Irish in the British Armed Forces British Armed Forces. In fact, from the nations which were part of the British Empire, the only country which has more winners is England with 614. Ireland, with 190 awards (not including Irish diaspora born abroad), outranks Scotland who have 158 and Australia who have 97. When awards per number of people in the total population are taken into account, Ireland's awards would be the equivalent of England gaining 2,850 Victoria Crosses. Charles Davis Lucas of the Royal Navy from County Armagh was the man whose actions were the earliest to be rewarded with a Victoria Cross, due to his
Medal of the Armed Forces in the Service of the Fatherland Long Service Medal is a state-awarded decoration, conferred on an individual basis to selected recipients only. There are three grades, Gold, Silver and Bronze, awarded for 25, 15 and 5 years, respectively. The ribbon is red with double white edge stripes and a central gold or silver stripe for gold and silver awards. Medal of the Armed Forces in the Service of the Fatherland The Medal of the Armed Forces in the Service of the Fatherland () is a Polish military decoration, awarded for long service and excellent work in the army. The medal was first established on 26 May