Military Order of William

The Military William Order, or often named Military Order of William (Dutch: Militaire Willems-Orde, abbreviation: MWO), is the oldest and highest honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Order is named after St. William of Gellone (755–814), the first Prince of Orange.[2][3] The Order's motto is Voor Moed, Beleid en Trouw (For Bravery, Leadership and Loyalty). The chivalric order was established on 30 April 1815 by King William I and was presented for feats of excellent bravery on the battlefield and as a meritorious decoration to senior military officers. Comparable with the French Légion d’Honneur but far less often awarded, the Military William Order is a chivalry order of merit open to everyone regardless of rank and nobility, and not only to Dutch military but also foreigners. To date membership of the Order is extremely rarely awarded and only for excellent bravery in battle.

Military William Order
Militaire Willems-Orde
Knight Military William Order 4th class medal (post 2000 model)
Awarded by King of the Netherlands
TypeChivalric order with four degrees
Established30 April 1815
CountryNetherlands
MottoVoor Moed, Beleid en Trouw (For Bravery, Leadership and Loyalty)
Awarded forPerforming acts of excellent Bravery, Leadership and Loyalty in battle.
StatusCurrently constituted
Grand MasterKing Willem-Alexander
ChancellorMajor general H. Morsink[1]
GradesKnight Grand Cross
Commander
Knight 3rd class
Knight 4th class
Orange Lanyard (unit award)
Statistics
First inductionWilliam Frederick, Prince of Orange
Last induction Major Roy de Ruiter
Total inductees5,877
Precedence
Next (higher)None (highest)
Next (lower)Cross for Courage and Fidelity

Ribbon bar of Knight Grand Cross

Ribbon bar of Commander

Ribbon bar of Knight 3rd class

Ribbon bar of Knight 4th class

In the spring of 1940 it was decided that civilians would receive the Military Order of William for heroic acts in the resistance. After the liberation of the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies, several men and one woman from the resistance were awarded the Military Order of William.

History
King William II as Sovereign of the Order

Most knighthoods of the Military Order of William were awarded in 1815 and shortly afterwards to military of the Allies that fought Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, in total 1,005 knighthoods were awarded at this time. The Grand Cross was awarded to Prince William of Orange, the Duke of Wellington, Fürst Blücher von Wahlstatt, Graf von Bülow von Dennewitz and Graf von Gneisenau.[4]

During the 19th century the Military William Order was awarded to military serving in the campaign against the Belgian Revolution and military serving in the Netherlands East Indies, mostly in the Aceh War. Until 1940, a total of 5,874 persons had been awarded the Military Order of William. In 1940, the Order was awarded to soldiers who had served with extreme valour in the defence of Netherlands from the 10 May attack by Nazi-Germany. In 1944 and 1945, with the liberation of the Netherlands from German occupation, the Military William Order was again awarded, this time to Netherlands citizens as well as members of the Allied Forces for deeds of gallantry. Of the 3,500 servicemen who served in the Netherlands United Nations Detachment in Korea, three servicemen – two posthumously – were admitted to the Order. Since 1940, 199 names have been added to the register of the Military Order of William. The latest conflict that has been cause for the honour to be awarded is the ongoing war in Afghanistan.

On 29 May 2009 a ceremony was held at which the knights met, at Queen Beatrix's bestowal of the knighthood (fourth class) of the Order on Marco Kroon, platoon commander with the Korps Commandotroepen, at the Binnenhof, in The Hague.[5] Kroon was honoured for conspicuous bravery, leadership, and devotion to duty during his service in Afghanistan from March to August 2006. The knights met on 4 December 2014 at King Willem-Alexander's bestowal of the knighthood (fourth class) of the Order on Gijs Tuinman, commander with the Korps Commandotroepen, at the Binnenhof, in The Hague. The knights met on 31 August 2018 at King Willem-Alexander's bestowal of the knighthood (fourth class) of the Order on Roy de Ruiter, (reserve-) Major, Royal Netherlands Airforce.[6] Sadly Maj. Kenneth Mayhew, 101 at the time, was unable to attend the ceremony on 31 August 2018, which he explained in an interview broadcast on Dutch National Television during the ceremony.[7]

Ranks

By 1945, the following classes of the Military William Order were in existence.

  • Knight Grand Cross – wears the badge on a sash on the right shoulder, plus the star on the left chest;
  • Commander – wears the badge on a necklet, plus an identical breast cross on the left chest;
  • Knight 3rd Class – wears the badge on a ribbon with rosette on the left chest;
  • Knight 4th Class – wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest.

The Grand Cross could also be awarded as an exceptional presentation to heads of state which had displayed feats of loyalty to the Netherlands during wartime. Only US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, and the British King George VI were conferred such an honour. In the 19th century, the Grand Cross was often conferred on foreign monarchs as a mere mark of respect.

