Southern Cross Decoration

The Southern Cross Decoration, post-nominal letters SD, is a military decoration for merit that was instituted by the Republic of South Africa on 1 July 1975. It was awarded to officers of the South African Defence Force for outstanding service of the highest order and utmost devotion to duty.

The South African military
The Union Defence Forces (UDF) were established in 1912 and renamed the South African Defence Force (SADF) in 1958. On 27 April 1994 it was integrated with six other independent forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

Orders, decorations and medals
In April 1952 a series of military decorations and medals was instituted, consisting of substitutes for many of the British and Commonwealth awards which had earlier been used. More decorations and medals, as well as an emblem for being mentioned in dispatches, were added between 1953 and 1970. In July 1975 the military decorations and medals of the Republic were revised. Some decorations and medals were carried over from the earlier series of 1952-1975 and new awards were instituted, followed by more between 1987 and 1991. Finally, all but one of these earlier awards were discontinued in respect of services performed on or after 27 April 2003, when a new set of nine decorations and medals was instituted to replace them.

Fount of Honour
Until 1958 the top three awards were reserved for conferment by the Queen while the rest were awarded by the Governor-General, but in 1958 the Governor-General was authorised to also award the top three. In 1961 the State President became the Fount of Honour, and in 1994 the President.

Award criteria for the Southern Cross Decoration
The Southern Cross Decoration, post-nominal letters SD, was awarded to officers of the South African Defence Force for outstanding service of the highest order and utmost devotion to duty.

Although not prescribed, the practice was generally that recipients must already have received the Southern Cross Medal (SM). The equivalent award for other ranks was the Pro Merito Decoration (PMD).

The first recipient was Admiral Hugo Biermann SSA OBE GCIH, who received the decoration upon his retirement as Chief of the South African Defence Force in 1976.

Order of precedence
The position of the Southern Cross Decoration in the official order of precedence was revised three times to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first with the integration into the South African National Defence Force in 1994, again when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted in April 1996 for the two former non-statutory forces, the Azanian People's Liberation Army and Umkhonto we Sizwe, and again with the institution of a new set of awards in 2003, but it remained unchanged on all three occasions.


 * Official SANDF order of precedence:
 * Preceded by the Pro Virtute Decoration (PVD) of the Republic of South Africa.
 * Succeeded by the Pro Merito Decoration (PMD) of the Republic of South Africa.


 * Official national order of precedence:
 * Preceded by the Pro Virtute Decoration (PVD) of the Republic of South Africa.
 * Succeeded by the Pro Merito Decoration (PMD) of the Republic of South Africa.

Description
The Southern Cross Decoration is a silver-gilt double Maltese cross that fits in a circle 45 millimetres in diameter. The arms of the cross are in white enamel, with the stars of the Southern Cross on a framed roundel in dark blue enamel in the centre. A protea attaches the decoration to the ribbon hanger.
 * Obverse

The reverse has the pre-1994 South African Coat of Arms in the centre, with the decoration number stamped above and the silver hallmark below.
 * Reverse

The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and dark blue, with two 1 millimetre wide white bands in the centre, 4 millimetres apart.
 * Ribbon

Discontinuation
Conferment of the decoration was discontinued in respect of services performed on or after 27 April 2003, when the Southern Cross Decoration and the Pro Merito Decoration (PMD) were both replaced by the new iPhrothiya yeGolide.