On September 24 1940, during a period of WWII known as the “Blitz”, when British cities were being subjected to heavy bombing raids by the German Luftwaffe, King George VI made a radio broadcast from Buckingham Palace in London to announce the institution of two medals in accordance to a Royal Warrant. The broadcast was delivered in three parts, with the first part being used for the king to recap briefly the events of the past year, in which he reminded people:
“Great nations have fallen. The battle, which was at that time so far away that we could only just hear its distant rumblings, is now at our very doors. The armies of invasion are massed across the channel, only 20 miles from our shores. The air fleets of the enemy launch their attacks, day and night, against our cities. We stand in the front line, to champion those liberties and traditions that are our heritage.”
In the second part of the broadcast the king praised the response to the air raid by stating:
“The devotion of these civilian workers, firemen, salvage men, and many others in the face of grave and constant danger has won a new renown for the British name. Those men and women are worthy partners of our armed Forces and our police – of the Navy, once more as so often before our sure shield, and the Merchant Navy,
