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Victoria Cross for Australia

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Victoria Cross for Australia
File:VictoriaCrossObv.jpg
Obverse of the medal and ribbon. Ribbon: 32mm, crimson.
TypeMilitary decoration
EligibilityAustralian military personnel
StatusCurrently awarded.
Established15 January 1991
Precedence
Next (lower)Star of Gallantry

The Victoria Cross (VC) is a military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the Australia Armed Forces. It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service and civilians under military command, and is presented to the recipient by the Governor-General of Australia during an investiture. As it is the highest award for bravery in Australia it takes precedence over other postnominals and medals.[1]

The original VC was introduced in 1856 by Queen Victoria to reward acts of valour during the Crimean War. The Victoria Cross for Australia was instituted by letters patent in 1991 and as of July 2007, it has never been awarded. The original medal has been awarded 1,356 times to 1,353 individual recipients, ninety-six of whom were Australians. Only 14 of the original medals have been awarded since the end of the Second World War. The medal itself is made from the gunmetal of a weapon supposedly captured at the siege of Sevastopol, but several historians have since questioned the true origin of the gunmetal.[2] Due to its rarity, the VC is highly prized and the medal can reach over £200,000 at auction. As with the awarding of the old medal, the recipient is entitled to an annuity paid by the Government, currently $A3,230 per year.

Origin

Victoria Cross

The original Victoria Cross was created by Royal Warrant by Queen Victoria in 1856. It was created to recognise incidents of gallantry that were unconnected with a man's lengthy or meritorious service. Queen Victoria signed a Royal Warrant on 29 January 1856[3] that officially recognised the VC. The order was backdated to 1854 to recognise acts of valour during the Crimean War.[3]

Both the Australian and New Zealand Victoria Crosses are made from the same gunmetal as the originals.[4] It was originally intended that the VCs would be cast from the bronze cascabels of two cannons that were captured from the Russians at the siege of Sevastopol.[5][6][7] The historian John Glanfield has since proven through the use of X-rays of older Victoria Crosses that the metal used for VCs is in fact from antique Chinese guns and not of Russian origin.[2][6][8] It was also thought that some medals made during the First World War were composed of metal captured from different Chinese guns during the Boxer Rebellion but the original metal was used after the war. It is also believed that another source of metal was used between 1942 and 1945 to create five Second World War VCs when the Sevastopol metal went missing.[2]

The barrels of the cannon in question are stationed outside the Officers' Mess at the Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich. The remaining portion of the only remaining cascabel, weighing 358 oz (10 kg), is stored in a vault maintained by 15 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps at Donnington, Telford. It can only be removed under armed guard. It is estimated that approximately 80 to 85 more VCs could be cast from this source. A single company of jewellers, Hancocks of London, has been responsible for the production of every VC awarded since its inception.[9]

Separate Commonwealth Awards

In the last 20 years several Commonwealth countries have introduced their own honours systems, separate from the British Honours System. Australia, Canada and New Zealand[4] have each introduced their own decorations for gallantry and bravery, replacing British decorations such as the Military Cross with their own awards. Most Commonwealth countries, however, still recognise some form of the VC as their highest decoration for valour.[10]

Australia was the first Commonwealth nation to institue a separate Victoria Cross award in its own honours system. With the issuing of Letters Patent on 15 January 1991 the Victoria Cross for Australia came into being. Although it is a separate award, its appearance is identical to its British counterpart. [11] Canada followed suit when in 1993 Queen Elizabeth signed Letters Patent creating the Canadian VC. The Canadian version has a different inscription as well as being created form a different unspecified metal. The legend has been changed from FOR VALOUR to the Latin PRO VALORE.[12] New Zealand created its own VC in 1999 identical to the Australian and British VCs[4] and this has been awarded once, on 2 July 2007.

Appearance

File:Victoria Cross Medal Ribbon & Bar.jpg
Victoria Cross medal, ribbon, and bar.

