Officers eligible for LS&GC Medal

Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal

In October 2016, the rules for awarding the Long Service and Good Conduct (LS&GC) Medal to personnel in branches of the military changed to include regular officers.

The revised regulations applied to all officers of the regular forces who were serving on or after 29 July 2014, and to all other ranks of the regular forces who qualified for the award of the LS&GC Medal or to a clasp to the medal on or after 1 October 2016. The medal recognises the good conduct of armed forces personnel over a 15-year period. This means that all regular serving members with 15 years of service, clear of disciplinary entries on their record, will be recognised. Also, clasps are now awarded for each further period of 10 years’ service, rather than the previous 15 years’ service.

A large cohort of Army officers immediately became eligible for the LS&GC Medal and clasps. Five clasps on the LS&GC Medal was the maximum number awarded - and to only three Army officers; all were Field Marshals as were the only two to receive four clasps.

The LS&GC Medal can be traced back to 30 July 1830, when King William IV instituted an Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal granted to discharged soldiers. This was extended by Queen Vicotia's Warrant of 31 May 1895 to the Indian and colonial forces, but it was George V's Warrant, dated 23 September 1930, that recognised a qualifying period of 18 years for the grant of the LS&GC Medal to serving soldiers (not officers).