April 25, 2015

Finest Hour 121, Winter 2003-04

Page 47

A compendium of facts eventually to appear as a reader’s guide.

The Rt Hon Sir Winston Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, PC, FRS, MP had several other “letters,” often represented by that most coveted citation, “the Order of Etcetera.” Here are the usual letters attached to his name, in the order of precedence:

Rt Hon: Right Honorable, a prefix denoting peers and peeresses below the degree of Marquess/Marchioness, all members of the Privy Council, and Lord Mayors of certain principal cities. Churchill became a Rt Hon by becoming a PC in 1907.

2025 International Churchill Conference

Join us for the 42nd International Churchill Conference. Washington, DC | October 9-11, 2025

2025 International Churchill Conference

KG: Knight of the Garter. The highest honour for military and civil service a Briton may receive. Selection is made personally by the Sovereign and is given in only one class, knight. Membership is limited to the Sovereign and twenty-five knights. Churchill was invested with the Garter on 24 April 1953 and was formally installed at Windsor on 14 June 1954. As a knighthood, it takes precedence in the titles after his name.

OM: Order of Merit. Created in 1902 by King Edward VII, personally awarded by the Sovereign for distinguished achievement in the arts, literature, and science, or for war service. Churchill was appointed to the civil division of the Order of Merit in the New Years Honours list of 1 January 1946.

CH: Companion of Honour. Created by King George V in 1917, often considered a junior class of the OM. Churchill was appointed to the Order on 19 October 1922 in recognition of his services as a minister of the King’s government.

TD: Territorial Decoration. Awarded to Volunteer officers in the Territorial Army after twenty years’ service (full-time war service counting double). Churchill qualified in 1924, having first joined the Queen’s Own Oxfordshire Hussars in 1902.

PC: Privy Councillor. The principal council of the Sovereign, composed of the cabinet ministers and other persons chosen by the King or Queen. Peers and peeresses correctly use these letters since they already have the Rt Hon prefix because of their rank. Churchill became a PC in 1907.

FRS: Fellow of the Royal Society, a learned society founded in 1660 and given a Royal Charter by Charles II in 1662, through which the government has supported science. Churchill became a Fellow in 1941.

MP: Member of Parliament. Churchill was elected in 1900 and, save for brief interludes in 1908 and 1923-24, remained one until he retired from Parliament in 1964.