The Victoria Cross - 'For Valour'

The ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have brought the Victoria Cross back into the headlines again. Its been a while. The highest honour available to British military personnel has not been awarded for a quarter of a century. After this hiatus however the medal has now been issued twice in the past two years to PrivateJohnson Baharry for his actions in Iraq and posthumously to Corporal Bryan Budd for deeds undertaken in Afghanistan. Its rarity makes the Victoria Cross an unusual honour. In fact, only 14 recipients are still living. And it has a rather unusual history too.

One for the ranks

Gallantry transcends rank, class and other divisions. It is a trait of the individual not a feature of their position in life. However, until the creation of the Victoria Cross in 1856, the bravery of soldiers in the ranks, unlike the officers with whom they served,often went unrewarded. Queen Victoria acknowledged this and created a Royal Warrant for a new honour - the Victoria Cross - to 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'.

A modest medal

For such a high honour, the Victoria Cross is remarkably dull in its appearance. This is because its cast from gunmetal. Indeed, the original batches of the Victoria Cross were made from the cascabels (the knob at the rear of a canon) of two canon captured from the Russians at Sebastopol in the Crimea. This gunmetal is now kept under guard by the Royal Logistic Corps in Donnington. Although rarely seen, it is saidto weighjust 358 ounces and look ratherlike a lump of cheese. Very occasionally, a small amount is issued to thejewelers Hancocks and Co. in London who have made all of the Victoria Cross medals since their original inception.

Although from the same batch of gunmetal, each medal is as unique as the act for which it was received. On the front of all Victoria Cross medals is the inscription 'For Valour'. On the rear the name, rank and regiment of the recipient is engraved along with the date of the act for which the medal was awarded.

And more than just a medal

The Victoria Cross is special not only because of its rarity. It is also a uniquely democratic medal.

In the early days of the Victoria Cross, any recommendation for award had to be made by a superior officer. Over time this stipulation changed and now military personnel can be put forward for the award by their peers provided that there are three witnesses to the act of bravery.

Like other awards, a bar can also be added to the Victoria Cross if it is to be awarded for multiple actions. This however is extremely rare - only three bars have ever been awarded to a Victoria Cross.

Alongside the medal itself, recipients are also awarded a special pension. Originally this was 10 per annum andwasprovided only to non-commissioned ranks.From 1959 the pension was awarded to all ranks and raised to 100. In 2002, the amount was raised to 1,495. Not a huge drain on military budgets as in 2005 there were only fourteen of the original 1356 Victoria Cross holders alive.

The Ashcroft collection

Of all British military awards, the Victoria Cross is perhaps the most fascinating because of the extreme acts for which it is awarded. These actions are truly inspiring and put life's smaller challenges in perspective.

Two books on the medal are excellent page turners and without an ounce of fiction. In Barefoot SoldierJohnson Beharry shares his individual story - a journey from a life of poverty in Grenada to glory in the British Army. Symbol of Courageby Max Arthur takes a broader perspective providinga complete listing of every Victoria Cross holder alongside details of the act which won them the award. Arthur also recounts some interesting facts about the Victoria Cross. Did you know that...

• Fourteen men not born in Britain or the Commonwealth have received the Victoria Cross - five Americans, three Danes, two Germans, one Belgian, one Swiss, one Swede and one Ukrainian
• The highest number of Victoria Cross awarded in a single action was twenty four for individuals involved in the defence of Rorke's Drift during the Zulu War (portrayed in the epic film Zulu)
• The army regiment with the highest number of Victoria Cross awards is The Princess of Wale's Royal Regiment withy fifty six recipients including the latest recipient - Johnson Beharry
• Four pairs of brothers have been awarded the Victoria Cross. Three father and son pairs have also been awarded the medal

One man who probably does know this is Lord Michael Ashcroft. Twenty years ago he purchased the first Victoria Cross for what was to become the world's largest single collection of the medal. A massive 145 other medals have since been added - more than one tenth of those ever conferred. Although a private collection, the trust established to care for these important artifacts plans to put them on public display in London at some point soon. See you there...