VC Winners
The Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is Britain's joint-highest award for gallantry. It requires an act of extreme bravery in the presence of the enemy, and has achieved almost mythical status, with recipients often revered as heroes.
Until 1940, the Victoria Cross (VC) was Britain's highest award for gallantry. Since then, it has been equal in status to the George Cross (GC), which was instituted for acts of conspicuous bravery not performed in the enemy's presence.
The VC was instituted by Royal Warrant on 29 January 1856 to acknowledge the bravery displayed by many soldiers and sailors during the Crimean War (1854-56). Unlike its predecessors, the new award was open to all ranks and would only be presented for acts of supreme gallantry in the face of the enemy.
There is no barrier of colour, creed, sex or rank. Indeed, VC recipients have come from all social backgrounds and from all over the British Empire and Commonwealth.
In all, 1,358 VCs have been issued since the award's inception in 1856. Of these, 626 were issued for service during the First World War (1914-18), and 181 for service in the Second World War (1939-45). The total figure includes extra bars added to the VCs of three soldiers who had already won the award before, and the VC awarded to the Unknown Soldier buried at Arlington National Ceremony in the United States.
