Home : Victoria Cross for Australia : Department of Defence Victoria Cross for Australia Home The Victoria Cross for Australia The Victoria Cross for Australia is the pre-eminent award for acts of bravery in wartime and Australia's highest honour. The Victoria Cross for Australia is awarded to a person who, in the presence of the enemy, displays the most conspicuous gallantry, or daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty. History The British or Imperial Victoria Cross was originally created by Queen Victoria in 1856 and made retrospective to include the Crimean War (1854–1856). One hundred Australians have been awarded the Victoria Cross: 96 were awarded the Victoria Cross under the Imperial honours system (before the Australian Government chose to introduce its own honours system in 1975) and four Australian Army soldiers have been awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia, which was introduced as part of the Australian honours system by Letters Patent on 15 January 1991.

Australians have been awarded the Victoria Cross in the following conflicts: 6 in the Boer War (1899–1902) 64 in World War I (1914–1918) 2 in North Russia (1919) 20 in World War II (1939–1945) 4 in Vietnam (1962–1972) 4 in Afghanistan (2001– ) Australian soldiers were awarded nine Victoria Crosses at Gallipoli, including seven during the Battle of Lone Pine (6–9 August 1915). The first Australian to be awarded a Victoria Cross was Captain Sir Neville Howse, VC, KCMG, CB, KStJ, during the Boer War. He also served in World War I and, later, as an Australian Government minister responsible (separately) for the health, defence and repatriation portfolios. Warrant Officer Class Two Keith Payne was the last Australian to be awarded the Imperial Victoria Cross.

Invested with the Victoria Cross by Queen Elizabeth II aboard Her Majesty’s Yacht Britannia in Brisbane on 13 April 1970, Warrant Officer Payne was awarded the VC for his “sustained and heroic personal efforts” while under heavy enemy fire in Kon Tum Province, Vietnam, on 24 May 1969. Recipients Corporal Cameron Stewart Baird, VC, MG The fourth recipient of the Victoria Cross for Australia and the first to be awarded posthumously. Corporal Baird’s parents, Mr Doug & Mrs Kaye Baird, were presented with the award by the Governor-General at Government House, Canberra, on 18 February 2014. Medal design The Victoria Cross is designed in the form of the Maltese Cross: in the centre of the medal is a lion guardant standing upon Saint Edward's Crown. The words "For Valour" are inscribed below. The Victoria Cross is suspended from a bar by a crimson ribbon. On the reverse of the cross the date of the act of bravery is inscribed, along with the name, rank and unit of the recipient.

Hancocks Jewellers, London, has manufactured the Victoria Cross since its inception and its jewellers continue to make the Victoria Cross for Australia. The medal itself is cast (not struck like a coin or pressed using a die) and hand-finished by the Hancocks jewellers, who use metal from the bronze cascabels of two captured cannons to make the medals. Defending Australia and its National Interests Victoria Cross | Australian War Memorial /Victoria Cross Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross is the highest award for acts of bravery in wartime. It was instituted in 1856 by Queen Victoria and made retrospective to 1854 to cover the period of the Crimean War. It is possible for any serving member of the armed forces to obtain this award. The Victoria Cross is designed in the form of the Maltese Cross: in the centre of the medal is a lion guardant standing upon the Royal Crown. The words "For valour" are inscribed below. The Victoria Cross is suspended from a crimson ribbon. On the reverse of the cross the date of the act of bravery is inscribed, along with the name, rank, and unit of the recipient.

Victoria Crosses held at the Memorial Name ANZAC Day | The Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross [ See the complete list ] Of all the orders and decorations open to members of the Australian Defence Force, the Victoria Cross remains the most honoured, the most coveted. It marks its wearer as one possessing supreme courage, a disregard for danger and complete devotion to duty. The Victoria Cross (VC) was instituted on 29 January 1856 and was made retrospective from 1 August 1854. Prior to the Crimean War, there was no recognised gallantry medal, but the individual deeds in that war made the creation of such an award, available to officers and men alike, necessary. The Victoria Cross, according to the Instituting Royal Warrant establishing rules and ordinances governing its bestowal, shall only be awarded for the 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. In the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. 525 Monday 4 February 1991, the Victoria Cross took its place as the highest Australian award in the Australian System of Honours and Awards.

It may be awarded to members of the Defence Force or other persons determined by the Minister of State for Defence. Bars are awarded for further similar acts of bravery. The Victoria Cross may also be awarded posthumously and recipients are entitled to use the letters VC after their names. The design remains identical in every way to the British award, a Maltese Cross in bronze adorned by a crown surmounted by a crowned lion, the emblem of the British royal family, in the centre, with a scroll bearing the inscription, ‘For Valour’. On the reverse is inscribed the date of the action. The name and regiment of the holder are inscribed on the back of the suspension bar. The ribbon is red for all Services, although until July 1918, the Royal Navy used the blue ribbon. The medal ribbon group of Albert Jacka VC. The Victoria Cross ribbon is at the left from the viewer's perspective. When worn, the VC takes precedence over all other awards, and is positioned to the far left of any medal group (as seen by the viewer - see image above). The Cross has, from the first, been made by Messrs. Hancock, London jewellers and is hand fashioned.

The metal used is taken from the guns captured from the Russians at Sebastopol during the Crimean War 1854-56. The glorious fellowship of the Victoria Cross remains unique, it has no order nor chapel. The insignia is a small bronze cross costing a few dollars. It is confined to no caste, imposes no religious requirement nor colour bar. In the words of the Warrant ‘Neither rank nor long service, nor wounds, nor any other circumstance or condition whatsoever, save the merit of conspicuous bravery’ shall entitle a man to the award. The Cross has been granted to 13 persons of non-British origin, including three Danes, a German, a Swiss, a Belgian and one Ukrainian. The first presentation of the new decoration was made by Queen Victoria in Hyde Park on 26 June 1857, when 62 sailors and soldiers received the award. The Prince Consort conceived the idea, but the Queen herself was personally responsible for much of the rest.

