Encyclopedia
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.
The Australian War Memorial displays 61 Victoria Crosses (59 Australian and 2 British), the largest publicly held collection in the world. Sixty Victoria Crosses are displayed together in the Memorial's Hall of Valour and one the Conflicts 1945 to today gallery. These VCs have been donated or loaned to the Memorial by individuals, families, or unit associations to be displayed for the nation.
Included in the VC collection are the medals of Sir Neville Howse, who won the award in the Boer War, becoming Australia's first VC. There are all nine of the crosses awarded to Australians for the Gallipoli campaign, including that of the legendary Albert Jacka VC MC and bar. The collection also includes the cross of the first Australian winner of the Second World War, Corporal John "Jack" Edmondson, who died at Tobruk during the act for which the award was made. Also displayed are the medals of Bomber Command hero Sir Hughie Edwards; the medals of Thomas "Diver" Derrick VC DCM, who was mourned by the nation when he ultimately fell at Tarakan in 1945; and the medals of Warrant Officer "Dasher" Wheatley who fought a fatal "last stand" action beside a wounded mate in Vietnam are displayed.
Further information:
- Victoria Crosses at the
Australian War Memorial
A list of Victoria Crosses held by the Australian War Memorial. - Australian
recipients of the Victoria Cross
A list of Australian Victoria Cross recipients from the Boer War through to Vietnam - The Victoria Cross
A brief history of the Victoria Cross from the ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee (Queensland). - Recommendations for honours and awards made to Australians while on active service with Australian forces during the Boer War, First World War, Second World War, Korean War, Malayan Emergency, Indonesian Confrontation and the Vietnam War
- Wartime article about First World War recipients of the Victoria Cross.
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