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The Victoria Cross

"It is ordained that the Cross shall only be awarded for most conspicuous bravery, or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy."

The Victoria Cross is the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. The metal for the Victoria Cross is taken mainly from guns captured from the Russians in the Crimean War. The components of the decoration are then treated chemically to obtain the uniform dark brown finish which is darker on some issues than on others.

Originally the ribbon was dark blue for the Royal Navy and crimson for the Army. Shortly before the Royal Air Force was formed on 1st April 1918 the King approved the recommendation that what had been the Army ribbon should be adopted by all recipients. The reverse of the medal is engraved with details of the recipient along with the date on which the act of gallantry was performed. The suspender bar is also engraved with rank, name and regiment, or other description of the recipient. Occasionally the recipient's full (or abbreviated) first names appear.

A few instances of what the 1354 recipients of the VC did to earn it

On 23 August 1914 at Mons, Belgium, Nimy Bridge was being defended by a single company of Royal Fusiliers and a machine-gun section with Lieutenant Dease in command. The gun fire was intense, and the casualties very heavy, but the lieutenant went on firing in spite of his wounds, until he was hit for the fifth time and was carried away to a place of safety where he died. A private S.F. Godley of the same battalion who had been assisting the lieutenant while he was still able to operate the guns, took over, and alone he used the gun. Private Godley held the enemy from the bridge single-handed for two hours under very heavy fire and was wounded twice. His gallant action covered the retreat of his comrades, but he was eventually taken prisoner. His final act was to destroy the gun and throw the pieces into the canal. Both the Lieutenant and the Private earned the V.C. with the Private becoming the first Private to be awarded the VC in the First World War.

On 24 July 1918 at Rossignol Wood, north of Hebuterne, France, it was necessary to destroy an impassable wire block and Sergeant Travis volunteered for this duty. In broad daylight and in close proximity to enemy posts he crawled out, successfully bombing the block and the attacking parties were able to pass through. A little later when a bombing party was held up by machine-guns Sergeant Travis rushed the position, capturing the guns and killing the crew and also an officer and three men who attacked him, thus enabling the bombing party to advance. He was killed the next day while going from post to post encouraging his men.

On 20 March 1917 in Egypt, during an aerial bomb attack, a pilot was forced to land behind enemy lines, with hostile cavalry approaching. Lieutenant McNamara, seeing the situation, came down through heavy fire to the rescue, despite the fact that he himself was wounded. He landed about 200 yards from the damaged plane, and the pilot climbed into his machine, but owing to his injury he could not keep it straight and it turned over. The two officers extricated themselves, set fire to the machine and made their way to the damaged one, which they succeeded in starting. Finally, Lieutenant McNamara, although weak from loss of blood, flew the machine back to the aerodrome (70 miles away).

Three people have earned two V.C's here's their story...

First V.C.
Between 22 and 30 May 1941 in Crete, Greece, Second Lieutenant Upham displayed outstanding leadership and courage in the very close-quarter fighting. He was blown up by one mortar shell and badly wounded by another. He was also wounded in the foot, but in spite of his wounds and a severe attack of dysentery, he refused to go to hospital. He carried a wounded man back to safety when his company was forced to retire on 22 May and on 30 May he beat off an attack at Sphakia, 22 Germans falling to his short-range fire.
Second V.C.
On 14/15 July 1942 at El Ruweisat Ridge, Western Desert, Captain Upham, in spite of being twice wounded, insisted on remaining with his men. Just before dawn he led his company in a determined attack, capturing the objective after fierce fighting; he himself destroyed a German tank and several guns and vehicles with hand grenades. Although his arm had been broken by a machine-gun bullet, he continued to dominate the situation and when at last, weak from loss of blood, he had his wounds dressed, he immediately returned to his men, remaining with them until he was again severely wounded and unable to move.

First V.C.
On 9 August 1916, at Guillemont, France, Captain Chavasse attended to the wounded all day under heavy fire, frequently in view of the enemy, and during the night he continued searching for wounded in front of the enemy's lines. Next day, under heavy shell fire he and a stretcher bearer carried an urgent case 500 yards to safety, being wounded himself during the journey. The same night, with 20 volunteers, he rescued three wounded men from a shell-hole 36 yards from enemy trenches, buried the bodies of two officers and collected many identity discs. Altogether he saved the lives of some 20 wounded men.
Second V.C.
During the period 31 July to 2 August 1917, at Wieltje, Belgium, Captain Chavasse although severely wounded early in the action while carrying a wounded officer to the dressing station, refused to leave his post and in addition to his normal duties, went out repeatedly under heavy fire to attend the wounded. During this time, although practically without food, worn with fatigue and faint from his wound, he helped to carry in badly wounded men, being instrumental in saving many who would otherwise have died under the bad weather conditions. Captain Chavasse subsequently died of his wounds.