She altered ‘For the Brave’ to ‘For Valour’ and ordered that the Cross should be awarded only ‘to those officers and men who have served us in the presence of the enemy.’ The first Australian to earn the Victoria Cross was Captain (later Sir Neville) Howse for rescuing a wounded man on 24 July 1900 while serving as an officer of the NSW Army Medical Corps during the South African War 1899-1902 (Boer War). As at March, 2002, the youngest Australian to be awarded the Victoria Cross was Private JWA Jackson VC, who was 18 years 9 months. Prior to 1975, Australian service personnel were awarded gallantry, bravery and distinguished service awards under the Imperial system. Included in the new award system was the Victoria Cross for Australia (VC). On 2 September 2008, TROOPER MARK GREGOR DONALDSON WAS AWARDED THE FIRST VICTORIA CROSS FOR AUSTRALIA for most conspicuous acts of gallantry in action in a circumstance of great peril in Afghanistan.

For more information about Trooper Donaldson go to More information: Lone Pine and The Nek (on this site). An account of a battle in which Australians were awarded seven Victoria Crosses. Adapted from the book ‘Don't forget me, cobber!’ by Matt Anderson Lone Pine and The Nek The bloody fighting continued, and by the end of the first week more than 6500 ANZACs had been killed or wounded. Fighting was now going on in the gullies and ridges a kilometre inland. Like to copy this image? Please click here first (Above) The cramped conditions of trench warfare. (AWM A00907) Somehow the wounded soldiers had to be evacuated to the field hospitals at ANZAC Cove – this was the job of the stretcher bearers. One stretcher bearer named Simpson used a donkey to help him carry the wounded men back to safety. Week after week, Simpson and his donkey, Duffy, braved the Turkish bombs and bullets to rescue wounded ANZACs scattered amongst the steep and rocky hills of Gallipoli.

British Gallantry Medals of the First World War Victoria Cross (V.C.) (Level 1 Gallantry Award) This is the highest award for gallantry. It is awarded for an act of outstanding courage or devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy. All ranks were, and still are, eligible when serving with the British and Commonwealth armed forces. The Royal Warrant for the award of the Victoria Cross has essentially remained the same since the inception of the medal to the present day. It was, and still is, 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) The Victoria Cross can also be awarded to civilians if they were under military command at the time of the act of bravery. The George Cross (G.C.) is an equivalent award but is made to an individual, military or civilian, who has carried out an act of special courage when not in the face of the enemy. Origin of the Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross was instituted on 29th January 1856.

At the time of the Crimean War (1853-1856) the British military - which consisted of the Royal Navy and the Army - did not have a gallantry medal open to all ranks. The idea was put forward to the British House of Commons by a Member of Parliament and ex-Royal Navy man, Captain T Scobell. It was also suggested as an idea by the then Secretary of State, the Duke of Newcastle. His successor, Lord Panmure, carried on with the correspondence about the new gallantry medal already established with Prince Albert. Queen Victoria was very interested in the medal, especially as it was to be named after her. She preferred the name of “Victoria Cross” to the suggested title of “The Military Order of Victoria”. Victoria involved herself by making suggestions about the design and the metal it could be made of. She was the person who suggested that the design should bear the words “For Valour” instead of the suggested words “For the Brave”. The word “valour” extended a special significance to an act of extra special bravery and courage, which might be considered to be more than an act of “bravery”. Queen Victoria did not like the original copper cross which was submitted for approval.

A suggestion was made to create the medal from the cascabels (the knob and the neck of a breech-loading cannon) of two Russian cannons captured in the Crimea. As has been examined in a recent study(2), the two 18 pounder cannons which were provided for creating the Victoria Cross medals were Chinese in origin, not Russian. One theory is that the guns were captured by the Russians from the Chinese and used against the British Army in the battle at Sevastopol. It has also been suggested that the metal used for the Victoria Crosses cast during the First World War did not come from these two original cannons, but from other Chinese guns captured in the Boxer Rebellion (1898-1901). The Royal Warrant for the Victoria Cross was issued on 29th January 1856. The first investiture ceremony was held a few months later in Hyde Park on 26th June 1856. 62 awards were issued for acts of valour during the Crimean War (1853-1856). There is approximately 10kg of remaining metal from the two cascabels of the original cannons reputed to have come from Sevastopol.

This is stored in a secure vault and can only be taken out of the vault under an armed guard. The same jewellers, Hancocks of London, has been responsible for casting the Victoria Cross medal from the first one to the present day. The Crimson Medal Ribbon Until April 1918 the medal ribbon issued with the Victoria Cross medal was red (or crimson) for Army recipients and blue for Navy recipients. When the Royal Air Force was formed on 1st April 1918 it was decided that recipients from all of the three Services should wear the crimson ribbon with the medal. From 22nd May 1920 King George V stated in a warrant that all recipients would wear the crimson ribbon. Recipients in the Royal Navy who had already received the blue ribbon were also to wear the crimson ribbon from then on. Awards of the Victoria Cross in WW1 There were 615 Victoria Crosses awarded during the First World War. WW1 awards of the Victoria Cross were: 415 awarded to the British Army 51 to the Navy and Marines 9 to the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force 140 to the Dominion Forces.

Victoria Cross and Bar Prior to April 1917, if a second award of a Victoria Cross (a Bar) was made to one individual, they were to wear a miniature cross on the ribbon strip to indicate the second award. In an Army Order of April 1917 this was changed so that a miniature cross would be worn on the ribbon strip to indicate the award of the first VC, with another miniature for the second VC award (the Bar). If further awards were issued to that same individual then additional miniature crosses would be worn on the ribbon strip as appropriate. To date there have been no awards of more than two Victoria Crosses to one individual. In the First World War two Victoria Cross recipients were recommended for a second award (a Bar). They were both officers serving with the R.A.M.C.: Lieutenant A Martin-Leake and Captain N G Chavasse, MC. Recommendation for a Victoria Cross A regimental officer will usually make the recommendation and it should be supported by three witnesses. The reigning king or queen will be presented with the recommendation and he or she will sign an approval.

In the event that a group of service personnel in a squadron, detachment or a ship's company should be recommended as equally deserving of a recommendation for the award, a name is drawn by ballot. Posthumous Awards of the Victoria Cross Originally the Royal Warrant for the award did not cover the issue of the award posthumously. Although this was not officially changed in the warrant until after the First World War, a quarter of those recipients who were awarded the Victoria Cross during WW1 were killed as they carried out their deed of valour. Distinguished Service Order (D.S.O.) (Level 2 Gallantry Award) The D.S.O. was instituted by Royal Warrant on 6th September 1886. The D.S.O. was originally instituted as an award for officers of the British Army and Commonwealth Forces, usually at the rank of Major. It was, however, also awarded to officers at a rank above or below Major. The D.S.O. could be awarded for an act of meritorious or distinguished service in wartime and usually when under fire or in the presence of the enemy.

