Victoria Cross

Victoria Cross
Obverse of the cross; ribbon: 1+1⁄2 inches (38 mm), crimson (blue ribbon for naval awards 1856–1918)
Type	Military decoration
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"[1]
Description	Bronze Cross pattée with Crown and Lion Superimposed, and motto: "For Valour"
Presented by	The monarch of the United Kingdom
Eligibility	Persons of any rank in the Naval, Military and Air Forces of the United Kingdom, its colonies or territories, and Commonwealth countries that award UK honours; members of the Merchant Navy; and civilians serving under the orders, directions or supervision of any of the above-mentioned forces or services[2]
Post-nominals	VC
Clasps	Bars can be awarded for further acts of valour
Status	active
Established	29 January 1856
First awarded	26 June 1857
Last awarded	26 February 2015
Total	1,358
Total recipients	1,355
Ribbon bar Second award bar
Order of Wear
Next (higher)	None
Next (lower)	George Cross[3]

The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously awarded to service personnel in the broader British Empire (later Commonwealth of Nations), with most successor independent nations now having established their own honours systems and no longer recommending British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians under military command. No civilian has received the award since 1879. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857, two thirds of all awards have been personally presented by the British monarch. The investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace.

The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts of valour during the Crimean War. Since then, the medal has been awarded 1,358 times to 1,355 individual recipients. Only 15 medals, of which 11 to members of the British Army and 4 to members of the Australian Army, have been awarded since the Second World War. The traditional explanation of the source of the metal from which the medals are struck is that it derives from a Russian cannon captured at the siege of Sevastopol. However, research has indicated another origin for the material.^[4] The historian John Glanfield has established that the metal for most of the medals made since December 1914 came from two Chinese cannons and that there is no evidence of Russian origin.^[5]

The VC is highly prized and has been valued at over £400,000 at auctions.^[6] A number of public and private collections are devoted to the Victoria Cross. The private collection of Lord Ashcroft, amassed since 1986, contains over one-tenth of all Victoria Crosses awarded. After a 2008 donation to the Imperial War Museum, the Ashcroft collection went on public display alongside the museum's Victoria and George Cross collection in November 2010.^[7]

Beginning with Canada on its centenary of confederation in 1967,^[8] followed in 1975 by Australia^[9] and New Zealand,^[10] these countries developed their own national honours systems, separate from and independent of the British or Imperial honours system. As each country's system evolved, operational gallantry awards were developed with the premier award of each system, with the Victoria Cross for Australia, the Canadian Victoria Cross and the Victoria Cross for New Zealand being created and named in honour of the Victoria Cross. They are unique awards of each honours system recommended, assessed, gazetted and presented by each country.