The Cross of St. George, or simply the George's Cross, was, until 1913, officially known as the Sign of Distinction of the Military Order of St. George.
Established in the Russian Empire in 1807, it was granted to non-commissioned officers, soldiers and sailors for their military heroism. In 1856 it was split into four degrees. A person initially received the fourth degree, and would subsequently be promoted to higher degrees for further acts of bravery; one who received all four degrees was called polniy Georgievskiy kavaler (full Cavalier of St. George).
The Cross of St. George was a cross pattée in plain gold or silver (later to be replaced with non-precious metals of similar colours), with a central disc bearing the image of St. George on horseback slaying the dragon. It was worn on the left chest with the ribbon of the Order of St. George, which had three lengthwise black stripes with two orange stripes between them.
The narratives of the early pilgrims, Theodosius, Antoninus, and Arculphus, from the sixth to the eighth century, all speak of Lydda or Diospolis as the seat of the veneration of St. George, and as the resting-place of his remains (Geyer, "Itinera Hierosol.", 139, 176, 288).
George, even though he is not commemorated in the Syrian, or in the primitive Hieronymian Martyrologium, but no faith can be placed in the attempts that have been made to fill up any of the details of his history.
The chapel dedicated to St. George in Windsor Caste was built to be the official sanctuary of the order, and a badge or jewel of St. George slaying the dragon was adopted as part of the insignia.
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