Birth of the Victoria Cross
Britain’s Highest Award for Gallantry
The history and mystery of the world's most famous military medal
Before the Crimean War, Britain had no formal military award for gallantry, although several informal citations existed. At this time, the British military was still an exclusive club where gentleman officers purchased their commissions and advancements had as much to do with politics as with military accomplishments. Common foot-soldiers were considered the bottom rung of society and awards for them seemed unnecessary.
This began to change during the Crimean War. This war saw a greater amount of reporting than any previous war. Through the daily papers, the public began to hear the stories of the hardships and the courage of their common soldiers. In 1854, Ret. Capt. George Treweeke Scobell, MP put forward that an address be made to Queen Victoria to institute a merit-based award open to all ranks serving in the Army and Navy. Scobell's request was forwarded to Prince Albert. A few days later, the Prince wrote back saying that Queen Victoria wanted "a small cross of merit for personal deeds of valour, open to all ranks, unlimited in number."
Just over a year later, an official warrant creating the Victoria Cross was signed. The award would be presented to men who "in the presence of the enemy shall then have performed some signal act of valour or devotion to their country'.
The contract to produce the medal was given to Charles Hancock, whose company remains to this day the only company ever to produce the medal. Although it is not known for certain who designed the medal, the most likely candidate is Henry Armstead. Following the Queen's instructions, he designed a small Maltese Cross showing the royal seal with the motto "for the brave" underneath. This design was sent to the Queen. She wrote back changing the motto to "for valour". Also, she did not like that the medal was made out of copper and stated that it should be made of bronze.
Although it cannot be said for certain, it was probably at this point that the decision was made to use bronze from a Russian cannon that had been captured during the Crimean War. As soon as Victoria agreed to the final prototype, a number of medals were constructed and the first batch was awarded. These early medals were given out without any formal system during the Crimean War. By the time of the next major conflict (the Indian Mutiny) a formal review process had been instituted. In 1905 permission was given for the cross to be awarded posthumously.
By the closing phases of World War I, over one thousand Victoria Crosses had been awarded. At this time, metal from the original cannon ran out. If this seems like a small number of medals to get from one cannon, it must be remembered that a great deal of metal is wasted during the construction process and that as many as 75 percent of the medals were deemed inferior and not used. Without informing the public, the Army began supplying bronze from a pair of Chinese cannons. No one is exactly sure where these cannons originated. It is possible that they too were captured during the Crimean War, having been captured by the Russians from the Chinese in an earlier conflict. It is also possible that the British captured the cannons directly from the Chinese.
During World War II, the public got wind of the fact that metal from the original cannon had been exhausted. This created a momentary panic that the country had run out of captured Crimean War cannons. It was not the case and many such cannons still survive in Britain to this day. This panic resulted in a small group of medals being constructed out of bronze from another, unknown source, but within a few years it was once again being produced from the Chinese cannons. This has continued to be the source of the metal up to the present day.
Over the 150-year history of the Victoria Cross, just over 1,350 have been awarded. This may seem like a lot, but not when you consider the number and scope of the conflicts in which Britain and her Commonwealth Allies (who are also eligible for the medal) have taken part. The largest number of Crosses awarded for any single action was the eleven won by the defenders of Rorke's Drift. Three men have won the Cross twice.
Soldiers are still being considered for Britain's highest military award, and at least one has been won by a soldier serving in Iraq.
Source:
"Truth Behind the Victoria Cross" by John Glanfield, Military Illustrated, Number 213, February 2006.