It was also made available for officers at the equivalent rank in the Royal Navy and, from 1st April 1918, the Royal Air Force. Between 1914 and 1916 the D.S.O. was also awarded to some Staff officers when they were not under fire or in contact with the enemy. This was not well received at the time by officers who were in the field. From 1st January 1917 it was restricted to recommendations for individuals who were in the presence of the enemy. The award was generally given to an officer in command, but some were awarded to junior officers below the rank of Captain. Almost 9,000 D.S.O.s were awarded during the First World War. On 23rd August 1916 a Warrant enabled a recipient to be awarded a Bar for an additional award of the D.S.O. The medal was issued without the name of the recipient being engraved on it, but some medals do bear the name of a recipient engraved on the reverse of the suspension bar. The recipient of a D.S.O. is known as a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order and is entitled to use the letters D.S.O. after his name.

Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) (Level 3 Gallantry Award) Instituted 15th June 1901 as the Conspicuous Service Cross and renamed in October 1914 the Distinguished Service Cross. The D.S.C. was awarded to naval officers below the rank of Lieutenant Commander for gallantry at sea in the presence of the enemy. Almost 2,000 D.S.C.s were awarded during the First World War. A bar is awarded for subsequent acts of gallantry. The recipient is entitled to use D.S.C. after their name. Military Cross (M.C.) (Level 3 Gallantry Award) Instituted by Royal Warrant on 28th December 1914. The Military Cross was a decoration for gallantry during active operations in the presence of the enemy. individuals in the British Army, the Indian Army or the Colonial Forces. Commissioned officers with the rank of Captain or below or Warrant Officer were eligible for the award. From June 1917 officers of the rank of captain but who had a temporary rank of major could receive the award. The reverse of the medal was issued plain with no engraving.

Some families and individuals engraved their details at their own expense. From August 1916 an individual could receive one or more Bars to the Military Cross. Recipients of the medal are entitled to use the letters M.C. after their name. The Military Cross (M.C.) is the British Army equivalent of the Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) and Distinguished Flying Cross (D.F.C.). The Military Cross photographed here(3) was awarded to Lieutenant Ewart Alan Mackintosh of the 5th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders (51st Highland Division). Lieutenant Mackintosh, MC was the author of the poem ‘In Memoriam’ featured on this website at: (Level 3 Gallantry Award) Instituted on 3rd June 1918. Awarded to officers and warrant officers of the Royal Air Force for an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty while flying on active operations against the enemy. A bar is added to the medal ribbon for subsequent acts of valour, for which a subsequent D.F.C. would be awarded. Recipients of the medal are entitled to use the letters D.F.C. after their name. The medal was issued with no inscription of the recipient's name.

During the First World War there were about 1,100 D.F.C. awards. It is equivalent to the Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C) for acts of valour at sea and the Military Cross (M.C.) for acts of valour on land. This silver medal was designed by the medallist E Carter Preston. He was the winner of the design for the Next of Kin Memorial Plaque. Air Force Cross (A.F.C.) Instituted on 3rd June 1918. The award was given to personnel of the British Armed Forces and other Commonwealth Forces for an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying though not in active operations against the enemy. Until after the Second World War Air Force Officers and Warrant Officers were eligible for the award. After the Second World War aviation officers in the Army and Navy were also eligible for the award. From 1993 all ranks were eligible for this award. The medal was designed by the medallist E Carter Preston. He was the winner of the design for the Next of Kin Memorial Plaque. Recipients were entitled to use the letters A.F.C. after their name.

Distinguished Conduct Medal (D.C.M.) (Level 2 Gallantry Award) Instituted on 4th December 1854. The D.C.M. was the first official medal award to recognise an act of gallantry in the field by a member of the armed forces who was below the rank of officer. It was the other ranks' equivalent of the Distinguished Service Order. The D.C.M. was awarded for gallantry in the field in the face of the enemy. Other ranks in the British Army and also non-commissioned ranks in Commonwealth Forces were eligible for this award. The reverse of the medal bears the inscription “For Distinguished Conduct in the Field”. A bar carrying the date of a subsequent deed could be added to the ribbon until 1916 when the bar was changed to a laurel wreath. A recipient of the award is entitled to used the letters D.C.M. after their name. The D.C.M. was discontinued as an award by the British Armed Forces in 1993, when the three awards of the D.S.O, the D.C.M. and the C.G.M. were replaced by the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross.

The Conspicuous Gallantry Cross is now the second level gallantry award for all ranks of the British Armed Forces. Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (C.G.M.) (Level 2 Gallantry Award) First instituted as a Royal Navy medal in 1855 and then fully instituted on 7th July 1874. The Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (C.G.M.) was awarded to other ranks for an act of gallantry against the enemy at sea or in the air. The reverse of the medal bears the inscription “For Conspicuous Gallantry”. An additional award for a subsequent deed would entitle the wearer to a silver laurelled bar. A recipient of the award is entitled to used the letters C.G.M. after their name. The C.G.M. is equivalent to the British Army's Distinguished Conduct Medal (D.C.M.). Distinguished Service Medal (D.S.M.) (Level 3 Gallantry Award) The D.S.M. was established on 14th October 1914.

It was an award for bravery whilst on active service at sea and was for other ranks' Royal Navy personnel, members of the other Services and other Commonwealth countries who held rank up to and including Chief Petty Officer. On the reverse there was an inscription “For Distinguished Service”. Bars were awarded for subsequent actions and the date of the action during the First World War was given on the reverse of the bar. Recipients of the medal are entitled to use the letters D.S.M. after their name. The Distinguished Service Medal (D.S.M.) is equivalent to the Military Medal (M.M.), the Distinguished Flying Medal (D.F.M.) and the Air Force Medal (A.F.M.). Military Medal (M.M.) (Level 3 Gallantry Award) Instituted on 25th March 1916 (and backdated to 1914). The Military Medal was awarded to other ranks of the British Army and Commonwealth Forces. It was an award for gallantry and devotion to duty when under fire in battle on land. On the reverse of the medal is inscribed “For Bravery in the Field”. Recipients of the medal are entitled to use the letters M.M. after their name.

