Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal

Infobox Military Award

name=Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal


caption = Obverse of medal and ribbon
awarded_by = Queen of Canada
type = Medal
eligibility = A Commonwealth citizen who was alive on February 6, 2002
for = Having made an honourable service in military, police and emergency forces, or for outstanding achievement or public service
status =
description =
clasps =
established =
first_award =
last_award =
total = 46,470
posthumous = 0
recipients =
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same =
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The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal struck by the Royal Canadian Mint to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Elizabeth's reign as Queen of Canada. The medal is part of the Canadian honours system, established in 1967, and was administered by the Chancellery of Honours at Rideau Hall.

Background

The medal was awarded to Canadians who made a significant contribution to their fellow citizens, their community or to Canada over the previous fifty years. Various organizations were invited to propose the names of candidates for the medal; this included all levels of Canadian government, educational and cultural organizations, the Canadian Military, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, veterans' groups, sports associations, and philanthropic and charitable bodies. Approximately 46,000 medals were awarded; the recipient list can be viewed [http://www.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/index_e.asp?TypeID=jubilee here] .

Some controversy surrounded the awarding of the Queen's Golden Jubilee medal to members of the Canadian Forces. While other Commonwealth countries, such as the United Kingdom, awarded their decorations to all members having served a minimum period in their armed forces at the time of the Queen's jubilee, decorations were awarded to only one in five members of the Canadian Forces according to a system that distributed them randomly. More medals were distributed to members of the general population than to members of the Canadian Forces.

The living Canadian holders of the Victoria Cross and the George Cross were given the British version of the medal as well as the Canadian version. [ [http://gazetteducanada.gc.ca/partI/2002/20021026/html/house-e.html Canada Gazette ] ]

Description

The medal is a circular, gold-plated, bronze medal with a thin raised edge. It carries a crowned effigy of Queen Elizabeth II on the front, while the back of the Canadian version features a stylized maple leaf with "CANADA" at the bottom, and the years 1952 and 2002 on the left and right of the Royal Cypher and Crown. The medal is worn suspended from a broad royal blue ribbon, with red outer stripes, double white stripes with a red central stripe.

References

External links

* [http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/special/jubilee/e-medal-program.htm Department of Canadian Heritage: Commemorative Medal for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee]
* [http://gazetteducanada.gc.ca/partI/2002/20020504/html/decret-e.html Statutes of the medal]