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23 unusual facts about Victoria Cross


Australian War Memorial

Also between the wings lies the Hall of Valour, a display of 61 of the 96 Victoria Crosses awarded to Australian soldiers; the largest publicly held collection of Victoria Crosses in the world.

It was officially opened following a Remembrance Day ceremony on 11 November 1941 by the then Governor-General Lord Gowrie, himself a former soldier whose honours included the Victoria Cross.

Battle of Blood River Poort

Lieutenant Llewellyn Price-Davies of the King's Royal Rifle Corps won the Victoria Cross for valiantly defending the field guns.

Battle of Hlobane

Colonel Buller received the Victoria Cross for his conspicuous gallantry and leadership, as did Lieutenant Henry Lysons and Private Edmund Fowler for charging the caves that morning.

Cathy Bursey-Sabourin

She provided detailed artwork for the new insignia of the Victoria Cross(Canada).

Chatta Singh

Chatta Singh VC (1886 – 28 March 1961) was an Indian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Daniel Laidlaw

Daniel Logan Laidlaw VC (26 July 1875 – 2 June 1950) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

George Negus

On the 28 February 2012 episode of The Circle, Negus along with Yumi Stynes, made comments about a photo of Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith a Victoria Cross and Medal for Gallantry recipient, coming out of a swimming pool.

Glasgow Necropolis

Three modern memorials lie between the gates and the bridge: a memorial to still-born children; a memorial to the Korean War; and a memorial to Glaswegian recipients of the Victoria Cross.

History of the Australian Army

Six Victoria Crosses were awarded to Australians, five serving with Australian contingents and one serving with the South African Constabulary.

Jack Whitham

Whitham was born in Burnley on 8 December 1946; his grandfather Thomas Whitham of the Coldstream Guards had won the Victoria Cross in 1917 for attacking single-handed an enemy machine gun post.

Katharine Susannah Prichard

Prichard moved with her husband, war hero Hugo "Jim" Throssell, VC, to Greenmount, Western Australia, in 1920 and lived at 11 Old York Road for much of the rest of her life.

New Zealand Cross

The medal was instituted to provide recognition to members of the local volunteer forces (who, at the time, were not eligible for the Victoria Cross).

Operation Wilfred

After receiving return fire and heavy damage, she rammed Admiral Hipper and sank soon afterwards with 111 men killed, for which her commander, Lieutenant-Commander Gerard Broadmead Roope was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

Order of Saint Lucia

When worn in Saint Lucia the Order takes precedence over all other decorations except the Victoria Cross and the George Cross.

Ryhope

In March 1944 Ryhope was the scene of the conclusion of the epic last flight of LK797 from the RAF Bomber Command's offensive against the III Reich, which crash landed there, resulting in Pilot Officer Cyril Barton being awarded the Victoria Cross.

Skirmish at the Genitchi Strait

It is notable in that it was the occasion on which a Victoria Cross was awarded, to seaman Joseph Trewavas.

The Death of God

Harper dedicated the single to the memory of Ali Hader VC, of the 6th/13th Frontier Force Rifles, Indian Army (Pakistan).

The Victoria Cross: For Valour

Clarkson examines the history of the Victoria Cross, and follows the story of one of the 1,354 men who were awarded it - Major Robert Henry Cain.

Tom 'Diver' Derrick Bridge

The bridge was the subject of a successful community campaign, spearheaded by the local RSL and the Portside Messenger newspaper, to name it after Port Adelaide World War II hero, Tom 'Diver' Derrick VC, DCM instead of the State Government's unpopular choice of the 'Power Bridge'.

West Malling

Wing Commander Guy Gibson, V.C., leader of The Dambusters, was stationed at RAF West Malling in 1941 & his signature is preserved on the ceiling of the cellar at Douce's Manor which was used as an Officers Mess by the Airmen.

William Angus

After the rescue he was taken to a military hospital in Boulogne-sur-Mer, where he learned of his award of the Victoria Cross.

William Angus VC (28 February 1888 – 14 June 1959) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.


All Saints Church, Siddington

There is a memorial to Lieutenant Colonel Wilfrith Elstob VC DSO MC (1888 – 1918), recipient of the Victoria Cross in World War II, whose father was Vicar of All Saints.

Army Medical Services Museum

The collections on display include uniforms and insignia, medical, dental and veterinary equipment, ambulances, an ambulance train ward coach and a large medal collection including 23 of the 29 Victoria Crosses awarded to the Army Medical Services.

Arthur Blackburn

Brigadier Arthur Seaforth Blackburn VC, CMG, CBE, ED (25 November 1892 – 24 November 1960) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Arthur Henry Seton Hart-Synnot

Hart-Synnot was from a family with a history of military service, and an uncle, Sir Reginald Hart, had been awarded the Victoria Cross in Afghanistan.

Baron Moynihan

It was created on 19 March 1929 for the surgeon Sir Berkeley Moynihan, 1st Baronet, the son of the Victoria Cross recipient Andrew Moynihan.

Battle of Gully Ravine

Two soldiers of the 1st Battalion, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Captain Gerald O'Sullivan and Corporal James Somers, were awarded the Victoria Cross for recapturing a trench taken by the Ottomans during a counter-attack.

Battle of Tamai

For their conspicuous bravery during the battle, Private Thomas Edwards of the Black Watch and Lieutenant Percival Marling of the KRRC were awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration in the British Army.

Christopher Henn-Collins

In August 1939, when he was Brigade Signals Officer to the 1st Brigade of Guards, he had been ordered to lead a detachment of signallers and their equipment into Poland, as part of a British Military Mission under the command of the battle-scarred veteran General Carton de Wiart, VC, blinded in one eye and with an artificial hand.