The Military Medal is the British Army equivalent of the Distinguished Service Medal (D.S.M.), the Distinguished Flying Medal (D.F.M.) and the Air Force Medal (A.F.M.). Distinguished Flying Medal (D.F.M.) Instituted on 3rd June 1918. Awarded to other ranks of the Royal Air Force for an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty while flying on active operations against the enemy. Later it was available to the equivalent ranks in the Army and Royal Navy for acts of valour in the air. Recipients of the medal are entitled to use the letters D.F.M. after their name. A subsequent award receives a silver bar with an eagle in the centre of it. It is equivalent to the Distinguished Service Medal (D.S.M.) for acts of valour at sea, the Military Medal (M.M.) for acts of valour on land and the Air Force Medal (A.F.M.). The medal was designed by the medallist E Carter Preston. Air Force Medal (A.F.M.) Instituted on 3rd June 1918.

The award was given to personnel of the British Armed Forces and other Commonwealth Forces for an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying though not in active operations against the enemy. Other ranks were eligible for the award. Recipients were entitled to use the letters A.F.M. after their name. The Air Force Medal was designed by E Carter Preston. He was the winner of the design for the Next of Kin Memorial Plaque. Meritorious Service Medal (M.S.M.) Instituted in 1845 (British Army), in 1849 (the Royal Marines), in 1918 (the Royal Air Force) and in 1919 (the Royal Navy). The criteria for eligibility was different for each of the above Services and the number of medals issued was also restricted within each of the Services. Army Originally the award was for meritorious service by Non-Commissioned Officers. Between 1916 and 1919 a Royal Warrant amended the eligibility of the award so that Non-Commissioned Officers could be awarded the M.S.M. in the field. Royal Marines Originally the M.S.M. was awarded for gallantry or distinguished service.

Between 1916 and 1919 Non-Commissioned Officers could be awarded the M.S.M. in the field. Royal Air Force The M.S.M. was awarded for meritorious service by ground crew. Royal Navy The M.S.M was awarded for gallantry not in the face of the enemy and for meritorious service by petty officers and senior naval ratings. Mentioned in Despatches (M.I.D.) “Mentioned in Despatches” is not an award of a medal, but as a commendation of an act of gallantry it is included in this listing. To be “Mentioned in Despatches” is when an individual is mentioned by name and commended for having carried out an noteworthy act of gallantry or service. A Despatch is an official report written by the senior commander of an army in the field. It would give details of the conduct of the military operations being carried out. From the time of the Boer War the Despatches were published in the London Gazette in full or in part. The phrase “Mentioned in Despatches” was used for the first time in a newspaper article by Winston Churchill (Morning Post, 6th October 1898) (4).

An individual could be mentioned in despatches more than once. As with the Victoria Cross, this commendation for an act of gallantry could be made posthumously. In 1919 Army Order 166/1919 confirmed that individuals “Mentioned in Despatches” would receive a certificate. This included personnel of the British Navy, Army and Air Force, and Indian Dominion, Colonial, Egyptian Forces and members of the Red Cross, Y.M.C.A., Y.W.C.A. and British civilians male and female. In 1920 Army Order 3/1920 authorized the issue of an emblem to signify that an individual had been “Mentioned in Despatches” between 4th August 1914 and 10th August 1920. A bronze oak leaf was issued and could be worn on the ribbon of the British Victory Medal. British Victory Medal M.I.D. Listing Individuals who are Mentioned in Despatches are listed in The London Gazette.

The Gazette can be searched online: Website: 2nd Lieutenant Mackay The Oak Leaf in the photograph(5) was awarded to 2nd Lieutenant Mackay of the 5th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders (51st Highland Division). He had accompanied Lieutenant E A Mackintosh, MC on a raid into the enemy trenches which had been the inspiration for Mackintosh's poem ‘In Memoriam’. Inspiration for poem “In Memoriam” Citation for a Gallantry Award A citation is a brief report providing details of the deed for which an award for gallantry has been granted to an individual. A recommendation for a gallantry award was usually given by a commanding officer using Army Form W3121. When the award was granted these details were generally used to create the citation for the award. Unfortunately almost all the recommendation forms W3121 from the First World War were destroyed in enemy bombing in the Second World War. The award of a gallantry or distinguished service medal and a Mention in Despatches was published in The London Gazette. However, only some of the announcements were printed with their citation.

The following gallantry awards were, however, listed with a citation: The Victoria Cross (V.C.), the Distinguished Service Order (D.S.O.), the Military Cross (M.C.) and the Distinguished Conduct Medal (D.C.M.). For information on where to find records of medals and citations see our page at: Victoria Cross - Queensland Museum Queensland Museum Skip to section page navigation Enter search term... Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross is unique among military medals. Of all the orders and decorations open to members of the Australian Defence Force, the Victoria Cross remains the most honoured, the most coveted. It marks its wearer as one possessing supreme courage, a disregard for danger and complete devotion to duty. From the ANZAC Day Commemorative Committee Queen Victoria established the award that bears her name in 1856. Originally created for the Crimean War, it is open to all ranks as the supreme award for courage in combat. Since its beginning, 98 medals have been awarded to Australians. The medal carries the words, For Valour. When worn, the VC takes precedence over all other awards.

Though there is now a wide range of military awards available to all ranks in the armed services for extraordinary feats in war, the Victoria Cross remains the most prized and carries with it a peculiar mystique as the highest such award available. There remains something quite special and distinctive about the place of Victoria Cross winners in our society. Victoria Crosses at Queensland Museum Queensland Museum holds three of the Victoria Crosses awarded to Australians, from Patrick Bugden (which is part of our collection) and two others: from Robert Beatham (owned by Mr Neil Jenman and Mrs Ruth Jenman) and from Blair Anderson Wark (owned by the United Service Club Queensland). The latter two are on loan to the Museum until 2012. Victoria Cross design The Victoria Cross is designed in the form of the Maltese Cross. In the centre of the medal is a crowned lion, an emblem of the British royal family, standing upon the Royal Crown. The words "For Valour" are inscribed below. On the reverse of the cross is inscribed the date of the action, along with the name, rank and unit of the recipient. The Victoria Cross is suspended from a bar by a red ribbon.

