Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal

{{Infobox military award

| name = Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal

| image_size =

| caption = Obverse and reverse of medal

| presenter = The monarch of Australia, Canada, Ceylon, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, and the United Kingdom
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| type = Commemorative medal

| eligibility = Commonwealth citizens

| awarded_for = Community contribution

| status =

| description =

| clasps =

| established = 2 June 1953

| firstawarded =

| lastawarded =

| total_awarded = 129,051

| total_awarded_posthumously =

| total_recipients =

| precedence_label =

| individual =

| higher =

| same =

| lower =

| image2 = x29px

| caption2 = Ribbon bar

}}

The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal ({{langx|fr|link=no|Médaille du couronnement de la Reine Élizabeth II}}[https://www.veterans.gc.ca/fra/remembrance/medals-decorations/details/75 Médaille du couronnement de la Reine Élizabeth II]) is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953.

Award

This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir from the Queen to members of the Royal Family and selected officers of state, members of the Royal Household, government officials, mayors, public servants, local government officials, members of the navy, army, air force and police in Britain, her colonies and Dominions. It was also awarded to members of the Mount Everest expedition, two of whom reached the summit four days before the coronation.{{Cite book|author=Captain H. Taprell Dorling.|title=Ribbons and Medals.|page=113. Published A.H.Baldwin & Sons, London. 1956}} It was struck at the Royal Mint and issued immediately after the coronation.{{Cite book|author=Howard N Cole.|title=Coronation and Royal Commemorative Medals.|page=49. Published J. B. Hayward & Son, London. 1977}}

For Coronation and Jubilee medals, the practice up until 1977 was that the authorities in the United Kingdom decided on a total number to be produced, then allocated a proportion to each of the Commonwealth countries and Crown dependencies and other possessions of the Crown. The award of the medals was then at the discretion of the government of each territory, which was left free to decide who was to be awarded a medal and why.[http://medals.nzdf.mil.nz/category/j/j3.html New Zealand Defence Force - British Commonwealth Jubilee And Coronation Medals - The Coronation Medal 1953] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070423080925/http://medals.nzdf.mil.nz/category/j/j3.html |date=23 April 2007 }} (Accessed 5 May 2015)

A total of 129,051 medals were awarded,{{Cite book|author=Howard N Cole.|title=Coronation and Royal Commemorative Medals.|page=49. Published J. B. Hayward & Son, London, 1977. Cole states 129,051 medals were struck, citing 84th Annual report of the Deputy Master and Comptroller of the Royal Mint, 1953 (HMSO 1955)}} including:

11,561 to Australians.
19,000 to Canadians.{{cite book|title=Commemorative Medals of The Queen's Reign in Canada, 1952–2012|publisher=Dundurn Press|year=2012|last=McCreery|first=Christopher|isbn=9781459707573|page=53}}[http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/medals-decorations/commemorative-medals/qeiicm Veterans Affairs Canada - Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (1953)] (Accessed 5 May 2015)

Description

File:Medal, coronation (AM 2014.7.5-16).jpg

The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal is a silver disk, 1.25 inches in diameter. The obverse features a crowned effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, facing right, in a high-collared ermine cloak and wearing a Tudor Crown along with the collar of the Garter and Badge of the Bath. There is no raised rim and no legend.

The reverse shows the Royal Cypher {{serif|E{{sc|II}}R}} surmounted by a large crown. The legend around the edge reads "QUEEN ELIZABETH II CROWNED 2nd JUNE 1953". The medal was designed by Cecil Thomas.{{cite web|url=http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib2_1208264663|title=Cecil Walter Thomas OBE, FRBS|work=Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland–1951|publisher=University of Glasgow|access-date=6 January 2016}}

The dark red ribbon is {{convert|1.25|in|mm}} wide, with {{convert|5/64|in|mm|0}} wide white edges and two narrow dark blue stripes in the centre, each {{convert|5/64|in|mm|0}} wide and {{convert|1/16|in|mm}} apart.

