The Memorial Cross is in the form of a sterling silverGreek cross, 32 mm across, with arms slightly flared at the ends. At the top of the vertical arm is a St. Edward's Crown, symbolising the Canadian monarch's role as the fount of honour, with a maple leaf at the end of the other arms. At the centre, within a laurel wreath, is the reigning monarch's Royal Cypher. The reverse is plain, with most crosses engraved with the rank, service number, initials and surname of the person commemorated. The cross was originally worn around the neck from a 11 mm wide light purple ribbon attached to the cross by a silver ring. Since January 1945 awards have been presented with a straight silver brooch bar in place of the purple ribbon, to be worn on the left breast, above any other medals the recipient may have.
Design variations
There are four versions of the cross:
Eligibility and receipt
On 1 December 1919, King George V, on the advice of his Cabinet under Prime MinisterRobert Borden, created the Memorial Cross as a memento of personal loss and sacrifice on the part of widows and mothers of Canadian sailors, soldiers, and airmen who had lost their lives for the country during the First World War. This included widows and mothers of those whose post-war death was related to their war service. The award was re-established in August 1940 to cover the Second World War. Eligibility was originally on the same basis as before, but was later extended to cover merchant seamen and fire fighters. Newfoundland service personnel became eligible in April 1949, when Newfoundland joined the Canadian Confederation. In 1950 the cross was again introduced, to recognise the Korean War, awards continuing for all other conflicts where Canada was involved. The medal was granted to a widower for the first time on 19 May 2006, when it went to Jason Beam, husband of Nichola Goddard who was killed in Afghanistan. In January 2007 the criteria for awarding the Memorial Cross were altered, retroactive to 6 October 2001, so that all service related deaths were to be recognised, not simply those occurring during overseas missions. The regulations were again changed in January 2009, also retroactive to 6 October 2001, to allow for the award of up to three crosses to a service member's family, up from two. The Silver Cross Mother is still chosen annually from the ranks of mothers who have received the medal. The New Zealand Memorial Cross, established in 1947, and the Elizabeth Cross, established in 2009, are awarded on a similar basis as the Canadian cross and have a broadly similar design.
