List of Second Boer War Victoria Cross recipients The Victoria Cross ( VC ) was awarded to 78 members of the British Armed Forces for action during the Second Boer War . The Victoria Cross is a military decoration awarded for valour " in the face of the enemy " to members of the armed forces of some Commonwealth countries and previous British Empire territories . The VC was introduced in Great Britain on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to reward acts of valour during the Crimean War , and 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 first ceremony was held on 26 June 1857 , when Queen Victoria invested 62 of the 111 Crimean recipients in Hyde Park . The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 to 31 May 1902 , between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic ( Transvaal Republic ) . After a set of failed negotiations over foreigner land rights in the territories , led by Joseph Chamberlain , both sides issued ultimatums . When the ultimatums were rejected , war was declared . The war had three distinct phases . First , the Boers mounted pre - emptive strikes into British - held territory in Natal and the Cape Colony , besieging the British garrisons of Ladysmith , Mafeking and Kimberley . The Boers then won a series of tactical victories against a failed British counteroffensive to relieve the three sieges . The second phase began after British forces under Frederick Roberts , 1st Earl Roberts launched counteroffensives with increased troop numbers . After Natal and the Cape Colony were secure , the British were able to invade the Transvaal and the republic ' s capital , Pretoria , was captured in June 1900 . The third phase began in March 1900 , when the Boers engaged a protracted hard - fought guerrilla warfare against the British forces . In an effort to cut off supplies to the raiders , the British , now under the leadership of Lord Kitchener , responded with a scorched earth policy of destroying Boer farms and moving civilians into concentration camps . The British Government had expected the campaign to be over within months , and the protracted war became increasingly unpopular especially after revelations about the conditions in the concentration camps . Emily Hobhouse , a campaigner , had forced the British Government to set up the Fawcett Commission , led by suffragist Millicent Fawcett , into the conditions at the camps . Hobhouse published reports from the camps which told of thousands of deaths from disease and malnutrition . These reports helped to sway public opinion against the war . The demand for peace led to a settlement of hostilities , and in 1902 , the Treaty of Vereeniging was signed . The two republics were absorbed into the British Empire , although the British were forced to make a number of concessions and reparations to the Boers . The granting of limited autonomy for the area ultimately led to the establishment of the Union of South Africa . The original Royal Warrant , was silent on whether the VC could be awarded posthumously . From 1857 until 1897 , 18 recipients were gazetted after their deaths but only 12 of the next of kin received the actual medal . In the other six cases there was a memorandum stating that they would have been recommended for the VC had they survived . By 1899 , the precedent had been established that the VC could be awarded posthumously if the recommendation for the award was submitted prior to the recipient ’ s death from wounds . Two such awards were granted during the Second Boer War , the well known award to Frederick Roberts , the son of Lord Roberts VC and to Francis Parsons . In 1900 and 1901 , three memoranda were issued for Herman Albrecht , Robert Digby - Jones and David Younger stating they would have been recommended for the VC had they survived . In a partial reversal of policy restricted to the Second Boer War , it was announced in the London Gazette on 8 August 1902 , that the next of kin of the three soldiers mentioned in memoranda would be sent medals . In the same gazette , the first three posthumous awards were gazetted to Alfred Atkinson , John Barry and Gustavus Coulson . In 1907 , the posthumous policy was reversed and medals were sent to the next of kin of the remaining six officers and men . Although the Victoria Cross warrant was not amended to specifically include posthumous awards until 1920 , one quarter of all awards for the First World War were posthumous .