Throughout the history of the British Army, commanders in the field wrote back to higher authority to keep them informed - these messages were known as "despatches" and informed the higher authority - the Monarch or other superior officer - of the progress of their campaigns.   These messages also mentioned officers and soldiers who had carried out specific acts of gallantry or periods of distinguished service. To be so mentioned was to have been "Mentioned in Despatches." Initially, only formation commanders, unit commanders, and senior staff officers were recognized in this manner.

From the 1840s, non-commissioned officers also began to be recognized. The depatches were routinely published in the London Gazette, sometimes as simple lists of names, other times with more detailed descriptions of the actions being recognized. However, up to the Great War, being mentioned in a despatch did not result in the officer or soldier receiving any visible mark or certificate to show that he had been mentioned, and the mention itself was considered the honour.

While a Mention in Despatches had often been used to provide the basis for the award of higher honours in conflicts dating back to the Crimea, by 1918 so many men had been Mentioned in Despatches that it was felt a more tangible sign of recognition was in order. After he Armistice in November 1918 it was therefore decided to issue a small bronze insignia consisting of a branch of oak leaves to any officer or soldier who had been so mentioned.  After the Victory Medal was issued, the bronze oak leaves of the Mention in Despatches was worn on the ribbon of that medal. Some 5,500 Canadians had been Mentioned in Despatches in the First World War.

By the time of the Second World War, this method of recognition was still in place, though the leaves had been modified to a single oak leaf.  As the war went on, Mentions in Despatches could be given out for a variety of reasons.  If a soldier was nominated for a medal, but higher authority felt that the deeds he performed were not up to the standards expected for that medal, he might be granted a Mention in Despatches instead.   Other situations arose where "periodic awards" were granted on a quota basis.  Commanders would then put forward names of soldiers they felt worthy (again, perhaps those soldiers refused bravery medals from earlier dates may have been considered for Mentions in Despatches in this manner).

At war's end, a cut-off date was put in place for awards, and many units polled their field officers for names of deserving recipients.   For this reason, there are often no accompanying citations for Mentions in Despatches, some 10,000 of which had been made between 1939 and 1945.

Mentions in Despatches during the Second World War were signified by wearing the oak leaf on the ribbon of the 1939-45 War Medal. Another 279 were made in Korea.

The Mention in Despatches fell into disuse under the modern Canadian Honours system instituted in the late 1960s, but was revived as the Canadian Mention in Despatches in 1990 as a national honour awarded on behalf of the reigning monarch. Recipient's names are published in the Canada Gazette, and the bronze oak leaf is worn on the appropriate campaign or service medal. According to the Department of National Defence:

As of 10 February 2010, 277 Canadians have been Mentioned in Dispatches since 1990.  Although it is not an actual decoration or medal, the MID is a very significant recognition, because it is a national honour, emanating from the Head of State but perhaps more importantly, because its eligibility is limited to operational service in the field.  It is in many ways like a junior version of the Military Valour Decorations and this direct relation to combat in active operations gives this honour all of its prestige.

Shaded entries indicate posthumous awards.  Asterisks (*) are explained below the tables.

First World War 1914-1918

Service Number	Rank	Name	Date of Action	Location of Action / Notes
	Lieutenant Colonel	Boyle, Russell Lambert		Died of Wounds 25 Apr 1915
	Lieutenant Colonel	MacDonald, Eric	Three separate awards
	Lieutenant Colonel	Ormond, Dan	Two separate awards
	Lieutenant Colonel	Rattray, J.G.	**
	Major	Ashton, E.J.
	Major	Bingham, William
	Major	Critchley, Walter
	Major	George, FitzRoy
	Major	MacDonald, Eric
	Major	MacLean, Archibald	*
	Major	MacLaren, Joseph
	Major	Simpson, Joseph
	Major	Sparling, Walt
	Major	Thomson, Alexander
	Major	Walker, Phil	**
	Captain	Arthur, Geoff
	Captain	Black, David
	Captain	Burbridge, Geoff
	Captain	Costigan, Charles Telford	Two separate awards	Also awarded the DSO and MC Died 11 November 1917
	Captain	Craggs, George
	Captain	Ferguson, Hugh
	Captain	Miller, Jack
	Captain	Mitchell, William
	Captain	Robinson, Charles
	Captain	Thompson, William
	Captain	Virgo, Gordon
	Lieutenant	Feurt, Ralph
	Lieutenant	Greer, Byron
	Lieutenant	Graham, Gordon	Two separate awards
	Lieutenant	Kent, Stanley
	Lieutenant	MacEachern, Norman	Two separate awards
	Lieutenant	Rutherford, Thomas
	Lieutenant	Robertson, Stanley
	Lieutenant	Trimmer, Alfred
	Lieutenant	Younger, Lewis
	Company Sergeant Major	Baker, Herbert	*
	Company Sergeant Major	McCandie, David
	Company Sergeant Major	Rayfield, Edmond	*
	Company Sergeant Major	Toole, Archie
	Sergeant	Alderton, Walter	*
	Sergeant	Budd, Arnold
	Sergeant	Burns, Robert
	Sergeant	Courtney, Arthur
	Sergeant	Cox, Sydney
	Sergeant	Duff, James
	Sergeant	Harrison, James	*
	Sergeant	Higgins, Clyde	*
	Sergeant	Jarvis, Herbert
	Sergeant	Martin, Arthur	*
	Sergeant	Milne, Edward
	Sergeant	Morrison, Charles
	Sergeant	Pitman, Ernest
	Sergeant	Waller, Richard
	Sergeant	Wilson, M
	Lance Sergeant	Palmer, John
	Corporal	Baker, William
	Corporal	Brook, John
	Corporal	Brookes, Ralph
	Corporal	Dale, Thomas
	Corporal	Evans, Victor
	Corporal	Hogg, James	*
	Corporal	Menzies, William	*
	Corporal	O'Rourke, David
19910	Corporal	Ross, Thomas		Died 3 Aug 1915 Also awarded the DCM
	Corporal	Schultz, Samuel
20378	Corporal	Smith, Horatio Roy		Died 26 Sep 1916
	Corporal	Smith, Ray	Two separate awards
	Corporal	Underwood, Arthur
19616	Lance Corporal	Allan, George		Died 23 Apr 1915 Also awarded the DCM
	Lance Corporal	Browne, Ralph	*
	Lance Corporal	King, William
	Private	Baxter, Thomas	*
	Private	Bell, Thomas	*
	Private	Bloxham, Charles
	Private	Butterworth, Harold	*
	Private	Cox, Frank
	Private	Cutter, Charles	*
	Private	Fitzgibbons, Gerald	*
	Private	Harrison, Richard
	Private	Morrison, Thomas	*
	Private	Sixby, Frank
18402	Private	Tinkess, Albert James	*	Died 18 Aug 1917
	Private	Zuidema, Louis

* = "Brought to notice of Secretary of State for War for valuable services rendered."

Second World War 1939-1945