First V.C.
On 8 February 1902, at Vlakfontein, South Africa, Surgeon Captain Martin-Leake went out into the firing line to dress a wounded man under very heavy enemy fire only 100 yards off. He then attended a badly wounded officer and while doing so was shot himself. He only gave up when thoroughly exhausted and then refused water until other wounded men had been served.
Second V.C.
During the period 29 October to 8 November 1914 near Zonnebeke, Belgium, Lieutenant Martin-Leake showed most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty in rescuing, whilst exposed to constant fire, a large number of the wounded who were lying dose to the enemy's trenches.

If you would like to find out details of every one of the recipients of the V.C. then get yourself across to http://www.chapter-one.com/vc/name.asp for the lot detailed in alphabetical order.

Here are some more unusual facts about the V.C.

It was actually possible to have a V.C. taken off you if it was so deemed. This involved the person's name being erased from the official Register and their pension cancelled. There are eight cases where this has happened. King George V was very much against the possibility that anyone could lose thier V.C. and he was once quoted in a letter as saying 'Even if a VC bearer be sentenced to hang for murder, he should be allowed to wear his VC on the scaffold'. The eight men who forfeited theirs were :

Midshipman Edward Daniel, Crimean War
Convicted of desertion / evading court martial.

Sergeant James McGuire,Indian Mutiny
Convicted of theft of a cow.

Private Valentine Bambrick, Indian Mutiny
Convicted of assault and theft of a comrade's medals.

Private Michael Murphy, Indian Mutiny
Convicted of theft of 10 bushels of oats.

Private Thomas Lane, China
Convicted of desertion on active service & theft of a horse, arms and accoutrements.

Private Frederick Corbett, Egypt & Sudan
Convicted of embezzlement & theft from an officer.

Gunner James Collis, Afghan War
Convicted of bigamy.

Private George Ravenhill, Boer War
Convicted of theft of iron.

The youngest winner of the V.C. was just 15 years old (actually there are two 15 yr old winners)!

The oldest winner of the V.C. was 61 years old.

There has been three cases of father and son awards and four cases of brothers awarded.

There has yet to be a V.C. awarded to a woman.

It is worth remembering that many servicemen who merited the Victoria Cross never received it because their actions went unnoticed, or the witnesses were killed, or whose self-sacrifice resulted in a lonely death in an unmarked grave. This is true no matter what the nationality of the person and is the reason why the tomb of a nation's unknown warrior usually has the highest gallantry decoration bestowed upon it.

Heroism Ongoing After D-Day</H1

Saturday, June 12, 2004

Source: Ministry of Defence

Six days after the heroism of D-Day, extraordinary acts were still being performed on a daily basis.

Only six days after the first troops came ashore in Normandy, the Mulberry harbours at Arromanches and St Laurent were declared operational. The Dieppe Raid in 1942 had shown the difficulty of seizing a port in a direct amphibious assault, and the Germans had been confident that the Allies would be unable to receive adequate supplies across the beaches they had taken on D-Day. However, numerous huge concrete caissons had been constructed in British dockyards to be towed across the Channel and sunk to form two prefabricated harbours, each the size of Dover. Floating trackways were installed, capable of allowing fully loaded trucks to be driven straight off transport ships to the shore.<o:p></o:p>

Bomber Command continued to support the land campaign with 671 aircraft, whilst another 303 bombers went after a synthetic oil plant at Gelsenkirchen as the Allies launched a concerted effort to cripple German fuel supplies. A Canadian Lancaster of 419 Squadron RCAF was caught by a German night fighter near Cambrai and set on fire. As the crew baled out, Pilot Officer Mynarski, the mid-upper gunner, realised that the rear gunner was trapped in his turret, and went to his aid. Mynarski ignored the flames around him as he struggled in vain to free the man, the aircraft all the time descending out of control. The rear gunner waved him away to save himself, but by then Mynarski's clothes and parachute were on fire. He jumped, and was found by French civilians, but died of his injuries soon after. By a miracle, the rear gunner survived the crash when the Lancaster came down, and was able to report Mynarski's heroism - he was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.<o:p></o:p>

In Burma, Japanese tanks attacked a company of the 7th Gurkha Rifles. Rifleman Ganju Lama went forward alone with a PIAT anti-tank launcher, and successfully stalked two of the vehicles, despite suffering wounds to both hands and a broken wrist, knocking them out at point-blank range, then wiping out the crews as they attempted to escape. He received the Victoria Cross.<o:p></o:p>

Young soldier in line for Iraq Victoria Cross

By Robert Fox

13 June 2004

A 19-year-old soldier is to be recommended for the Victoria Cross, Britain's highest gallantry decoration, after driving his blazing vehicle through an ambush, saving the lives of its injured commander and crew in southern Iraq last month.

During the battle that lasted several hours, men of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders carried out the first bayonet charge by British troops since the Falklands conflict 22 years ago.

The young soldier is believed to be from the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, whose units have been supporting the Argylls around Amara in southern Iraq.