Further information: Victoria Cross Heroes :: The Victoria Cross Victoria Cross Heroes Schools The History of the Victoria Cross In 1854, after 40 years of peace, Britain found itself fighting a major war against Russia. From the early days of the Crimean War, stories abounded of the outstanding bravery of the British army in the most appalling conditions. The troops' heroics were performed despite the lack of adequate winter clothing and other provisions to protect them from the harsh Russian winter. This was the first war covered by modern-style war reporters and William Howard Russell, of The Times, filed a succession of vivid reports. His stories highlighted the lack of proper equipment and the ravages of cholera and typhoid fever, two diseases which claimed 20,000 lives compared to the 3,400 killed in battle. There was a general clamour that something needed to be done to recognise the efforts of rank and file British servicemen who were risking their lives thousands of miles from home. Until the Crimean War, officers - usually of the rank of major and above - were given the junior grade of the Order of the Bath for acts of bravery.

Yet there was no such equivalent medal for junior officers, Non Commissioned Officers (NCOs), or ordinary soldiers or sailors. There was a growing feeling that a new award was needed to recognise incidents of gallantry that were unconnected with a man's lengthy or meritorious service. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, her consort, were enthusiastic about addressing the problem, particularly as the enemy, the Russians, already had their awards for gallantry that ignored rank. By 1855, the momentum for a new gallantry award was such that Queen Victoria was choosing the design. She favoured a Maltese cross ensigned with a royal crest and a scroll inscribed 'For Valour'. The Government had wanted the cross inscribed 'For the Brave', but the Queen was concerned that this would imply that non-recipients were not brave. The VC was founded by a Royal Warrant issued on 29 January 1856. The warrant announced the creation of a single decoration available to the Army and Royal Navy which was intended to reward 'individual instances of merit and valour' and which 'we are desirous should be highly prized and eagerly sought after'. The warrant laid down fifteen 'rules and ordinances'.

Essentially, however, the award was intended for extreme bravery in the presence of the enemy. It was also decided that the cross should be made from metal of little intrinsic value. It was intended that it should be bronze and cast from metal melted down from two cannon supposedly captured from the Russians at Sebastopol in the Crimean War. It was more than a year after the Royal Warrant was signed that the first awards of the VC were published in the London Gazette - on 24 February 1857. The Queen had told her senior ministers that she wished to bestow as many of the awards as possible. So on 26 June 1857 the Queen invested 62 of the 111 Crimean recipients in a ceremony in Hyde Park in front of more than 4,000 troops and 12,000 spectators. Mr Thomas Henry Kavanagh was awarded the VC for his role in the Indian Mutiny Over the years, there have been several significant amendments to the rules relating to the VC. The first changes to the regulations came little more than a year after the announcement that the VC had been awarded for the first time.

A Royal Warrant of 10 August 1858 extended the VC to 'non-military persons'. Under this new clause, four civilians received the cross for their voluntary service in the Indian Mutiny. Many further changes followed but the core principles of the VC remain to this day. The Boer War, fought in Africa between 1899 and 1902, saw the first really serious dispute over the award of a VC. The Hon Frederick Roberts was the son of Field Marshal Earl Roberts, who had himself won a VC for an act of bravery in 1858 during the Indian Mutiny. The Hon Frederick Roberts was 27 years old when he was seriously wounded on 15 December 1899, during heroics at the Battle of Colenso. He died from his wounds just over 24 hours later. There was surprise, therefore, when his VC was 'gazetted' on 2 February 1900, and he was given a posthumous medal. There was some anger that he had been treated as a special case apparently because of the influence of his father.

The families of other potential recipients of posthumous VCs began to ask why their relatives could not be given a posthumous VC even though they had died many years earlier. In the London Gazette of 8 August 1902, Edward VII approved the award of six posthumous VCs all relating to incidents during the Boer War. Although the families of the dead recipients were satisfied with this outcome, the families of men who had died in six similar cases which had been 'gazetted' between 1859 and 1897 remained unhappy that their relatives had still not been awarded the VC. The King resisted this pressure for five years but finally, in 1907, he relented and the crosses were 'gazetted' and delivered to the families of the dead men. The controversy surrounding Roberts' decoration meant the precedent for posthumous awards of the VC had been established once and for all and in 1920 the rules were formally re-written. Since its institution, the VC has been made and supplied by Messrs Hancocks (now Hancocks & Co), the London jewellers. There have been countless attempts to produce fakes and copies.

Hancocks, however, prides itself on being able to tell a genuine VC from a fake under close examination, including testing the metal. Lieutenant Colonel Eric Wilson, with fellow VC holder, Private Johnson Beharry, the most recent recipient of the medal in 2005 for action in Iraq the previous year. There are endless fascinating facts and figures surrounding the VC. The cross is 1.375 inches wide and weights 0.87 ounces, together with the suspender bar and V-shaped link. The face of the bar is embossed with laurel leaves, while the recipient's details are engraved on the reverse. The date of the act of bravery is engraved in the centre of the circle on the reverse of the cross. The details given on the suspender bar sometimes vary but the norm is to provide the rank, name and unit of the recipient. To date, 1,355 crosses have been awarded for bravery, including three bars - the equivalent of a second VC - and a special award to the American Unknown Warrior. The youngest recipient of the VC was just 15 years old and three months, the oldest was two months short of his 62nd birthday.

The most recent award was to Private Johnson Beharry, who received it in March 2005, aged 25, for two acts of outstanding courage in Iraq in 2004. Click HERE to contact us or let us have your feedback The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan | Details Victoria Cross. Gerry Carline The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest recognition of military valour in the British Commonwealth and is awarded without regard to rank, service or length of service. The Victoria Cross was established in 1856 by Queen Victoria, who was inspired by the bravery of returning veterans of the Crimean War. The VC takes precedence over all other decorations and is worn nearest the buttons of the tunic. Prince Albert, the Queen’s Consort, contributed to the design of the medal made from bronze Russian guns captured during the Crimean War. The medals were originally to have been inscribed “For the Brave”; however, the Queen felt that all who went into battle were brave, therefore “For Valour” was more appropriate.

