Mentioned in dispatches
Mentioned in Dispatches (MID) is a military award for gallantry or otherwise commendable service. The award was fairly common, did not confer a medal and is relatively low in the order of precedence.
A "dispatch" was an official report from a senior commander, usually of an army, to his superiors, detailing the conduct of military operations. If a subordinate officer or soldier had performed a noteworthy action that was included in the report, he was said to have been "mentioned in dispatches".
In the nations of the British Commonwealth, soldiers who were mentioned in dispatches received a certificate and were entitled to wear a bronze oak leaf cluster on the ribbon of the service medal that was issued to all soldiers who served in a conflict.
Soldiers could be mentioned multiple times but, other than receiving a certificate for each mention, they wore no visible sign. Australian general H.G. Bennett was mentioned in dispatches a total of eight times during WWI. British WWI Victoria Cross winner, John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort was mentioned in dispatches nine times.
