The Wilkinson Sword of Peace award was first instituted in 1966. It was awarded to
each year to the unit of the UK's armed services judged to have made the most
valuable contribution towards establishing good and friendly relations with any
community, at home or overseas. Over the years ships of the Royal Fleet
Auxiliary have received these awards (individually and shared with other units).
The First award to an RFA vessel was in 1970, when RFA Ennerdale was nominated
for her part in the search and rescue of two meteorologists at Gough Island.
In 1995 RFA Sir Galahad shared the award for her UN sponsored work in Angola
following many years of internal strife.
1998 saw RFA Black Rover and RFA Sir Tristram share in the award, for their
work in bringing aid to Nicaragua and Honduras following Hurricane Mitch.
RFA Fort George along with 820 NAS was another recipient following the floods
in Mozambique for delivering humanitarian aid.
RFA Sir Galahad again received the award in 2004 for her delivery of
humanitarian aid into Um Qasr following the Iraq war in 2003.
The Firmin Sword of Peace Award replaced the Wilkinson Sword of Peace award after Wilkinson closed its doors in 2005. Firmin and Son have supplied the Armed Forces with swords for over a century and every year the award goes to the unit in each service that made the best contribution towards good community relations at home or abroad.
This site does not represent the views or opinions of the Commodore RFA or the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service, unless otherwise stated.