The Queen presented the first Victoria Cross medals at a ceremony in Hyde Park on June 26, 1857, to sixty-two veterans of the Crimean War including one Canadian, Lieutenant Alexander Dunn of the 11th Hussars. Lieutenant Dunn was awarded the medal for saving the life of two of his men in the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava. Ninety-three other Canadians have since received the award. Hugh Cairns’ citation for bravery in the London Gazette, 1919. Saskatoon Public Library (Local History Room) A total of seventeen Victoria Crosses have been awarded to men from Saskatchewan or associated with Saskatchewan. The first of these, Surgeon Lieutenant Dr. Campbell Mellis Douglas, had been awarded the Victoria Cross on May 7, 1867, for rescuing seventeen stranded servicemen from an island in the Indian Ocean. Douglas was later to volunteer to serve in Saskatchewan during the North-West Resistance of 1885; after arriving in Swift Current he went to Saskatoon, where he treated the wounded from the battles of Fish Creek and Batoche .

For his efforts Douglas was awarded the North-West Canada Medal; following the Resistance he returned to England, where he died on December 31, 1909. Three Victoria Crosses were awarded to residents of Saskatchewan during the South African or Boer War (1899–1902). Ten more were awarded in World War I , and three in World War II . In World War I (1914–18), Saskatchewan’s VC recipients fought in Belgium and northeast France as members of the Canadian Corps. During World War II (1939–45), the first Saskatchewanian to receive the VC was stationed in Hong Kong when Japanese forces overran that colony in 1940. Saskatchewan VC recipients also fought at Dieppe and in northwest Europe. Only one VC winner, Major David Currie, was born in Saskatchewan. The Saskatchewan Victoria Cross recipients are: Beet, Harry Churchill (1873–1946). Corporal Harry Beet, 27 years old, was presented with the Victoria Cross in 1901 for his actions at Wakkerstroom, South Africa, while serving with the British army.

Beet rescued a wounded comrade, tending to his injuries and providing protection for their position until they were both rescued. Beet was born in Nottinghamshire, England, in 1873. In 1906, he and his wife emigrated to Saskatchewan. He served with the Canadian Army during World War I, and by 1918 had risen to the rank of Captain. In 1937 Beet moved to British Columbia, where he died in 1946. Cairns, Hugh (1896–1918). Sergeant Hugh Cairns joined the army in 1915 and was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his bravery at Vimy Ridge in 1917. Cairns received the Victoria Cross posthumously for his actions at Valenciennes, France on November 1, 1918. When during the advance a machine-gun opened fire on his platoon, 21-year-old Sergeant Cairns seized a Lewis gun and single-handedly, in the face of direct fire, rushed the post, killed the crew of five and captured the gun.

He led three other rushes against machine gun emplacements, killing twelve enemy soldiers, and capturing many others as well as the guns. After the position was consolidated, Cairns went with a battle patrol to exploit the village of Marly; he forced 60 enemy soldiers to surrender, but was severely wounded and collapsed from weakness and loss of blood. Throughout the operation he showed the highest degree of valour, and his leadership greatly contributed to the success of the attack. He died the next day, November 2, 1918. Hugh Cairns was born in England in 1896. His family emigrated to Saskatoon in 1911. In 1936 the town of Valenciennes renamed a street in his honour, and he was awarded the Legion of Honour by the French government. In Saskatoon, a street, a school, a baseball field and the armoury are named after him. A memorial to Cairns, who was also an active football player, was erected near Saskatoon’s University Bridge in 1921. The statue is of Hugh Cairns, and around the base are the names of seventy-five Saskatoon football players who did not return from the war.

Cockburn, Hampden Zane Churchill (1867–1913). Lieutenant Hampden Zane Churchill Cockburn of the Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD) was presented with the Victoria Cross on October 11, 1901, for his actions on November 7, 1900, at Komati River, South Africa. During the Battle of Liliefontein, 32-year-old Lieutenant Cockburn and his men, while acting as the rearguard for a column of troops, found themselves under fire from an overwhelming number of Boers. During a hectic running battle over many hours, the Dragoons twice prevented the capture of artillery pieces under their protection. Cockburn was wounded, and all his men were killed, wounded, or taken prisoner. Cockburn was born on November 19, 1867, in Toronto, Ontario. At the outbreak of the South African War, he gave up his law practice to enlist. During the war he took part in forty-five engagements and earned the Queen’s South African medal with clasps for Cape Colony, Diamond Hill, Johannesburg, and Orange Free State.

At the same time that he was presented with his VC, he received a sword of honour voted to him by the Toronto city council. In recognition of his services, he was appointed a major in the Governor General’s Bodyguard. Cockburn later moved to western Canada, where on July 13, 1913, he was killed in a riding accident on his ranch at Maple Creek. Combe, Robert Grierson (1880–1917). Thirty-six-year-old Lieutenant Robert Grierson Combe was awarded his Victoria Cross posthumously. On May 3, 1917, Combe’s battalion was ordered to occupy the German trenches near the town of Acheville, France. The Germans had anticipated an attack, and by the time the Canadians reached a point 500 yards from the German lines, Combe was the only officer in his company still alive. Combe and the other survivors found themselves caught in an artillery crossfire between the Germans and a barrage from their own guns. Leading six of his surviving comrades, he attacked the enemy position, capturing 250 yards of trench and eighty prisoners. Combe was fatally wounded by a sniper’s bullet in the final charge.

Born in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1880, he emigrated to Canada around 1906. After living in Moosomin for two years, he opened a drug store in Melville and then in Dubic. In 1914, Combe enlisted and was accepted for a commission. He went overseas to England with the 53rd Battalion as a major, but accepted a reduction in rank to lieutenant so that he could be assigned to the front line in France, where he joined the 27th (City of Winnipeg) Battalion. In 1919, the Prince of Wales presented Lieutenant Combe’s Victoria Cross to his widow, Jean Combe, at the Legislative Building in Regina. His portrait hangs in the Peace Tower in Ottawa as well as in the museum in Melville. A lake in northern Saskatchewan and the Melville Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion are named in his honour. Currie, David Vivian (1912–86). David Vivian Currie was born in Sutherland, Saskatchewan, on July 8, 1912. In 1939 he joined the militia, and enlisted in the regular army in January 1940.

