Status Open since 1802 First awarded 14 July 1804 | Established 19 May 1802 Next (higher) None | |
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Type Order with five degrees Awarded for Excellent civil or military conduct delivered, upon official investigation |
The Légion d'Honneur was awarded to 746 members of the British Armed Forces during the Crimean War (also known as the Russian War) which lasted from 1854 to 1856. Prior to the Crimean War there was no precedent of a mass exchange of awards between allied nations. However, in January 1856 Queen Victoria and the Emperor of France formally agreed to an interchange of decorations between their two Armies. However, nominations for the French awards had already been gathered, with recommendations requested at the end of October 1855 and mid December 1855. In exchange several awards of the Order of the Bath were made to French soldiers and sailors.
Contents
Awards of the Légion d'Honneur to members of the British Armed Forces during the Crimean War were made in two lots, with awards first announced in the Le Moniteur of 16 and 19 July 1856 (with a consolidated list appearing in the London Gazette of 4 August 1856) and again on 22 April 1857 (which was republished in the London Gazette on 1 May 1857). The Légion d'Honneur decorations awarded to members of the British Armed Forces were those of Napoleon III's Second Empire with the Maltese Asterisk suspended from an Imperial Crown.
British Armed Forces Recipients
The following alphabetical listing of recipients was drawn from the two London Gazette lists, with decorations awarded in the grade of Chevalier (5th class) unless otherwise stated.