have long had a passion for bravery, largely because of my late father's involvement in the 1944 D-Day landings.

This has manifested itself in me championing our heroes (military and civilian), building the world's largest collection of Victoria Crosses (which are on public display) and writing six books on courage.

One book is called George Cross Heroes and highlights the award of the decoration to more than 160 recipients since its creation by George VI in 1940.

The GC is the Commonwealth's second ranking decoration for bravery after the VC.

It was created to acknowledge supreme bravery that — unlike the VC — did not take place in the heat of battle.

The decoration is awarded for "acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of great danger".

In the Blitz, it was awarded primarily to bomb-disposal men, civilian and military.

It has since been awarded for a variety of reasons. However, it is always to recognise not just service but real courage.

By the time this crisis is over, scores of doctors, nurses and frontline workers will have given their lives to treat patients. Thousands more will have risked survival.

When I wrote George Cross Heroes ten years ago, I chose for the cover a quotation from Thucydides, a general from the 5th century BC. It read: "The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it."