5 Liri George Cross Award

The George Cross was awarded to Malta collectively by King George VI on 15 April 1942, at the height of the Axis siege that had reduced the island's civilian population to near-starvation and destroyed much of Valletta. It remains the only occasion the decoration was awarded to an entire territory rather than an individual. Malta incorporated the cross into its national flag and coat of arms upon independence in 1964, making this one of the few sovereign nations whose highest national symbol is a foreign military decoration.