Cuffley

This incident is commemorated by a memorial on East Ridgeway to Lieutenant W. Leefe Robinson, the pilot who shot the airship down; he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

Darwan Singh Negi

Darwan Singh Negi VC (November 1881 – 24 June 1950) was among the earliest Indian recipients of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Edmund Phipps-Hornby

The following men were also awarded the Victoria Cross in the same action: Lieutenant Francis Maxwell (VC, CSI, DSO & Bar), Sergeant Charles Parker (VC), Gunner Isaac Lodge (VC) and Driver Horace Glasock (VC).

Francis Aylmer Maxwell

Brigadier General Francis Aylmer Maxwell VC, CSI, DSO & Bar (7 September 1871 – 21 September 1917) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Frederick Maurice Watson Harvey

Harvey was awarded the Victoria Cross following an incident on March 27, 1917 at the village of Guyencourt.

George Stringer

George Stringer VC (24 July 1889 – 22 November 1957) from Newton Heath, Manchester was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Hamsterley Hall

Their first son John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort VC was succeeded in 1946 by his brother Standish Vereker, 7th Viscount MC who lived at Hamsterley until his death in 1975.

HM Coastal Motor Boat 4

After the action the boat was returned to the United Kingdom where it was on display first at the Imperial War Museum in London and then at the Vosper works on Platt’s Eyot (island) on the River Thames near Kingston for many years with a Victoria Cross painted on the side until the Vosper works there closed.

HMS Dunraven

In recognition, two Victoria Crosses were awarded, one to the ship's First Lieutenant, Lt. Charles George Bonner RNR, and the other, by ballot, to a gunlayer, Petty Officer Ernest Herbert Pitcher.

Holbrook, New South Wales

During World War I, the town name was deemed unpatriotic so on 24 August 1915 the town was renamed Holbrook in honour of Lt. Norman Douglas Holbrook, a decorated wartime submarine captain and winner of the Victoria Cross.

London Victory Celebrations of 1946

The contingent consisted of 250 servicemen and women, drawn from the three services, including Private Richard Kelliher, who had won the Victoria Cross in the Battle of Lae in 1943.

Lord William Beresford

Lieutenant-Colonel Lord William Leslie de la Poer Beresford VC KCIE (20 July 1847 – 30 December 1900) born Mullaghbrack, County Armagh, Ireland was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Matthew Dixon

Major General Matthew Charles Dixon VC CB (5 February 1821 – 8 January 1905) was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Mullaghbrack

Lord William Beresford (William Leslie de la Poer Beresford) (1847-1900), born in Mullabrack, received the Victoria Cross during the Anglo-Zulu War.

Order of St. Patrick

When an individual was entitled to use multiple post-nominal letters, KP appeared before all others, except "Bt" and "Btss" (Baronet and Baronetess), "VC" (Victoria Cross), "GC" (George Cross), "KG" (Knight of the Garter) and "KT" (Knight of the Thistle).

Richard Lonsdale

Although in an isolated position they held their ground throughout the day and Lance Sergeant John Baskeyfield was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on the main road into Oosterbeek.

Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.5

Captain John Aidan Liddell was awarded the Victoria Cross for an action on 31 July 1915, being badly wounded when flying an R.E.5 but successfully recovering the aircraft and saving his observer.

Second Battle of Heligoland Bight

It was during this battle that Able Seaman John Henry Carless of HMS Caledon won a posthumous Victoria Cross for his bravery in manning a gun despite mortal wounds.

Sir Henry Wilmot, 5th Baronet

Colonel Sir Henry Wilmot, 5th Baronet Wilmot of Chaddesden VC KCB (3 February 1831 – 7 April 1901) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Sutherland, Saskatoon

David Vivian Currie - Sutherland born recipient of the Victoria Cross and the only Canadian to be awarded the medal during the Normandy Campaign in the Second World War

They shall not pass

The phrase was used again in December 1943 by French-Canadian officer Paul Triquet of the Victoria Cross.

Thurlby, North Kesteven

Major Sir Edmund Gonville Bromhead (1791–1870) 3rd Baronet, was the father of Gonville Bromhead who won the Victoria Cross at the 1879 battle of Rorke's Drift in the Zulu War.

Twelve Tree Copse Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery

One of the unidentified bodies is that of Second Lieutenant Alfred Smith who was killed when he flung himself onto a grenade to save his comrades, for which he was posthumously awarded a Victoria Cross.

United Services College

Colonel Edward Douglas Browne-Synge-Hutchinson, VC, CB (attended United Services College Day Boy 1875).

V Beach Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery

Amongst the graves is that of Captain Garth Walford who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross (along with Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Doughty-Wylie) for organising and leading an attack through Seddülbahir and the fort adjacent to the cemetery.

Valour Cross

The Valour Cross is the highest Danish military decoration and can be compared to the British Victoria Cross or the United States' Medal of Honor.

Victor Buller Turner

Lieutenant-Colonel Victor Buller Turner VC CVO (17 January 1900 – 7 August 1972) was an English recipient during the Second World War of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

West Felton

Boer War Victoria Cross winner General Sir Walter Congreve had his home at West Felton Grange from 1903 to 1924, with his son William, who was killed in World War I when he also, posthumously, received the VC.

Xavier Petulengro

Unusually among Gypsies at the time, he learned to read and write, later claiming that this was due to the assistance of Admiral Arthur Wilson VC of the Royal Navy and his sister, but also with the help of a farmer's wife, Martha Clark, in Whitehaven, Cumbria, where the family spent several winters.