On 15 May, a patrol of vehicles was setting out to resupply one of the British outposts south of Amara when it was attacked on three sides by the Army of the Mehdi, the militia loyal to the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

"It was a very well prepared ambush. In all there were at least 160 militia men involved," said a military source close to the regiment yesterday. As the British convoy came under attack, a rapid reaction force supplied by the Princess of Wales Regiment was mobilised and rushed to the area.

The vehicles were then attacked from a second position where a roadblock had been set up to trap any British troops trying to make a getaway from the first ambush position. According to reports from the ground the young driver decided to crash the roadblock though his vehicle, believed to be a personnel carrier, was ablaze and its commander and crew were injured.

Though still being hit by machine-gun and rocket-propelled grenades, the driver succeeded in crashing through the barrier and led the way for the rest of the convoy to get to safety. He then unloaded the wounded and made sure they were tended by medical orderlies before remounting his burning vehicle and driving it to where it could cause little harm if the fuel and ammunition still aboard blew up. He drew a fire extinguisher to tackle the blaze before he was taken away to have his own wounds treated.

When a platoon of Argylls still trapped in the first ambush position ran out of ammunition, they then carried out a bayonet charge to clear their positions.

No Victoria Crosses have been awarded since those won by Staff Sergeant Ian MacKay and Lt-Col Herbert Jones in the Falklands in 1982.

According to sources in Iraq the young driver's performance fulfils all the criteria.The name of the young soldier is being withheld by the Army.

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Printable Story

Theft of military medals from Waiouru

Monday, 3 December 2007, 9:06 am
Press Release: New Zealand Government

Theft of military medals from Waiouru

---------------------------------

Defence Minister Phil Goff has described the theft of military medals including nine Victoria Crosses and two George Cross medals as a crime against the nation.

The medals were stolen from the Army Museum in Waiouru at around 1am today.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0712/S00009.htm

Stolen military medals recovered

Stuff.co.nz | Saturday, 16 February 2008

Supplied

RETURNED: Some of the military medals that had been stolen from Waiouru Army Museum.

A Humble Hero - CPL Willie Apiata VC

Corporal Willie Apiata -

“I was doing what I am trained for�?/H3>
It was just after 3am when the blast of the enemy rocket propelled grenades and machines gun fire ripped into the inky darkness of an Afghanistan hillside.

With his upper right arm shredded by shrapnel, and bleeding profusely, the young SAS soldier lapsed in and out of consciousness. He and his mates, including Willie Apiata, were caught in crossfire in the undulating starkness of the surrounding countryside.

http://www.army.mil.nz/at-a-glance/news/army-news/378/ahh.htm

Excellent posts and very informative...not a bad looking medal either.

Victoria Cross is the oldest and most famous medal in the world.

I heard rumours that it will be discontinued i hope this isn't true.

I've not heard that, I doubt it very much.

I have and also hopefully agree it will stay as a rumour.

Do you know what will happen when the metal for the VC runs out; there's not much left of the cannon used for the VC medals.

YOU CAN MAKE AN AWFUL LOT OF MEDALS OUT OF ONE CANNON.

THINK OF THE SIZE OF A CANNON AND THEN A MEDAL. 1354 REALLY ISN'T THAT MANY AND THE 1354 IS SPREAD OUT AND AWARDED TO MEMBERS OF AT LEAST 5 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES AND AT LEAST 10 DIFFERENT WARS OR CONFICTS.

The answer according to Google. NB Mark worked at Donnington

The bronze for the Victoria Cross came from a captured Chinese-made cannon used by the Russians at Sebastopol during the Crimean War. What is left of the metal is kept at the army base DSDC Donnington, in Telford, Shropshire. Today, there is only enough metal left for 80 more medals. The London jewellers Hancocks, based in the Burlington Arcade in London, make the medals. The bronze has always been unstable to work with as it

has already been worked on when the cannon was made. Hancock’s have seven medals in storage but without the name and rank of the recipient and date on the back, they have no intrinsic value except their novelty. In World

War Two, Hancock’s charged the armed forces the equivalent of £1.50 for a

medal that today can fetch £200,000 at auction.

#10

"YOU CAN MAKE AN AWFUL LOT OF MEDALS OUT OF ONE CANNON".

Not the Canadian handbag portable ones

Ref # 11. I've never actually worked at Donnington, but for a year, 2006-07, it was our Command HQ and I went over there a few times.

They used to come and drink at the Boat House pub in Shrewsbury. You been there? Quick Southerley walk from Copthorne Bks. On the River

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The History Page	[email protected]

Heroism Ongoing After D-Day</H1 Saturday, June 12, 2004 Source: Ministry of Defence

Young soldier in line for Iraq Victoria Cross

By Robert Fox

Theft of military medals from Waiouru

Stolen military medals recovered

A Humble Hero - CPL Willie Apiata VC

Corporal Willie Apiata -

Heroism Ongoing After D-Day</H1

Saturday, June 12, 2004

Source: Ministry of Defence