Members of The Order of The British Empire

Members Of The Order Of The British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order is composed of five classes in civil and military divisions. In descending order of seniority, these are:

  • Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (GBE), see Knight Grand Cross.
  • Knight Commander or Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE or DBE)
  • Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE)
  • Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE)
  • Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE)

Only the highest two ranks automatically entitle its recipient to become a knight or dame, an honour allowing (but not prescribing) the postulant to use the title "Sir" (male) or "Dame" (female) before his or her first name (though men can be knighted separately from this and other Orders of Chivalry). Honorary knighthoods, given to individuals who are not nationals of a realm where Queen Elizabeth II is Head of State, permit use of the honour as a post-nominal but not as a title before their name. Awards in the Order of the British Empire in the Commonwealth Realms were discontinued with the establishment of national systems of honours and awards such as the Order of Canada, the Order of Australia and the New Zealand Order of Merit. Foreign recipients are classified as honorary members of the Order they receive, and do not contribute to the numbers restricted to that Order as full members do.

There is also a related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are not members of the Order, but who are nonetheless affiliated with the Order. The British Empire Medal had not been used in the United Kingdom or its dependencies since 1993, but was revived in 2012 with 293 BEMs awarded for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. In addition, BEM is used by the Cook Islands and by some other Commonwealth nations.

The Order's motto is For God and the Empire. It is the most junior of the British orders of chivalry, and the largest, with over 100,000 living members worldwide.

Read more about Members Of The Order Of The British Empire:  History, Composition, Gallantry, Vestments and Accoutrements, Chapel, Precedence and Privileges, Criticism

Famous quotes containing the words members of the, members of, members, order, british and/or empire:

    For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
    Bible: New Testament, 1 Corinthians 12:12.

    If the education and studies of children were suited to their inclinations and capacities, many would be made useful members of society that otherwise would make no figure in it.
    Samuel Richardson (1689–1761)

    A multitude of little superfluous precautions engender here a population of deputies and sub-officials, each of whom acquits himself with an air of importance and a rigorous precision, which seemed to say, though everything is done with much silence, “Make way, I am one of the members of the grand machine of state.”
    Marquis De Custine (1790–1857)

    Ever since surgery began, man’s destiny has been to suffer, in order that he might be cured. And no one can change that, gentlemen.
    Jean Scott Rogers, and Robert Day. Mr. Blount (Frank Pettingell)

    The inhabitants of St. John’s and vicinity are described by an English traveler as “singularly unprepossessing,” and before completing his period he adds, “besides, they are generally very much disaffected to the British crown.” I suspect that that “besides” should have been a “because.”
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    Keep our Empire undismembered
    Guide our Forces by Thy Hand,
    Gallant blacks from far Jamaica,
    Honduras and Togoland;
    Protect them Lord in all their fights,
    And, even more, protect the whites.
    Sir John Betjeman (1906–1984)