Biref intro of Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest military decoration
awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed
forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire
territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and
medals. It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service and to
civilians under military command. The VC is usually presented to the recipient
or to their next of kin by the British monarch at an investiture held at
Buckingham Palace.
Now the answer of Question. (Reason):
In 1854, after 40 years of peace, Britain found itself
fighting a major war against Russia. The Crimean War was one of the first wars
with modern reporting, and the dispatches of William Howard Russell described
many acts of bravery and valour by British servicemen that went unrewarded.
Before the Crimean War, there was no official standardised
system for recognition of gallantry within the British armed forces. Officers
were eligible for an award of one of the junior grades of the Order of the Bath
and brevet promotions whilst a Mention in Despatches existed as an alternative
award for acts of lesser gallantry. This structure was very limited; in practice
awards of the Order of the Bath were confined to officers of field rank. Brevet promotions or Mentions in Despatches were largely confined to those who
were under the immediate notice of the commanders in the field, generally
members of the commander's own staff.
Other European countries had awards that did not
discriminate against class or rank; France awarded the Légion d'honneur (Legion
of Honour) and The Netherlands gave the Order of William. There was a growing
feeling amongst the public and in the Royal Court that a new award was needed
to recognise incidents of gallantry that were unconnected with a man's lengthy
or meritorious service. Queen Victoria issued a Warrant under the Royal
sign-manual on 29 January 1856 (gazetted 5 February 1856) that
officially constituted the VC. The order was backdated to 1854 to recognise
acts of valour during the Crimean War.
Queen Victoria had instructed the War Office to strike a new
medal that would not recognise birth or class. The medal was meant to be a
simple decoration that would be highly prized and eagerly sought after by those
in the military services. To maintain its simplicity, Queen Victoria, under
the guidance of Prince Albert, vetoed the suggestion that the award be called The
Military Order of Victoria and instead suggested the name Victoria Cross. The
original warrant stated that the Victoria Cross would only be awarded to
soldiers who have served in the presence of the enemy and had performed some
signal act of valour or devotion. The first ceremony was held on 26 June
1857 where Queen Victoria invested 62 of the 111 Crimean recipients in a
ceremony in Hyde Park.
It was originally intended that the VCs would be cast from
the bronze cascabels of two cannon that were captured from the Russians at the
siege of Sevastopol. 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. One
theory is that the guns were originally Chinese weapons but the Russians
captured them and reused them at Sevastopol. 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.
The barrels of the cannon in question are on display at
Firepower - The Royal Artillery Museum 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.
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