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.
Victoria Crosses held at the Memorial
Further information:
- Recommendations for honours and awards made to Australian forces during the Boer War, First World War, Second World War, Korean War, Malayan Emergency, Indonesian Confrontation and the Vietnam War
- ‘Inspirational Bravery’, article by Peter Burness on the First World War recipients of the Victoria Cross, from Wartime: the official magazine of the Australian War Memorial
- The Hall of Valour
- This company of brave men : the Gallipoli VCs
- Profiles of the Australian recipients of the Victoria Cross
- The Victoria Cross: a brief history of the Victoria Cross and list of Australian recipients, from the ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee (Queensland).
