| Gallantry Cross, Silver | |
| Presenter: | the President |
| Country: | Venda |
| Type: | Military decoration for bravery |
| Eligibility: | All Ranks |
| Awarded For: | Courage or bravery or valour beyond the normal call of duty |
| Status: | Discontinued in 1994 |
| Post-Nominals: | GCS |
| Established: | 1985 |
| Precedence Label: | VDF pre-1994 & SANDF post-2002 orders of wear |
| Higher: | |
| Lower: | |
The Gallantry Cross, Silver, post-nominal letters GCS, was instituted by the President of the Republic of Venda in 1985, for award to all ranks for courage or bravery or valour beyond the normal call of duty.[1]
The 900 member Venda Defence Force (VDF) was established upon that country's independence on 13 September 1979. The Republic of Venda ceased to exist on 27 April 1994 and the Venda Defence Force was amalgamated with six other military forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).[2] [3]
The Gallantry Cross, Silver was instituted by the President of Venda in 1985. It is the junior award of a set of two decorations for bravery, along with the Gallantry Cross, Gold.[1]
Venda's military decorations and medals were modeled on those of the Republic of South Africa and these two decorations are the approximate equivalents of, respectively, the Louw Wepener Decoration and the Honoris Crux (1975).
The cross could be awarded to all ranks for courage or bravery or valour beyond the normal call of duty.[1]
Since the Gallantry Cross, Silver was authorised for wear by one of the statutory forces which came to be part of the South African National Defence Force on 27 April 1994, it was accorded a position in the official South African order of precedence on that date.[4]
The position of the Gallantry Cross, Silver in the official order of precedence was revised twice after 1994, to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first in April 1996 when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted for the two former non-statutory forces, the Azanian People's Liberation Army and Umkhonto we Sizwe, and again upon the institution of a new set of honours on 27 April 2003, but it remained unchanged on both occasions.[4]
Conferment of the Gallantry Cross, Silver was discontinued when the Republic of Venda ceased to exist on 27 April 1994.[3]