Up until the Crimean War, there was no way of rewarding the ordinary soldier for acts of heroism. Officers could receive the "Order of the Bath", and enlisted men may have received a Brevet
promotion, scope for both though was limited. The Crimean War saw the first press coverage of a war, and it soon became apparent acts of gallantry were not being recognised. Other countries had awards recognising their soldiers independent of rank, the French for example had the "Legion d’honneur".
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| Victoria Cross - Public Domain |
Victoria and her husband appear to have been very involved in the inception of the medal. The original idea for the name was the "Military Order of Victoria"; Prince Albert though had this amended to the Victoria Cross. Victoria also insisted that she should make the presentations. Thus the first medals were awarded at a ceremony in Hyde Park on the 26th June 1857. Victoria personally handing out sixty-two medals to recipients from the Crimean War.
The London firm of Hancocks has been responsible for all Crosses produced. Originally all of the VCs were to be made from the bronze of captured Russian cannons from the siege of Sebastapol. Examination of VCs though shows that some have been made from Chinese metal, but whether this is because of Russian use of Chinese cannons or whether there were the remnants of cannons captured in the Boxer Rebellion is unknown.
Current VCs are produced from the barrel of a cannon held in a vault at the Royal Logistic Corps in Telford. When ever it is moved it is always under armed guard.
The cross is a "cross pattee", often described as a Maltese Cross, and stands at 41mm high and 36 mm across. The original design was chosen by Queen Victoria, and is said to have been based on the Army Gold Cross from the Napoleonic Wars. The front of the medal has raised edgings and contains a crown guarded by a lion. Below this emblem is a scroll bearing the words "For Valour", this had been altered by Victoria from "For Bravery". The reverse of the medal also has raised edges, and is engraved with the date of the act for which the award is given.
The cross is suspended from a bar by a ribbon. Originally there were two different coloured ribbons, red for the army and blue for naval recipients, with the formation of the RAF though a universal crimson ribbon was brought in. The bar itself is engraved on the reverse with the recipient’s name, rank and unit.
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| Guy Gibson's Medals - Pandaplodder - released into PD |
There have been rule changes throughout the last one hundred years. Originally all recipients had to be alive, although this rule was overlooked during the Boer War and First World War. This rule was only changed in 1920. There is also a ballot clause. In the event that a company of men, such as a ship’s crew is deserving of the award, a ballot is held to pick one recipient. This rule though has not been needed since 1918.
Originally the award was for British troops, this was extended to colonial troops in 1867. It was though only given to colonial troops under the command of British troops. As time progressed though this rule was extended to colonial troops, even if there was no British government or military involvement. This culminated with the award of four medals to Australian troops in Vietnam, even though Britain was not involved in the war.
The wording of the award has also been altered over time. Up until 1881 a medal could be awarded for facing extreme danger, the rules then were changed to be awarded for facing the enemy. Eventually the George Cross was brought in to reward those for valour without facing the enemy, with the GC becoming the joint highest reward.
In the 150 year history of the VC there was only been 1352 recipients. It would be impossible to record all of the exploits that these individuals have undertaken to receive their awards. Each case is as remarkable as the next. I will though mention the three individuals who have received two VCs.
Arthur Martin-Leake (1874-1953) won a VC in the Boer War, where he was a surgeon, and attended the wounded whilst under heavy enemy fire. His second award came during the First World War, where he rescued wounded soldiers whilst under fire.
Noel Chavasse (1884-1917) was also a medic. Both of his awards came during the First World War, in 1916 at Guillemont, he rescued twenty wounded men whilst under fire. The following year tended the wounded despite being seriously wounded himself, wounds he would later die from.
The final recipient was also the only combatant to receive two VCs. Charles Upham (1908-1994), a New Zealander, received his first in 1941 in Crete for close-quarter fighting and rescuing a wounded man. The second came in 1942 whilst in Egypt and despite being wounded he took an enemy position and rescued a number of his wounded men.
There is any number of facts that could be rolled out about the awarding of the Victoria Cross. The largest number of VCs awarded in one action is to the defenders of Rorke’s Drift, as immortalised in the film Zulu, where eleven VCs were awarded. The end of the film records those individual honours.
The most VCs awarded in one day came about in the early days of the Victoria Cross’s existence. On the 16th November 1857, during the Indian Rebellion and the relief of Lucknow, twenty-four VCs were handed out.
The most Crosses handed out in any conflict were the six hundred and thirty-four, during the First World War. There are many other random facts; there are only eleven living holder; no women have received one; four pairs of siblings have had them; and three fathers and sons have been recipients.
Since the end of the Second World War only thirteen VCs have been awarded by Queen Elizabeth II. The most recent ones have been a single one in the 2004 Iraq war, and a posthumous award to Corporal Budd in Afghanistan. In addition there were four awarded in the Korean War; one in Malaysia, four to Australians in the Vietnam War and two in the Falklands conflict.
Today it is impossible for a VC winner to have their award taken from them. King George V altered the law to ensure that even if committed of murder the man was still entitled to the wearing of his award. The change in law also meant that eight men who had forfeited their award were recognised once again. By the time of George V most had already passed away, with their offences being mostly for petty theft.
Canada, Australia and New Zealand have all instigated their own version of the VC since 1991; Victoria Cross (Canada), Victoria Cross of Australia and the Victoria Cross of New Zealand. New Zealand and Australia use the metal from the Crimean War cannons, although Canada are using some other source. As of today only one New Zealand medal has been awarded, Bill Apiata received his medal in 2007 for his actions in Afghanistan.
There are some small benefits for a serviceman winning the VC, an annual annuity of GBP1,495 is paid by the government. Other equivalent amounts are paid by Commonwealth governments to their service personnel. Also a tradition is that any service person will salute the holder of the VC. This results in the Chief of Staff saluting a private, even though there is no rule that this must be done
Personally I would love to have a Victoria Cross although I know I am never going to earn it. They can be brought, which in many ways is a shame in itself. The fact that individuals or families need to sell their Victoria Cross to gain some financial security makes you wonder if the annuity is enough. Then again if I had the money I would buy one. They are not cheap to buy, one of the most recent on the open market was sold for AU$1million. This was the 2006 sale of Captain Alfred Shout 1915 posthumous award. Kerry Stokes who brought the medal is to loan is for display at the Australian War Memorial.
Most people will only be able to view a VC at one of the collections that display them. The public can view forty VCs at the Imperial War Museum in London, or the sixty-one held at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. There are also private collections, the largest of which is held by Lord Ashcroft who has in excess of one hundred and forty VCs.
I am not going to criticise any individual having a private collection, and especially not Lord Ashcroft. It was Lord Ashcroft who put up most of the NZ$300,000 reward for the successful return of 9 Victoria Crosses stolen from the QEII Army Memorial Museum in Waiouru, New Zealand.
Theft of such a sought after item is not unheard of, and whilst the New Zealand medals were returned there are still several circulating on the black market following thefts around the world.
The winner of the VC deserves all the recognition they get. Yes they receive a small financial reward, but they should be recognised for their acts of valour that mean they have done something extraordinary in the face of extreme danger.
Copyright - First Published 27th March 2008
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