Advisory Military Sub-Committee - Recommendations (November 2022)
Updated 18 December 2024
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The independent Advisory Military Sub-Committee (AMSC), which has an independent Chair and independent Membership, offers advice to the Committee on the Grant of Honours Decorations and Medals (the HD Committee) on historic military medals claims, including cases which may not have been previously considered or where new evidence has emerged. The HD Committee is the principal body with responsibility for making recommendations on honours, awards, and medals.
The AMSC have made a recommendation on the following case:
- Retrospective medallic recognition for all those who participated In the British Nuclear Test Programme 1952 - 1991
The AMSC has considered this case carefully, including any submissions from relevant interested external parties.
The AMSC’s recommendation to the HD Committee for the claim listed above was not to award a military service medal. This followed the AMSC’s assessment of the evidence provided against the longstanding framework for military medallic recognition. The HD Committee reviewed the conclusions reached by the AMSC and was in agreement that the above case does not meet the criteria of risk and rigour required for a military service medal.
However, despite the decision not to award a military medal, and after considering inputs from other stakeholders, the HD Committee felt that there was a case for alternative recognition outside the remit of AMSC. The service given by the nuclear test veterans - both military and civilian - was significant in providing the UK’s nuclear deterrent during the critical early years of the Cold War.
The HD Committee agreed that an official commemorative medal which recognised both military and civilian contributors to the nuclear tests would be most appropriate. This non-military medal has been approved in principle by His Majesty The King.