It’s Gong Time
It’s Gong Time or as they are known New Years Honours
This yearly ritual is a national embarrassment, it is if somebody dare not tell the monarchy that we are no longer a serfdom or the British Empire has passed into oblivion.
The medieval nature of class based awards even extends to the Military Branch, Military Cross for officers and Military Medal for the unwashed.
Worthies like Sir Jimmy Saville are given such awards, possessing an Order of the British Empire, a Knighthood, a Papal Knight, He was an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists (FRCR).He had the Cross of Merit of the Order pro merito Melitensi.
Margaret Thatcher tried four times to get him a Knighthood for being a loyal Tory , it fell to David Cameron to ask the Honours Committee to strip him of his awards only to be told there was no such procedure, apparently there is now.
Robert E Lee fought the Union to a standstill for four years and never issued one medal, to serve was honour enough. The only medals issued to confederate troops were for the battle of Sabine Pass, and they were awarded in the name of the State of Texas.
For Civil Servants Honours come with the job , don’t they Sir Keir Starmer ? Leader of the People’s Party. It is time to consign this farce to the dustbin of history, Military orders should remain but be few and classless, then we can not be faced with the spectacle of the heir to the throne sporting the Order of the Bath and several medals including what appeared to be Extraordinary Companion of the Order of Canada the Queen’s Coronation medal (the Silver Jubilee medal a Diamond Jubilee medal and the New Zealand forces decoration Also seen was a medal for Long Service Good Conduct He also wore two breast stars, for Order of the Garter (Knight) and The Most Ancient and the Most Noble Order of the Thistle (Knight) under his row of medals and ribbons. I will pass on his youngest brother’s collection of tin which seems to denote he had the toughest of times in his few weeks in the Royal Marines.
For long service the Freedom of a City or Town was once a much valued award for decades of public service. Perhaps a return to this would be preferable to the current cringe worthy ritual