How we assess UK honours

How we assess UK honours

We invite you to suggest British Red Cross staff or volunteers to be submitted for National Honours. We will share your submission with our Awards and Honours Panel. Anyone may make a suggestion through the form below.

The Panel meets twice a year and includes staff, volunteers and trustees. If we agree that your suggestion has merit, we may get back to you to ask for more information. We will also handle the process with the government: you just need to start the process by making the submission through this website.


UK national honours (awarded by the government)

National honours are announced twice a year, in the Birthday Honours and New Year Honours. They can be awarded to ordinary people who are doing extraordinary things, which describes lots of our people!


Queen’s Badge of Honour (awarded by the British Red Cross)

The Queen's Badge of Honour is the Red Cross’s highest honour, and only 30 people may hold it at any one time.

It is awarded for exceptional service of the highest order to the Society or to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Nominations should focus on the exceptional nature of a person's contribution, demonstrating how they have gone above and beyond during the course of their duties.


What to include

For both the UK national honours and the Queen's Badge of Honour, your submission should include:

  • The difference the individual has made, with an emphasis on practical achievements and tangible evidence of this impact. 
  • Recent examples of the individual’s outstanding service, whether volunteer or staff, as honours cannot be awarded for historic achievements alone.
  • What makes the person stand out from others in the same role? The nominator’s task is to demonstrate why an individual is exceptional. 

It is important that you give as much detail as possible about what your nominee has done and how they have made things better for people in crisis or communities.

When writing a submission, please keep in mind:

  • Those reviewing the submission may only have a general knowledge of the area of work in which the activity is carried out.
  • Submissions need to be compelling and clear with a strong opening sentence, so that the reviewers want to read more.
  • Make sure it does not read like a CV – it should highlight how the individual has gone above and beyond the call of duty.

Good luck!

MAKE A NOMINATION