The Military Cross and its naval equivalent, the Distinguished Service Cross, were products of the Great War. In former wars we had engaged a few tens of thousands of fighting men, but in the Great War we had seven million soldiers and sailors engaged all over the world.[25] In the great battles that took place during four and a half years of this gigantic conflict thousands of officers distinguished themselves, yet all could not be given the Victoria Cross or the Distinguished Service Order. A third decoration for gallantry thus became imperative. The Military Cross for the Army and the Distinguished Service Cross for the Navy were the outcome of this demand, and all officers and warrant officers are eligible for them; they are both of silver, but differ somewhat in design. The ribbons are somewhat similar, but in the case of the Military Cross the centre stripe is purple and the two outside ones white; whilst with the Distinguished Service Cross, the white stripe is in the middle and the two outer ones are purple. When an officer or warrant officer earns one or more clasps, a small silver rose is placed on the ribbon for each clasp. During the Great War the gallantry and achievements of the Air Force called imperatively for special recognition. This was met by instituting two decorations open only to the Air Force. These are the Distinguished Flying Cross, for bestowal upon officers in the Royal Air Force for acts of gallantry when flying in active operations against the enemy; and the Air Force Cross, for bestowal on officers of the Royal Air Force for acts of courage or devotion to duty when flying, although not in active operations, against the enemy. We now come to those decorations which are reserved for warrant and non-commissioned officers and the rank and file, and for which no officer as such is eligible. Naturally any soldier or sailor who had won one of these decorations when in the ranks or the lower deck would carry it on with him and wear it on all occasions if he subsequently received a commission. The first of these is for the Army, the Distinguished Conduct Medal, familiar to all as the D.C.M.; and for the Navy the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal, generally known as the C.G.M. The second pair under the category are the Military Medal for the soldiers, and the Distinguished Service Medal for the sailors. These are known as the M.M. and D.S.M. All these four medals are round silver insignia of the familiar size and shape of a war medal. On one side they have the King’s head and shoulders, in a Field-Marshal’s uniform, for the Army, and in that of an Admiral of the Fleet for the Navy. On the other side is the designation of the medal. Should a soldier or a sailor be granted one of these medals a second time the fact would be marked by the addition of a silver clasp.