He was promoted to captain in 1941 and to major in 1944. Currie was awarded the Victoria Cross for his heroism on August 18, 1944, at St. Lambert-sur-Dives, France. Major Currie was in command of a small mixed force of Canadian tanks, self-propelled anti-tank guns and infantry which was ordered to cut one of the main escape routes from the Falaise pocket. His force was held up by strong enemy resistance in the village of St. Lambert-sur-Dives, and two tanks were knocked out by 88mm guns. Major Currie immediately entered the village alone on foot at last light through the enemy outposts in order to rescue the crews of the disabled tanks—which he succeeded in doing in spite of heavy mortar fire. The following morning, Currie’s 115 troops attacked the village of 3,000 enemy soldiers, and by noon they had captured half the village. All of Major Currie’s junior officers were killed or wounded, leaving Currie to direct all aspects of the assault until his force was relieved over thirty-six hours later.

After the war he spent eight years in Baie Comeau, Quebec, and in 1953 he moved to Montréal. In 1960 Currie was appointed Sergeant-at-Arms of the Canadian House of Commons. David Currie, the only Saskatchewan-born Victoria Cross recipient, died in Ottawa on June 20, 1986. The Moose Jaw armoury is named in his honour. De Wind, Edmund (1883–1918). Lieutenant Edmund De Wind was awarded his Victoria Cross posthumously. On March 21, 1918, at Racecourse Redoubt near Grougies, France, he held this important position with only two NCOs for seven hours, though twice wounded, until another section could be sent to help him. On two occasions he got out on top of his trench, under heavy machine gun and rifle fire, and cleared the enemy from the position, killing many of them. He continued to repel enemy attacks until he was mortally wounded and collapsed. De Wind, born in County Down, Ireland in 1883, emigrated to Canada in 1910.

He joined the 31st Battalion, CEF, as a private in 1914 and arrived in France in September 1915. He saw action on the Somme and at Vimy Ridge. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the British army in September 1917. Mount De Wind in Alberta was named in his memory. Flowerdew, Gordon Muriel (1885–1918). Lieutenant Gordon Muriel Flowerdew was awarded his Victoria Cross posthumously. On March 30, 1918, in the Bois de Moreuil, France, Lieutenant (acting Captain) Flowerdew, 33 years old, was commanding C Squadron of the Lord Strathcona’s Horse, a unit of the Canadian Cavalry Brigade. His squadron was ordered to charge two entrenched lines of enemy, each about sixty strong, having machine guns at their centre and flanks. One line was about 200 yards behind the other. Flowerdew ordered one troop, under Lieut.

Harvey, VC, to dismount and provide covering fire while Flowerdew, leading the remainder of the squadron, charged, passing over both lines and killing many of the enemy. Although the squadron had about 70% casualties, including Lieutenant Flowerdew who was fatally wounded, the enemy broke and fled, and the position was captured. Gordon Flowerdew, born in Billingford, England in 1885, emigrated to Canada in 1903, homesteading north of Duck Lake. He moved to British Columbia sometime after 1910, and in 1914 he enlisted as a private in the Lord Strathcona Horse. He was commissioned an officer in 1916 and given command of C Squadron in 1918. Knight, Arthur George (1886–1918). Sergeant Arthur Knight received his Victoria Cross posthumously for his actions on September 2, 1918, at Villers-les-Cagnicourt, France. When a bombing section which he was leading was held up, Sergeant Knight went forward alone, bayoneting several enemy machine-gunners and trench mortar crews, and forcing the rest to retire.

Then bringing forward a Lewis gun he directed fire on the retreating enemy. His platoon went in pursuit and Knight, seeing about 30 of the enemy going into a tunnel leading off the trench, again went forward alone, killing an officer and two NCOs and taking 20 prisoners. He was killed in action a few days later. Knight, born in Sussex, England in 1886, came to Regina in 1911; there he worked as a carpenter. Knight was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the Belgian government in 1917. Knight and Sussex Crescents in Regina are named in his honour. Merritt, Charles Cecil Ingersoll (1908–2000). Lieutenant Colonel Merritt received his Victoria Cross for acts of gallantry and leadership at Dieppe, France while commanding his battalion, the South Saskatchewan Regiment, during the Dieppe Raid. From the point of landing at Pourville, his unit’s advance had to be made across a bridge which was swept by very heavy machine-gun, mortar and artillery fire. The first landing parties were mostly destroyed, and the bridge was thickly covered with their bodies.

A daring lead was required; waving his helmet, Lieutenant-Colonel Merritt rushed forward shouting, “Come on over! There’s nothing to worry about here!” He personally led the survivors of at least four parties in turn across the bridge. Quickly organizing these, he led them forward, and when held up by enemy pillboxes he again led rushes which succeeded in clearing them. Although twice wounded, Merritt continued to direct the unit’s operations, and while organizing the withdrawal he stalked a sniper with a Bren gun and silenced him. He then coolly gave orders for the departure and announced his intention to hold off the enemy. When last seen, he was collecting Bren and Tommy guns to prepare a defensive position from which he successfully covered the withdrawal from the beach. The success of the unit’s operations and the safe re-embarkation of a large portion of it were chiefly due to his personal daring. Merritt, however, was captured and became a prisoner of war until he was liberated in 1945. Merritt was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1908. He was educated at Lord Roberts School, Vancouver, University School, Victoria, and Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario.

Since 1929, he had been an officer in a Vancouver regiment, the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada. In 1942, he was transferred to the South Saskatchewan Regiment. Upon his release as a POW at the end of the war, he returned to Vancouver. Merritt, a lawyer, served as a member of Parliament from 1945 to 1949. In 1951 he was appointed commanding officer of the Seaforth Highlanders. He died on July 12, 2000. Milne, William Johnstone (1892–1917). Private William Johnstone Milne was awarded his Victoria Cross posthumously on April 9, 1917, for his actions at Vimy, France. During the attack, 24-year-old Private Milne observed an enemy machine gun firing on the advancing troops. Crawling on hands and knees, he succeeded in reaching the gun, killing the crew, and capturing the gun. When the line resumed the attack, he located a second machine gun and succeeded in capturing it and putting the crew out of action.

