Order of the Legion of Merit

Legion Of Merit (civil division)
Legion Of Merit (military division)
Typeorder
Awarded foroutstanding service to Rhodesia
Presented by Rhodesia
 Zimbabwe-Rhodesia
Eligibilitycivilians and military personnel
Post-nominalsDependent on grade
Statusdefunct
Established4 November 1970
First awarded1970
Last awardedApril 1981

Ribbon bar of the civil order

Ribbon bar of the military order
Precedence
Next (higher)Conspicuous Gallantry Decoration
Next (lower)Independence Decoration

The Legion of Merit was a Rhodesian order of merit awarded to both civilian and military recipients for service to Rhodesia.

Institution

The award was instituted in 1970 by Presidential Warrant, the first awards being made the same year. The last awards were made in June 1980. The civil class was suspended from a green and gold ribbon. The military class differed by featuring a red stripe on the green and gold ribbon.

Classes

There were five classes of the order:

  • Grand Commander (GCLM)
  • Grand Officer (GLM)
  • Commander (CLM)
  • Officer (OLM)
  • Member (MLM)

The incumbent President of Rhodesia served as Grand Master of the Legion of Merit. Recipients of the order were entitled to the post-nominal letters indicated above. It was retained by the government of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia as well, the President of that state also serving as Grand Master.

Zimbabwe

The Legion of Merit was superseded in April 1981[1] by the Zimbabwe Order of Merit, which is awarded to civilians as well as military personnel for eminent achievement and services to Zimbabwe.

Notable recipients

While the higher grades of the order were used almost exclusively by Ian Smith's Rhodesian Front government to reward political service, recipients of the lower and middle grades included a number of notable military leaders, community leaders and civil servants.

Grand Commanders

There were only 5 GCLMs:

RecipientOffice Note(s)
Ian SmithPrime Minister of Rhodesia
Clifford DupontPresident of Rhodesia Automatically awarded GCLM on retirement from office.
John WrathallPresident of Rhodesia Automatically awarded GCLM on retirement from office.
Gerald ClarkePrincipal Secretary to the Cabinet of Rhodesia
Josiah GumedePresident of Zimbabwe Rhodesia Automatically awarded GCLM on retirement from office.

No GCLMs were ever awarded in the Military Division.

Grand Officers

There were 28 GLMs (Civil Division):

RecipientOffice
Civil Division
S. E. MorrisChief Native Commissioner, Senator
W. H. H. NicolleSecretary for Internal Affairs
Rubidge StumblesSpeaker of the House
N. H. B. BruceGovernor of the Reserve Bank of Rhodesia
Jack HowmanMinister of Defence, Minister of Information, Minister of Tourism
Leo Cardwell RossSecretary for Information, Immigration and Tourism
Lance SmithMinister
D. W. YoungSecretary to the Treasury;
Desmond Lardner-BurkeMinister of Justice, Minister of Law and Order;
Douglas LilfordFounder and Vice President, Rhodesian Front
E. A. T. SmithSecretary for Justice
T. A. T. BosmanAttorney General of Rhodesia
Harold HawkinsCommander of the Rhodesian Air Force, Ambassador to South Africa
Roger HawkinsMinister
B. H. MussettMinister of Transport
C. N. WhetmoreSecretary
J. F. GaylardSecretary
A. P. SmithMinister
David SmithMinister of Finance
P. K. van der BylMinister of Defence
P. D. W. R. SherrenCommissioner of Police
N. H. B. CambitizisRhodesia Front
George Holland HartleySpeaker of the House
Mark PartridgeMinister for Natural Resources
Jack William PitheyActing President of Rhodesia, President of the Senate, Secretary of Justice
Henry EverardActing President of Rhodesia
W. M. IrvineMinister of Transport and Power
Ken FlowerHead of the Central Intelligence Organisation
Military Division
Lt. Gen. Peter Walls Head of the Rhodesian Security Forces

Commanders

There were 32 CLMs (Civil Division) and 4 CLMs (Military Division).

Recipient Office Note(s)
Civil Division
Janet Smith - Wife of Prime Minister Ian Smith
Military Division
Col. Ronald Reid-Daly Commanding officer of the Selous Scouts

Others

There were 126 OLMs (Civil Division).

There were 35 OLMs (Military Division) and 10 OLMs (Military Division) (Combatant).

There were 300 MLMs (Civil Division), 55 MLMs (Military Division) and 10 MLMs (Military Division) (Combatant).

References

  1. Zimbabwe Government Statutory Instrument No. 197A of 1981, 17 April 1981.
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