For Valour

The Victoria Cross is the highest award made to our Armed Forces.

1857

Queen Victoria 1837-1901

Introduction

The Victoria Cross was instituted by Queen Victoria in 1856, and was first awarded in 1857. It rewards members of the Armed Forces for showing exceptional bravery in the face of the enemy.

ON January the 29th, 1856, the Victoria Cross (commonly called the VC) was formally established by Queen Victoria. The VC is the highest honour available to the armed forces.

It is given only in exceptional circumstances: ‘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.’

On the Cross are two words, chosen by the Queen herself: ‘For Valour’.

‘Neither rank, nor long service’ said the Queen, ‘nor wounds, nor any other circumstance or condition whatsoever, save the merit of conspicuous bravery.’

Just after the end of the Crimean War against Russia, Queen Victoria, before some 116,000 people at Hyde Park on Friday the 26th of June, 1857, personally invested 62 Officers and men with the medal.

The Victoria Cross is still personally awarded by the Monarch, in an investiture held at Buckingham Palace.

Précis
In 1857, Queen Victoria made the first presentations of the Victoria Cross, instituted the previous year, at a public ceremony in Hyde park. The medal, the highest award available to military personnel, is given exclusively for conspicuous bravery in the face of the enemy, and may be conferred regardless of rank or experience.
Sevens

Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.

On what criteria is the Victoria Cross awarded?

Suggestion

Courage in the face of the enemy.

Jigsaws

Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.

The Victoria Cross is exclusively for military personnel. The George Cross is also available to civilians.

Read Next

The Glory of Athens

Classical Greece has been an inspiration to every generation because she stands for the triumph of liberty and reason over prejudice and power.

The Caucus Race

Alice experiences for herself the very definition of a pointless exercise.

The Cradle of Our Race

Edmund Burke warned that the French Revolution could have a devastating effect on British and European culture.