Milne, a member of the 16th (Canadian Scottish) Battalion, CEF, was born near Glasgow, Scotland in 1892. He emigrated to Canada in 1910, and worked for four years on a farm near Caron until he enlisted at Moose Jaw. Milne Channel in northeast Saskatchewan is named after him. Using public donations, the Canadian War Museum purchased his Victoria Cross at an auction in London, England. Mullin, George Harry (1892–1963). In January 1918, Sergeant Mullin was informed that he had been awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on October 30, 1917, in Passchendaele, Belgium. 25-year-old Sergeant Mullin single-handedly captured a German pillbox that had withstood heavy bombardment and was causing heavy casualties, holding up the attack. Mullin rushed a snipers’ post in front, destroying it with grenades, shot two gunners and forced the remaining ten to surrender. His clothes were riddled with bullets, but he never faltered; his actions helped to save many lives. Mullin was born in Portland, Oregon in 1892.

His family moved to Moosomin when he was 2 years old. He enlisted for military service in 1914 and was awarded the Military Medal in 1917. After the war, he returned to Moosomin and served with the militia in the Assiniboia Regiment, attaining the rank of major. He was appointed Sergeant-at-Arms for the Saskatchewan Legislature in 1934. During World War II, he volunteered for service in the Veterans’ Guard in 1940. In 1947 he returned to Regina and resumed his duties as Sergeant-at-Arms. The government of Saskatchewan named a northern lake in his honour. Mullin lived in Regina until his death in 1963. O’Leary, Michael (1890–1961). Lance-Corporal Michael O’Leary was serving in the British army when he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at Cuinchy, France in 1915. O’Leary, 25 years old, was one of a storming party that was advancing on the enemy lines when he rushed to the opposing front, killing five Germans who were holding the first barricade.

He then attacked a second barricade 60 yards further on, capturing it after killing three of the enemy and taking two of them prisoner. He thus practically took the position by himself and prevented the rest of the attacking party from being fired upon. O’Leary was born in Ireland in 1890, and trained in Regina with the North-West Mounted Police in 1913. He rejoined the British Army in 1914, but returned to Canada in 1921 to join the Ontario Police Department. In 1923 he took a job with the Michigan Central Railroad Company’s Ontario operations. He returned to England in the early 1930s and served as a Captain with the British Army’s Royal Pioneer Corps during World War II. He died in London, England in 1961. Osborn, John Robert (1899–1941). Sergeant-Major John Robert Osborn was awarded his Victoria Cross posthumously for sacrificing his life to save the lives of his comrades.

On December 19, 1941, in the British colony of Hong Kong, the company of the Winnipeg Grenadiers to which he belonged had become divided during an attack on a steep rising hill, Mount Butler. A part of the company, led by Company Sergeant-Major Osborn, captured the hill at the point of the bayonet and held it for three hours until they were forced to withdraw under heavy fire. Osborn and a small group covered the withdrawal, and when their turn came to fall back he single-handedly engaged the enemy while the remainder of the group successfully rejoined the company. During the afternoon, the company was cut off from the battalion and completely surrounded by the enemy, who were able to approach to within grenade-throwing distance of the slight depression that the company was holding. Several enemy grenades were thrown, which Osborn picked up and threw back. The enemy threw a grenade which landed in a position where it was impossible to pick it up and return it in time. Shouting a warning to the others, Sergeant-Major Osborn threw himself on the live grenade, which exploded, killing him instantly. John Osborn was born in Norfolk, England on January 2, 1899.

In World War I, he joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and served as a seaman, seeing action at the Battle of Jutland in May 1916. At the end of the war he moved to Wapella, Saskatchewan where he farmed for two years before moving to Manitoba. In 1933 he joined the Winnipeg Grenadiers and was called to active duty on September 3, 1939. Pearkes, George Randolph (1888–1984). Major George Randolph Pearkes of the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles Battalion was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in October 1917 at Passchendaele, Belgium. Although wounded in the right thigh, Pearkes continued to lead his men against repeated enemy counter-attacks and was able to capture an enemy strongpoint. Pearkes was born in Watford, England in 1888 and emigrated to Alberta to study farming in 1906. He began training with the Royal North-West Mounted Police at the Regina Depot in 1911, and in 1915 he joined the Canadian Army.

By the end of the war he had been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and in addition to receiving the Victoria Cross he was awarded the Military Cross, Distinguished Service Order, and French Croix de Guerre. He rose to the rank of Major General after the war, and was made commander of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division in Britain at the start of World War II. He returned to Canada to take over as officer commanding, Pacific Command. He was made a Commander of the Order of the Bath and received the United States Order of Merit. Pearkes was elected to Parliament and became Minister of Defence in 1957. He was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia from 1960 to 1968. He died in 1984. Richardson, Arthur Herbert Lindsey (1872– 1932). Sergeant Arthur Richardson received the Victoria Cross in 1900 for his actions at Wolve Point (Wolwespruit), South Africa, where a party of 38 Lord Strathcona’s Horse came into contact and was engaged at close quarters by a force of 80 of the enemy.

When the order was given to retire, Sergeant Richardson rode back under very heavy crossfire to save a comrade who had been shot from his horse and wounded. Seeing that the man was in danger of being taken prisoner, he retrieved him and rode off under a hail of Boer fire. Richardson was born in England in 1872 and emigrated to Canada in 1892. He joined the North-West Mounted Police in Regina in 1894. After the war, Richardson returned to Saskatchewan, and in 1908 moved back to Liverpool, England where he died in 1932. Zengel, Raphael Louis (1894–1977). Sergeant Raphael Zengel, a Military Medal holder, was awarded the Victoria Cross for outstanding bravery during the Battle of Amiens, France in World War I. On August 9, 1918, east of Warvillers, 23-year-old Sergeant Zengel was leading his platoon forward to the attack when he realized that an enemy machine-gun was firing into the advancing line.

He rushed forward ahead of the platoon to the gun emplacement, killed the officer and operator of the gun, and dispersed the crew. Later that day he was rendered temporarily unconscious by an enemy shell. Upon recovery, he continued to direct harassing fire at the enemy. Zengal was born in Fairbault, Minnesota, in 1894. He and his widowed mother emigrated to Burr, a small town south of Humboldt, in 1906. In 1914 he moved to Manitoba, where he joined the Canadian Army. After the war, Zengel moved to Alberta and then to British Columbia, where he died in 1977. In 1951 the National Geographic Board of Canada named Mount Zengel, in the Jasper, Alberta region, in his honour. Daria Coneghan, David G. Marshall

Question: Which two words are inscribed on the Victoria Cross?
Answer: For Valour