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In November 1915, there began eighteen months of work to create an honour that has grown to be one of the most familiar in the United Kingdom: The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. This book is an expanded and updated edition of the first official history of the Order that was published in 1996. It discusses the argument, confusion and uncertainty that surrounded the origin of the Order at the height of the First World War, and the ridicule and indifference with which it was greeted by some in its earliest years. It traces the story of the changing appearance of its insignia, the repeated attempts to establish a chapel, and the stability and popularity enjoyed by the Order today in its role as an Order for the nation and the nation’s Order. New additional chapters discuss the periodic debates about changing the Order’s name, and case studies of the earliest forfeitures of membership. The list of Officials of the Order has been updated. The list of Knights and Dames Grand Cross has also been updated, with the information from the London Gazette about each individual. A new appendix lists those whose membership has been forfeited. An additional feature is the many new illustrations that appear throughout the text.
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