The Victoria Cross for Australia is identical to the original design. The decoration is a cross pattée, 41 mm high, 36 mm wide, bearing a crown surmounted by a lion, and the inscription FOR VALOUR.[13] This was originally to have been FOR BRAVERY, until it was changed on the recommendation of Queen Victoria, who thought some might erroneously consider that only the recipients of the VC were brave in battle.[6] The decoration, suspension bar and link weigh about 0.87 troy ounces (27 g).[14]

The cross is suspended by a ring from a seriffed "V" to a bar ornamented with laurel leaves, through which the ribbon passes. The reverse of the suspension bar is engraved with the recipient's name, rank, number and unit.[15] On the reverse of the medal is a circular panel on which the date of the act for which it was awarded is engraved in the centre.[15] The ribbon is crimson, 38 mm (1.5 inches) wide. Although the warrants state the colour as being red it is defined by most commentators as being crimson or "wine-red".[16]

Awarding the Medal

The Victoria Cross for Australia is awarded for

"... most conspicuous gallantry, or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy or belligerents."[1]

The original Victoria Cross was awarded to 96 Australians. Ninety received the Victoria Cross while serving with Australian units and six received the award while serving with other units. These awards were for action in six separate conflicts with 64 being awarded for action in the First World War. As of 2 July 2007, the Victoria Cross for Australia has not been awarded. When the award is gained, it will be awarded by the Governor-General with the approval of the Sovereign. As with the Victoria Cross any recommendations will pass through the military hierachy to the Minister for Defence.[1]

The Australian Government would give a Victoria Cross Allowance to any service person awarded the medal and it currently provides the two surviving Australian recipients with this allowance under Subsection 103.4 of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.[17] In January 2006 the amount was $A3,230 per year which is indexed annually in line with Australian Consumer Price Index increases.[18][19]

The medal itself is inherently valuable as was highlighted on 24 July, 2006, when at the auctionhouse Bonhams in Sydney the VC awarded to Captain Alfred Shout fetched a world record hammer price of AU$1 million. Captain Alfred Shout was awarded the VC posthumously in 1915 for hand-to-hand combat at the Lone Pine trenches in Gallipoli Turkey. The buyer (Kerry Stokes) has indicated that it will be displayed at the Australian War Memorial with the eight other VCs awarded to Australians at Gallipoli.[20] The Australian War Memorial in Canberra currently holds 61 VCs awarded to Australians and this is the largest public collection in the world.[21]

Similar decorations

Within the Commonwealth

Outside the Commonwealth

The following countries have high military awards similar to the Victoria Cross:

The following obsolete military decorations were the highest in their country at the time:

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d "VC for Australia" (PDF). Australian Government. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  2. ^ a b c Davies, Catronia (2005-12-28). "Author explodes myth of the gunmetal VC". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
  3. ^ a b Ashcroft, Michael, p.7-10
  4. ^ a b c "New Zealand Honours". Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
  5. ^ Beharry p.359
  6. ^ a b c "150 years of the Victoria Cross". Royal Naval Museum. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  7. ^ "Hancocks of London History of VC". Hancocks of London. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
  8. ^ "Hancocks of London history of VC". Hancocks of London. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
  9. ^ "Hancocks Jewellers". Hancocks of London. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
  10. ^ "Order of Precedence for Commonwealth Orders and Decorations". London Gazette. Retrieved 2007-06-30.
  11. ^ "The Victoria Cross for Australia". The Government of Australia. Retrieved 2007-06-30.
  12. ^ CTV.ca (2007-03-03). "Top military honour now cast in Canada". CTV news. Retrieved 2007-06-24. {{cite news}}: Text "first News staff" ignored (help)
  13. ^ Original Warrant, Clause 1: Firstly. It is ordained that the distinction shall be styled and designated "The Victoria Cross", and shall consist of a Maltese cross of bronze, with our Royal crest in the centre, and underneath with an escroll bearing the inscription "For Valour".
  14. ^ Ashcroft, Michael, p.16
  15. ^ a b "The Victoria Cross". Vietnam Veterans Of Australia. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
  16. ^ "The Victoria Cross". Imperial War Museum Exhibits and Firearms Collections. Retrieved 2006-09-30.
  17. ^ "Veteran's Entitlement Act 1986". Australasian Legal Information Institue. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
  18. ^ Australian Veteran's Entitlement Act 1986, Clause 103, Victoria Cross allowance granted to a veteran under this section is payable at the rate of $A3,230 per year. The amount fixed by this subsection is indexed annually in line with CPI increases., (accessdate=2007-06-30)}}
  19. ^ "Veteran's Entitlement Act 1986, Clause 198a,". Australasian Legal Information Institue. Retrieved 2007-06-30.
  20. ^ "Gallipoli VC medal sets auction record". The Age. 2006-07-24. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
  21. ^ Australian War Memorial "List of Australian Victoria Cross". Australian War memorial. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  22. ^ "The world's most exclusive club". Ministry of Defence. 2007-04-30. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
  23. ^ "Japanese Order of the Kite". Naval History.net. Retrieved 2007-06-30.

References

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