Ladies who were awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal can wear it on their left shoulder with the ribbon tied in the form of a bow.

The medals were issued unnamed, except for the 37 issued to the British Mount Everest Expedition. These were engraved "MOUNT EVEREST EXPEDITION" on the rim.

Precedence by country

Some orders of precedence are as follows:

Country \|\| Preceding \|\| Following
class=wikitable
{{flagicon\|AUS}} Australia Order of precedence{{cite web\|title=The Order of Wearing Australian Honours and Awards\|url=http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/awards/docs/order_of_wearing.pdf\|publisher=Government House\|access-date=7 July 2014\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140211203319/http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/awards/docs/order_of_wearing.pdf\|archive-date=11 February 2014\|url-status=dead}}	King George VI Coronation Medal	Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
{{flagicon\|NZ}} New Zealand Order of precedence{{cite web\|title=Order of Wear: Orders, Decorations and Medals in New Zealand\|url=http://www.dpmc.govt.nz/honours/overview/order-of-wear\|publisher=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet\|access-date=25 May 2014\|date=18 November 2013}}	King George VI Coronation Medal	Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
{{flagicon\|Union of South Africa}} South Africa Order of precedenceRepublic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005, {{OCLC\|72827981}}	Tshumelo Ikatelaho - General Service Medal	Independence Medal (Transkei)
{{flagicon\|Ceylon\|1948}} Ceylon Order of precedence	50th Anniversary Medals (Army) (Navy) (Air Force)	Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal
{{flagicon\|UK}} United Kingdom Order of precedence{{London Gazette\|issue=56878\|page=3352\|date=17 March 2003 \|supp=y}}	King George VI Coronation Medal	Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal

Notable recipients

=Australia=

Charles Groves Wright Anderson
Albert Borella
George Brain
Frank Bladin
Claude Champion
Claude Choules
Daniel Clyne
Irene Crespin
George Currie
Roden Cutler
Phillip Davey
Alexander Duncan
Ruth Frith
Victor Galway
George Gosse
Lilian Gresham{{cite book |date= 1992 |last=Williams |first=Meta |title=Mrs Lilian Gresham, State Commissioner, 1945-1954: The Post-War Reconstruction Era |publisher=Girl Guides Australia (Queensland) |location=Brisbane, Australia |page= 43 |ISBN=0646102702}}
John Patrick Hamilton
Charles Lloyd Jones
Winifred Kastner
Bill Lamb
John Leak
Eleanor Manning
Pattie Menzies
F. Kenneth Milne{{cite web |author=Collins, Susan| website=Architects of South Australia | title=Architect Details: Frank Kenneth Milne|publisher= University of South Australia|date=2008 | url=https://architectsdatabase.unisa.edu.au/arch_full.asp?Arch_ID=57 | access-date=21 April 2024}}
Mellis Napier
Ada Norris
Doris Lyne Officer
Ian Potter
Reg Rattey
James Rogers (Australian soldier)
D. Bruce Ross
Mary Stevenson
Helen Alma Newton Turner
Bryan Ward
Eric Willis
Naomi Wolinski
James Park Woods
Eric Woodward

= Brunei =

=Ceylon=

=Malaysia=

=Nepal=

Tenzing Norgay

=New Zealand=

The following list includes notable New Zealanders who received the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal,{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Alister |last2=Coddington |first2=Deborah |author-link1=Alister Taylor |author-link2=Deborah Coddington |title=Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand |year=1994 |publisher=New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa |location=Auckland |isbn=0-908578-34-2}}{{cite news |url=http://www.nzlii.org/nz/other/nz_gazette/1953/37.pdf |title=Coronation Medal |work=Supplement to the New Zealand Gazette |issue=37 |date=3 July 1953 |access-date=14 April 2021 |pages=1021–1035}} and is not an exhaustive list of recipients.

==A==