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The VC was instituted by Royal Warrant in 1856 but was made retrospective to the Autumn of 1854 to cover the period of the Crimean War. There have been several amending warrants since then.
The Victoria Cross has been bestowed 1354 times since 1854.
It can only be bestowed for actions "in the presence of the enemy" (although from 1858 to 1881 an amendment allowed for awards "under circumstances of extreme danger". Six awards were made under these conditions).
The first presentation was made in Hyde Park on 26 Jun 1857 where Queen Victoria decorated 62 officers and men for actions during the Crimean War.
Each VC is still made by the same London jewelers, Messrs Hancocks [now HANCOCKS & CO. (JEWELLERS) LTD - Established 1849, 1 Burlington Gardens, London W1X 2HP, U.K. Tel: (44) 20 7493 8904, Fax: (44) 20 7493 8905] from the bronze of Chinese cannons captured from the Russians at the siege of Sebastopol. However, the VC to GORLE was flouroscoped by the Tower of London and found to be fairly common Bronze which was was apparently the case for some crosses in WWI. From the RCL Corps Gazette October 1997 (page 358):
The Victoria Cross Cascabel
A little, known fact, even to many "experts" is that the metal used to forge every Victoria Cross is tended by 15 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps in Donnington. The VC metal rarely sees the light of day as it is secured in special vaults and is removed only under exceptional circumstances; however, on 28 May, this item of national history was transported to the Imperial War Museum in London for the royal opening of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Exhibition.
Weighing 358 ounces and looking somewhat like a lump of cheese, the VC metal is unique among BOD Donnington's 700,000 item headings of Army stores. It is all that remains of the bronze cascabels from two Russian cannon captured at Sebastopol, the last great battle of the Crimean War in 1854-55. The cascabel, a large knob at the rear of the cannon, held ropes which were used when the artillery piece was being man-handled. The two cannon, minus cascabels, stand proudly outside the Officers Mess in Woolwich.
The most recent issue of metal, exactly fifty ounces and sufficient to make twelve medals, occurred on 23 October 1959, to Messrs Hancocks & Co (Jewellers) Ltd, the royal jewellers who have been responsible for individually making each medal since the inception of the VC in 1857. Given that fifty ounces are required to make twelve Victoria Cross medals, the remaining 358 ounces contain enough for a further eighty five. (Submitted by Thomas N Mouat)
There is now a requirement for at least three witnesses, who must make sworn written statements as to the exact circumstances of the action involved.
Incredibly, it was not until 1920 that an official amendment was made allowing the VC to be awarded posthumously. Although when first instituted the original warrant made no mention to posthumous awards it had been decided from the very beginning that the VC would not be given for an act in which the potential recipient was killed, or where he died shortly after. In these circumstances an announcement was made in the London Gazette that had the person survived they would have been recommended for the VC and there were six instances of this between 1859 and 1897 although there would surely have been more put forward if there was a chance of receiving the VC. However, in 1900 the VC was awarded to F. Roberts although he died just over 24 hours after the act, and then two years later a further six were awarded. Finally, in 1907 the six instances between 1859 and 1897 were retrospectively awarded.
Until 1977 it was the only British decoration (apart from a Mention in Despatches) that could be awarded posthumously.
It is not just a British award, but also a Commonwealth one; it was extended to members of the Colonial Forces in New Zealand and other parts of the Empire in 1867 and to the officers and men of the Indian Army in 1911.
There is no barrier of colour, creed, sex or rank (unlike many military decorations which have different types for officers and other ranks).
It has been estimated that the chance of surviving a Victoria Cross act is 1 in 10.
The largest number of VCs won in a single day was 24 at the second relief of Lucknow on 16 Nov 1857 during the Indian Mutiny.
The largest number of VCs won in a single action was 11 at Rorke's Drift on 22 Jan 1879 during the Zulu War.
Fourteen men not born British or Commonwealth citizens have received the VC; five Americans , one Belgian, three Danes, two Germans, one Swede, a Swiss and a Ukrainian.
The term "gazetted" applies to the publishing of an individual's award in the London Gazette.
The ribbon was originally red for the Army and blue for the Royal Navy but when the Royal Air Force was formed in 1918 it was changed to red for all the services.
The VC can be bestowed by ballot, when the act of gallantry has been performed by a body of men (forty-six have been awarded).
The top units for awardees are the Royal Artillery with 51, the Royal Engineers with 41, and then the Royal Army Medical Corps and the Rifle Brigade with 27 each.
Where a recipient was serving, on attachment to another unit at the time of winning the VC, or subsequently transferred to another unit, the award will sometimes be 'claimed' by both the recipient's original unit and also by the one to which he was attached or transferred. For this reason, no list of this type should be regarded as definitive.
Since 1916 miniature VCs have been worn instead of the full-sized medals with evening dress or mess dress.
The Victoria Cross is still awarded only by Royal assent and is presented by the monarch.
On the front of the VC reads the inscription "For Valour", and the hand engraved details of the recipient on the back (name, rank, number, unit and the date of the action).
Since 1945 the VC has been awarded only 11 times (the last two occasions being in the Falklands War in 1982).
When the VC was first instituted a special pension of 10 pounds per annum was made payable to all non-commissioned ranks. In July 1898 it was decided this amount might be increased in times of need, at discretion, to 50 pounds then later to 75 pounds. It was not until 1959 that the pension was allowed irrespective of rank and increased to 100 pounds. In 1995 it was increased to 1,300 pounds and at that time there were 33 recipients still alive.
Canada instituted its own Honours and Awards some time ago and the VC remained the highest award. However, the motto FOR VALOR was changed to the latin PRO VALORE although the Canadian Victoria Cross still needs full royal assent from the Queen to be awarded. No new Canadian VCs have yet been awarded.
The Victoria Cross for Australia was established on 15 Jan 1991 as the highest Australian operational gallantry award. It supersedes the Victoria Cross instituted by Queen Victoria in 1856 but is physically identical and carries the same award criteria. No awards have yet been gazetted.
In 1856 the Victoria Cross was the only way to reward acts of battlefield bravery whilst this century has seen the introduction of a wide range of lesser awards (in terms of the VC) for meritorious service or gallantry (the Distinguished Service Order DSO and Military Cross MC for officers and the Distinguished Conduct Medal DCM and the Military Medal MM for other ranks). These have been awarded for deeds which earlier might have merited a VC.
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.
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