Awarded to Admiral Sir Max Kennedy Horton (1883-1951) in 1946. Star: A five-rayed cross with double points, each point tipped with a gold ball. The arms of the cross are enamelled white with red edges. In the centre is a circular plaque enamelled blue with thirteen white stars. The cross rests upon a wreath enamelled green, each of the intervening spaces between the arms being filled with small crossed arrows in gold. The star is worn on the left breast. No sash. In undress uniform Chief Commanders wear the small sized ribbon bar with, in the centre a miniature representation of the cross in gold on a small horizontal gold bar. Button hole badge.

Horton entered the training ship ‘Britannia’ in 1898. A pioneer submariner, he was given command of the submarine ‘A1’ at the age of 22. In 1914 while in command of the submarine ‘E.9’ he sank the German light cruiser ‘Hecla’ and the destroyer ‘S116’ having penetrated the fortified harbour of Heligoland. For this action Horton was awarded the DSO. He was awarded a bar to his DSO in 1917 for services in the Baltic during 1914-15.
In 1920 he commanded a submarine flotilla in the Baltic against the Bolsheviks and was awarded a second bar. In 1922 he was put in command of a flotilla of ‘K’ class boats. He was promoted to Rear-Admiral in 1932 and to Vice-Admiral in 1936. Admiral Horton was in command of the Reserve Fleet 1937-9, which he brought to a state of preparedness by the time the war began. He also contributed to the defeat of the U boats as Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches, a post he held until the end of the war. He was promoted to Admiral in 1941 and created GCB in 1945.