Medal for Noble Deeds
Awarded forNoble deeds
CountrySweden
Presented byGovernment of Sweden
First awarded1832
Ribbon bar
RelatedSui memores alios fecere merendo

The Medal for Noble Deeds[1] (Swedish: För berömliga gärningar, GM/SMbg) is a Swedish medal intended to honour personal courage in a civilian context. It is used to honour not only the noble deed of lifesaving but also courage and presence of mind. Since its inception in 1832, the medal has been awarded in gold in two sizes and in silver in one size.

History

Gustav III approved the medal Illis quorum meruere labores, in 1785, but there is no information to indicate that it was awarded until 1787. After Gustav III's death, no awards were given. Gustav IV Adolf took the medal into use in 1798 and it was used relatively extensively during the 19th century. The medal was used for various contributions and for people from large parts of society. Sui memores alios fecere merendo ("To those who affirm their memory in others by doing good deeds") was established in 1805 by Gustaf IV Adolf intended to honor efforts for public benefit activities. It then became a reward for saving human lives.[2]

In 1832, Charles XIV John decided that the medals would be used in Swedish language in the future, but that the variants in Latin would be retained for special cases. This meant that a certain confusion took place between the medals for a number of years. In the 1860s, Illis quorum regained its status as an award for Swedish citizens for civic merit. Illis quorum's equivalent in Swedish language, the Medal for Noble Deeds (För medborgerlig förtjänst), therefore became in 1832 an award for long-lasting and solid locally emphasized efforts in the municipal and of a practical nature. Illis quourum was awarded to a large extent for e.g. cultural merits. The Medal for Noble Deeds, which is the Swedish version of Sui memores alios fecere merendo, was also instituted in 1832 to be awarded to Swedes, while the version in Latin is awarded to foreigners.[2]

Appearance

Sizes

Gold medal of the 8th size (GMbg8), gold medal of the 5th size (GMbg5) and silver medal of the 8th size (SMbg8).[3]

Ribbon

The ribbon is royal blue with a yellow stripe toward each edge.[4]

Presenting

The medal is rarely awarded, on average less than once a year.[5] Between 1975 and 2005, the medal was awarded only 17 times, and only in gold of the fifth size.[6]

Selected recipients

YearSizeMedalist & citationMinistryRef
1874 ?Alarik Liedbeck
During the explosion in Vinterviken's factory on 11 June 1868, Liedbeck saved a couple of dozen lives and a lot of property in the 1874 fire.		 ?[7]
19055th in goldAnna, Ebba and Thyra Ekwall
On 11 April 1904, the Ekwall sisters, the daughters of Professor Knut Ekwall, with great danger to their own lives, saved their 27-year-old brother Olof Knut Ekwall from drowning in Lake Sommen.		King in Council[8]
19085th in goldNils August Lindberg
On 4 April, Lindberg saved the life of a fourteen-year-old chimney sweep apprentice. The apprentice was going to crawl into a chimney at Södra varietén in Stockholm and missed as he crawled into the chimney from the engine room instead of the one from the kitchen and got stuck in it with the fire under his feet and without a view to be able to get up. Lindberg noticed the danger, hurried up to the roof and down into the pipe but could not do anything on that road but had to enter another way. The doors were closed. He broke a window, then came through this, ran straight into the fireplace and managed after a while to pull the boy out, admittedly badly burned but alive.		King in Council[9]
19085th in goldEva Emilia Elisabeth von Platen
At the beginning of April, Miss von Platen, at the risk of her own life, rescued a small disabled and frozen 5-year-old, who had come out on a drift ice in Rönne.		King in Council[10]
19088th in goldElof Renhuldt
Renhuldt from Skinnskatteberg's mill saved a 6-year-old boy from drowning in the rapids next to the mill. Renhuldt has once before saved a human life.		King in Council[10]
19155th in goldStyrbjörn von Stedingk
The youth Styrbjörn von Stedingk, son of the director of Djursholms AB, Baron L. von Stedingk, carried out a rescue operation on 16 June at Djursholm's steamboat pier when he saved a 9-year-old boy from drowning by diving after the one who had already disappeared.		King in Council[11]
19155th in goldPer Elof Munck af Rosenschiöld
The schoolboy Per Elof Munck af Rosenschiöld, son of Mayor M. af Rosenschöld in Landskrona, saved two girls, eleven years old like himself, from drowning when they sank on the weak ice on 7 February in Landskrona harbor. He then pulled one girl up on solid ice and then managed, although he himself got into the water during the rescue attempt, to hold the other up until help arrived and both he and the girl were brought ashore.		 ?[12]
27 January 19335th in goldLieutenant Henrik Lange and conscript J. A. Christensson
For saving a conscript from drowning at Oskarsvärn in Karlskrona in September 1932.		King in Council[13]
27 January 19335th in goldCustoms inspector S. E. E. Jolin
For a rescue feat in the Port of Gothenburg in December 1932.		King in Council[13]
December 1943?th in goldNaval surgeon Lars Troell and furir P K Braun
Rescued of the crew of the German steamer Casablanca near Bogskär in the Sea of Åland in November 1943		King in Council[14]
19825th in goldFanjunkare Stig Bertsand, platoon leader at the Swedish Army Flight School (Arméflygskolan) in Nyköping
Rescued the crew from a burning aircraft wreck on 23 September 1981 at the risk of his own life		Ministry of Defence[15]
19855th in goldCorporal Hans Gustavsson
When Gustavsson, while on duty as the Royal Guards at Stockholm Palace on 23 April 1985, he saved, at the risk of his own life, a 76-year-old man from drowning in Stockholms ström		Ministry of Defence[15]
19875th in goldIvan Hampling, Helena Hampling, Ingvar Bångdahl
This summer, they prevented a serious traffic accident by stopping a bus after the driver became ill		Ministry of Communications[15]
19915th in goldHamid Haji-Taheri
For his courageous and resourceful intervention during a bus ride, thereby preventing a major traffic accident		Ministry of Communications[15]
19925th in goldLieutenant Kuno Larsson
Who on 7 February 1990, in danger of his own life, saved the life of a conscript in connection with a hand grenade accident		Ministry of Defence[15]
19925th in goldBirgitta Apelqvist, superintendent, Stefan Karlsson, superintendent
For their brave and resourceful intervention in the tram accident in Gothenburg on 12 March 1992, when they drove their police car along the track before a speeding tram		Ministry of Communications[15]
19935th in goldLieutenant Mats Rullander
Who, on 27 October 1992, in danger of his own life, saved the life of a conscript in connection with a hand grenade accident		Ministry of Defence[15]
19945th in goldJonas Back, conscript
For his resourceful and selfless intervention during a battalion exercise in March 1944 in Uppland Regiment for saving a conscript comrade from a fire in a camp tent		Ministry of Defence[15]
19975th in goldDaniel Müller, conscript, Kasper Pettersson, conscript
Resourceful and selfless intervention in a traffic accident during a practice drive in April 1997 at Fårösund Marine Brigade to save a trapped comrade from a burning off-road vehicle		Ministry of Defence[15]
19985th in goldThomas Brzezinski, Olav Reppert, Bengt Troberg, Olov Warolin
Because on 8 March, they bravely and resourcefully by helicopter rescued a distressed person from a hole in the ice		Cabinet Office[15]

