Order of the Companions of Honour

Order of the Companions of Honour
Riband and badge of the "Companions of Honour"
Awarded by the sovereign of the Commonwealth realms
Type	Order
Motto	IN ACTION FAITHFUL AND IN HONOUR CLEAR
Awarded for	Nationally important service
Status	Currently constituted
Sovereign	Queen Elizabeth II
Grades (w/ post-nominals)	Companion (CH)
Established	1917
Ribbon bar of the order

Lord Tweedsmuir, as Governor General of Canada, wearing the Companion of Honour badge around his neck as part of his ceremonial Windsor uniform

The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry, or religion. It is sometimes regarded as the junior order to the Order of Merit.^[1]

Composition of the order

The order consists of the Sovereign, plus no more than 65 Companions of Honour. Additionally, foreigners from outside the realms may be added as honorary members. Membership of the order confers no title, or precedence, but recipients of this one-class order are entitled to use the post-nominal letters CH. Appointments can be made on the advice of Commonwealth prime ministers.^[1] For Canadians, the advice to the Sovereign can come from a variety of officials.^[2]

Originally, the order was limited to 50 ordinary members, but it was enlarged to 65 in 1943 with a quota of 45 members for the United Kingdom, seven for Australia, two each for New Zealand and South Africa, and 9 for India, Burma and the colonies. The quota numbers were altered in 1970 to 47 for the United Kingdom, 7 for Australia, 2 for New Zealand and 9 for other Commonwealth realms. The quota was adjusted again in 1975 by adding 2 places to the New Zealand quota and reducing the 9 for the other countries.^[3]

Appearance

The insignia of the order is in the form of an oval medallion with an oak tree, a shield with the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom hanging from one branch, and on the left a mounted knight in armour. The badge's clear blue border bears the motto IN ACTION FAITHFUL AND IN HONOUR CLEAR (Alexander Pope's description (in iambic pentameter) in his Epistle to Mr Addison of James Craggs, later used on Craggs' monument in Westminster Abbey) in gold letters, and the oval is surmounted by an imperial crown. Men wear the badge on a ribbon (red with golden border threads) around their necks, and women on a bow at the left shoulder.

Current Companions

• Sovereign
  • Queen Elizabeth II

Member Number	Name	Known for	Date of appointment	Age
1-(231)[n 1]	Malcolm Fraser AC CH PC	Former Prime Minister of Australia	26 January 1977	83
2-(237)	Sir Michael Somare GCL GCMG CH  PC	Former Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea	3 June 1978	77
3-(238)	The Lord Healey CH MBE PC	Politician	12 June 1979	96
4-(246)	Doug Anthony AC CH PC	Former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia	31 December 1981	84
5-(249)	The Lord Carrington KG GCMG CH MC PC DL	Politician	11 June 1983	94
6-(265)	The Lord Tebbit CH PC	Politician	31 July 1987	82
7-(267)	Stephen Hawking CH CBE FRS	Physicist	17 June 1989	72
8-(269)	The Lord Baker of Dorking CH PC	Politician	13 April 1992	79
9-(270)	The Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville CH PC	Politician	13 April 1992	79
10-(271)	The Lord King of Bridgwater CH PC	Politician	13 April 1992	80
11-(278)	Dame Janet Baker CH DBE	Opera singer	31 December 1993	80
12-(282)	The Lord Owen CH PC	Politician	11 June 1994	75
13-(287)	Sir David Attenborough OM CH CVO CBE	Broadcaster and naturalist	30 December 1995	87
14-(289)	The Lord Hurd of Westwell CH CBE PC	Politician	30 December 1995	83
15-(291)	The Lord Howe of Aberavon CH QC PC	Politician	15 June 1996	87
16-(293)	David Hockney OM CH	Artist	14 June 1997	76
17-(294)	The Lord Heseltine CH PC	Politician	2 August 1997	80
18-(296)	The Lord Patten of Barnes CH PC	Politician and former Governor of Hong Kong	31 December 1997	69
19-(297)	Peter Brook CH CBE	Theater director	13 June 1998	88
20-(298)	Sir John Major KG CH PC	former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom	31 December 1998	70
21-(299)	Bridget Riley CH CBE	Artist	31 December 1998	82
22-(300)	John de Chastelain CH OC CMM CD	Canadian general and diplomat	31 December 1998	76
23-(305)	Sir Harrison Birtwistle CH	Composer	30 December 2000	79
24-(308)	Sir George Christie CH	Founder of Glyndebourne Festival Opera	31 December 2001	79
25-(311)	Sir Michael Howard OM CH CBE MC FBA	Historian	15 June 2002	91
26-(312)	Sir Howard Hodgkin CH CBE	Artist	31 December 2002	81
27-(313)	James Lovelock CH CBE FRS	Scientist and environmentalist	31 December 2002	94
28-(316)	Dan McKenzie CH FRS	Geophysicist	14 June 2003	71
29-(317)	The Lord Hannay of Chiswick GCMG CH	Diplomat	14 June 2003	68
30-(318)	Dame Judi Dench CH DBE	Actor	11 June 2005	79
31-(320)	Sir Ian McKellen CH CBE	Actor	31 December 2007	74
32-(321)	The Lord Rogers of Riverside CH	Architect	14 June 2008	80
33-(322)	The Lord Howard of Lympne CH PC QC	Politician	11 June 2011	72
34-(323)	Sir George Young Bt CH	Politician	20 September 2012	72
35-(324)	The Lord Coe CH KBE	Athlete, politician, organiser of 2012 Olympics	29 December 2012	57
36-(325)	Peter Higgs CH FRS	Physicist	29 December 2012	84
37-(326)	The Lord Strathclyde CH PC	Politician	7 January 2013	53
38-(327)	Sir Menzies Campbell CH CBE QC MP	Politician	15 June 2013	72
39-(328)	Sir Nicholas Serota CH	Museum curator	15 June 2013	67
40-(329)	Sir Peter Maxwell Davies CH CBE	Composer	31 December 2013	79
41-(330)	The Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve CH CBE FBA FRS	Philosopher	31 December 2013	72
Honorary Companions
Member Number	Name	Known for	Date of appointment	Age
1-(196)	Lee Kuan Yew GCMG CH	Politician	1 January 1970	90
2-(261)	Sydney Brenner CH	Biologist	31 December 1986	87
3-(304)	Amartya Sen CH	Economist	11 May 2000	80
4-(309)	Bernard Haitink CH KBE	Conductor	12 June 2002	89

See also

• List of Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour
• List of honorary British Knights
• List of people who have declined a British honour

Notes

References

v t e Orders, decorations and medals of Canada Awards of valour Victoria Cross Cross of Valour National orders Order of Merit Order of Canada Order of Military Merit Order of Merit of the Police Forces Royal Victorian Order Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem Provincial orders Orders, decorations, and medals of the Canadian provinces Other decorations and medals Royal Victorian Chain Decorations War and operational service medals Special service medals United Nations medals NATO medals International mission medals Commemorative medals Long service and good conduct medals Exemplary service medals Special Medals