Instituted on 6 September 1886 by Queen Victoria by Royal Warrant published in The London Gazette on 9 November,2 the first DSOs awarded were dated 25 November 1886.3
The order was established to recognise individual instances of meritorious or distinguished service in war. It is a military order, and was, until recently, typically awarded to officers in command above the rank of major (or equivalent), with awards to lower ranks usually being for a high degree of gallantry, just short of deserving the Victoria Cross.4
Whilst normally given for service under fire or under conditions equivalent to service in actual combat with the enemy, a number of awards made between 1914 and 1916 were under circumstances not under fire, often to staff officers, causing resentment among front-line officers. After 1 January 1917, commanders in the field were instructed to recommend this award only for those serving under fire.5
From 1916, bars could be authorised for subsequent award of the DSO, worn on the ribbon of the original award.6
In 1942, the award was extended to officers of the Merchant Navy who had performed acts of gallantry whilst under enemy attack.7
Prior to 1943, the DSO could be awarded to only commissioned officers of the Lieutenant-Colonel rank and above, for 'meritorious or distinguished service in wartime' under conditions of actual combat. If awarded to an officer ranking below Lieutenant-Colonel, it had to be a case of 'a high degree of gallantry just short of deserving the Victoria Cross'. In either case, being 'Mentioned in Despatches' was a pre-condition for appointment to the Distinguished Service Order.8
The stipulation that only those mentioned in despatches could be appointed to the Order was removed in 1943.9
Since 1993, reflecting the review of the British honours system which recommended removing distinctions of rank in respect of operational awards, the DSO has been open to all ranks, with the award criteria redefined as "highly successful command and leadership during active operations".10 At the same time, the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross was introduced as the second-highest award for gallantry.11 Despite some very fierce campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, the DSO has yet to be awarded to a non-commissioned rank.12
The DSO was previously awarded throughout the Commonwealth but by the 1990s most, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, were had established their own honours systems no longer recommending British honours.13
Recipients of the Order, formally styled Companions of the Distinguished Service Order, are entitled to use DSO as post-nominal letters. All awards are announced in The London Gazette.14
From 1918 to 2017, the Distinguished Service Order was awarded approximately 16,935 times, in addition to 1,910 bars. The figures to 1979 are laid out in the table below,24 the dates reflecting the relevant entries in the London Gazette:
In addition, approximately 90 DSOs were awarded between 1980 and 2017, including awards for the Falklands, Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, in addition to three Bars.25 The above figures include awards to the Commonwealth.
See also: Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
The following received the DSO with three Bars (i.e., awarded the DSO four times):
"Distinguished Service Order". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 17 February 2010. http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceFor/Veterans/Medals/DistinguishedServiceOrder.htm ↩
"No. 25641". The London Gazette. 9 November 1886. pp. 5385–5386. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/25641/page/5385 ↩
"No. 25650". The London Gazette. 9 November 1886. pp. 5975–5976. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/25650/page/5975 ↩
Veterans Affairs Canada – Distinguished Service Order (Retrieved 8 December 2018) http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/medals-decorations/details/40 ↩
Abbott & Tamplin 1981, p. 119–121. - Abbott, P. E.; Tamplin, J. M. A. (1981). British Gallantry Awards. London: Nimrod Dix. ISBN 0-902633-74-0. ↩
"British Commonwealth Gallantry, Meritorious and Distinguished Service Awards – Companion of the Distinguished Service Order". New Zealand defence force. Retrieved 17 February 2010. http://medals.nzdf.mil.nz/category/i/i3.html ↩
"Distinguished Service Order (DSO) - TracesOfWar.com". www.tracesofwar.com. Retrieved 29 August 2022. https://www.tracesofwar.com/awards/9/Distinguished-Service-Order-DSO.htm#:~:text=The%20Order%20is%20generally%20given,Gazette%20on%20November%209th%201886. ↩
Duckers, Peter (2001). British gallantry awards: 1855-2000. Oxford: Shire Publications. pp. 18–23. ISBN 978-0-7478-0516-8. 978-0-7478-0516-8 ↩
[https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a802607ed915d74e33f8bb2/JSP761_Part1.pdf www.gov.uk] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a802607ed915d74e33f8bb2/JSP761_Part1.pdf ↩
Medal Yearbook 2015. Honiton, Devon: Token Publishing. 2015. pp. 90, 429, 459. ISBN 978-1-908-828-16-3. 978-1-908-828-16-3 ↩
Abbott & Tamplin 1981, p. 122–124. - Abbott, P. E.; Tamplin, J. M. A. (1981). British Gallantry Awards. London: Nimrod Dix. ISBN 0-902633-74-0. ↩
Medal Yearbook 2015. Honiton, Devon: Token Publishing. 2015. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-908-828-16-3. 978-1-908-828-16-3 ↩
"The British (Imperial) Distinguished Service Order". Vietnam veterans association of Australia. Retrieved 17 February 2010. http://www.vvaa.org.au/ord-ds.htm ↩
Abbott & Tamplin 1981, p. 124–129. - Abbott, P. E.; Tamplin, J. M. A. (1981). British Gallantry Awards. London: Nimrod Dix. ISBN 0-902633-74-0. ↩
Post 1979 DSOs include 19 for the Falklands (London Gazette Supplement, 8 October 1982); 1 for Sierra Leone (London Gazette Supplement, 30 September 2003); 8 for Gulf War (London Gazette Supplement, 29 June 1991 Late award: 21 November 1994); 18 bars for Iraq and 43+3 second award bar for Afghanistan, plus awards for smaller conflicts. /wiki/Falklands_War ↩
"Imperial Awards". It's an Honour. Australian Government. Archived from the original on 23 June 2006. Retrieved 8 December 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20060623051652/http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/awards/imperial.cfm#dso ↩
"No. 31583". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 October 1919. p. 12213. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31583/supplement/12213 ↩
"No. 31183". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 February 1919. p. 2363. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31183/supplement/2363 ↩
"No. 36081". The London Gazette. 2 July 1943. p. 3056. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/36081/page/3056 ↩
"No. 36771". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 October 1944. p. 4977. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/36771/supplement/4977 ↩
Bourne, John. "Edward Allan Wood". Centre for First World War Studies. Birmingham, UK: University of Birmingham. Retrieved 6 December 2018. http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/warstudies/research/projects/lionsdonkeys/t.aspx ↩