References

Notes

Print

  • Braunstein, Christian (2007). Utmärkelsetecken på militära uniformer [Decorations on Swedish military uniforms] (PDF). Skrift / Statens försvarshistoriska museer, 1101-7023 ; 12 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Statens försvarshistoriska museer. ISBN 978-91-976220-2-8. SELIBR 10423295. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2021.
  • Regeringens belöningsmedaljer och regeringens utmärkelse Professors namn. SB PM, 99-0433409-9 ; 2006:1 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Statsrådsberedningen, Regeringskansliet. 2006. SELIBR 10400721.
  • Kommittén om det offentliga belöningssystemet, de allmänna flaggdagarna och utformningen av anslaget till hovet (2021). Ett modernt belöningssystem, de allmänna flaggdagarna och redovisningen av anslaget till hovet (PDF). Statens offentliga utredningar : SOU, 0375-250X ; 2021:74 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Regeringskansliet. ISBN 9789152502044. SELIBR zcjkhxd5wzs9k0dk.
  • "KVINNLIGT HJÄLTEDÅD". Hvar 8 dag (in Swedish). Gothenburg: D. F. Bonniers boktryckeri A.-B. (21). 19 February 1905. SELIBR 786775.
  • "ALARIK LIEDBECK". Hvar 8 dag (in Swedish). Gothenburg: D. F. Bonniers boktryckeri A.-B. (20). 16 February 1908. SELIBR 786775.
  • "För berömliga gärningar". Hvar 8 dag (in Swedish). Gothenburg: D. F. Bonniers boktryckeri A.-B. (29). 19 April 1908. SELIBR 786775.
  • "Berömliga gärningar". Hvar 8 dag (in Swedish). Gothenburg: D. F. Bonniers boktryckeri A.-B. (35). 31 May 1908. SELIBR 786775.
  • "Styrbjörn von Stedingk". Hvar 8 dag (in Swedish). Gothenburg: D. F. Bonniers boktryckeri A.-B. (49). 5 September 1915. SELIBR 786775.
  • "Per Elof Munck af Rosenschiöld". Hvar 8 dag (in Swedish). Gothenburg: D. F. Bonniers boktryckeri A.-B. (2). 10 October 1915. SELIBR 786775.
  • "?". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 23 December 1943. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  • "För berömliga gärningar". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 28 January 1933. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
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