The 4th Class could also be awarded as a unit presentation to military commands which had displayed feats of gallantry during wartime.

Knight Grand Cross
(badge with sash and accompanying star)		 Commander
(badge with necklet and breast cross)		 Knight 3rd Class
(badge with ribbon)		 Knight 4th Class
(badge with ribbon)

Insignia
Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld Knight Commander of the Military William Order.

The badge of the Order is a white-enamelled Maltese Cross, in silver for the 4th Class and in gilt for higher classes; a green enamelled Burgundy Cross appears between the arms of the Maltese Cross. The obverse bears a golden firesteel at the centre, and the motto Voor Moed – Beleid – Trouw (For Bravery – Leadership – Loyalty) on the arms of the Maltese Cross. Both the Burgundy Cross and the firesteel were symbols of the House of Valois-Burgundy during their lordship of the Netherlands and probably are meant to recall its crucial unifying role in the history of the Netherlands. The reverse central disc bears a crowned monogram "W" (for King William I) surrounded by a laurel wreath. The badge hangs from a royal crown.

The star of the Grand Cross is a silver, 8-pointed star with straight rays; the obverse of the badge of the Order, minus the crown, appears at its centre.

The breast cross of the Commander is completely identical to the obverse of the badge of the Order.

The ribbon of the Order is orange (Royal House of Orange) with blue (Nassau-blue) stripes near the border.

Knighthood oath

The oath to be taken by the accolade to the Military Order of William states: "I swear that I shall conduct myself as a faithful and valiant Knight, to stand ever ready to defend King and Country with my Life, and with all my Powers to always strive to be worthy of this Distinction, which the King has bestowed upon me. So help me God almighty."

Unit award
Military William Order awarded to the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade, 31 May 2006

To be awarded the Military William Order a military unit must distinguish itself in battle to such a degree as would warrant the personal presentation of the Military William Order. The unit's Regimental Colour are decorated with the badge of the 4th Class itself, which hangs from the finial of the pike. The version of the Military William Order for unit members is known as the Orange Lanyard. Only those who served in a military unit at the particular time of action are entitled to wear the Orange Lanyard.

The Orange Lanyard is worn as a cord around the right shoulder and can be worn simultaneously with the French or Belgian Fourragère of the Croix de guerre. The Orange Lanyard is considered a permanent decoration and is worn for the duration of a military member's career.

The military units or formations that were awarded the Military William Order or continue their traditions are:

Most military units or formations of the Netherlands and foreign armed forces were decorated as a consequence of their actions during the Second World War. In 2016 the Korps Commandotroepen were awarded the Military William Order for their actions in Afghanistan.

Current living members
Six knights of the Military William Order at the Binnenhof (The Hague, Netherlands) on 29 May 2009.

As of 2019, there are only four living knights of the Military William Order; one is over 100 years old.[9] Below a list of the names of the living knights, in order of the order being awarded. Between brackets the date when they were inducted into the Order:

Privileges

Members of the Military William Order are awarded certain privileges:

  • When wearing the decorations, a member must be saluted by all Dutch military personnel regardless of rank or branch.
  • Once a year all members of the Order are invited to the palace by the monarch on the Ridderdag (Knights day).
  • Individual members of the Order are granted an annual pension by the Dutch state, when they receive it while holding a rank below officer.
  • Individual members of the Order are granted a military funeral.
  • Members of the Order are granted VIP seats during military ceremonies, the annual address of parliament by the monarch and during state funerals.

See also

References
  1. De Kanselarij der Nederlandse Orden - website of the Chancellery of the Dutch Orders
  2. Willem de Heilige (Dutch) - website of the Dutch public broadcasting organization KRO
  3. Newsletter no. 5.2, 2018 (Dutch) - website of the Museum of museum of the chancery of dutch orders
  4. List of recipients in 1815, in: Jacobus Scheltema, De Laatste Veldtogt van Napoleon Buonaparte, Hendrik Gartman, Amsterdam 1816 (on Google Books).
  5. Ministerie van Defensie (10 February 2009). "Eerste Militaire Willems-Orde in 50 jaar". www.defensie.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 27 December 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  6. Defensie, Ministerie van (31 August 2018). "Ridderslag voor Apache-vlieger Roy de Ruiter - Nieuwsbericht - Defensie.nl". www.defensie.nl. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  7. "NOS Uitreiking Militaire Willems-Orde gemist? Start met kijken op NPO Start". www.npostart.nl. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  8. "Korps Commandotroepen krijgt Militaire Willems-Orde voor inzet Afghanistan". NOS (in Dutch). 8 February 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  9. Defensie, Ministerie van. "Militaire Willems-Orde". www.defensie.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 August 2018.

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