The term 1979 Special Honours refers to a set of awards and distinctions conferred in the United Kingdom (and, by extension, other Commonwealth realms) during the calendar year 1979 that were announced outside the regular biannual New Year and Birthday Honours lists. In the British honours system, Special Honours are published in the official Gazette when it is deemed appropriate to recognise individuals for specific services, achievements, or events that do not align with the normal honours timetable.
General Characteristics of Special Honours
- Publication: Special Honours are officially recorded in the London Gazette (or the relevant Commonwealth Gazette) and are often accompanied by a brief citation explaining the reason for the award.
- Scope: The awards may include appointments to the Orders of the Garter, Thistle, Bath, St Michael and St George, the British Empire, as well as medals such as the Queen’s Police Medal, the Royal Red Cross, and various campaign or service medals.
- Purpose: These honours typically recognise extraordinary contributions linked to a particular event (e.g., a royal visit, a national emergency, a major public project) or to individuals whose service warrants immediate acknowledgment.
The 1979 Special Honours List
Publicly available encyclopedic sources provide limited detail on the specific contents of the 1979 Special Honours list. The following points are established:
- Existence: A Special Honours list for the year 1979 was indeed published in the London Gazette.
- Date of Publication: The precise date(s) on which the 1979 Special Honours were announced is not consistently cited across reference works.
- Categories of Awards: The list included appointments to various orders and medals customary to Special Honours, but the exact categories and numbers of recipients are not comprehensively documented in widely accessible encyclopedic references.
- Notable Recipients: No universally recognized “notable” recipients have been identified in standard reference materials that specifically attribute their awards to the 1979 Special Honours list.
Contextual Significance
Special Honours such as those issued in 1979 are part of the broader tradition of the British honours system, which aims to acknowledge merit and service across civil, military, and charitable domains. While the routine New Year and Birthday Honours receive extensive public and scholarly attention, Special Honours are generally less documented, resulting in fewer secondary sources that compile comprehensive details about each year’s list.
Research Limitations
- Primary Sources: The London Gazette archives contain the official notices, but access to the full text for the 1979 Special Honours may require subscription or specialized archival research.
- Secondary Sources: Standard encyclopedias, academic histories of the British honours system, and major reference works do not provide a detailed enumeration of the 1979 Special Honours. Consequently, specific information such as the exact number of awardees, their names, or the precise citations for their awards remains limited in publicly available encyclopedic literature.
Summary
The 1979 Special Honours denotes a distinct, officially recorded set of British honours announced in 1979 outside the regular honours calendar. While its existence is confirmed through primary governmental publications, comprehensive details about the list’s composition and individual recipients are not widely documented in secondary encyclopedic sources. Further investigation of the London Gazette archives would be required for an exhaustive account.