In keeping with the purpose of this thread I’m posting another tidbit of information about Canada… and since a number of posts on other threads have concerned the military (and my experience with it) I have decided to post some information about the military… in this case the highest military decoration in Canada (and the British Commonwealth): The Victoria Cross (or VC).
Now the Victoria Cross can be thought of as being roughly equivalent to the Medal of Honor (MoH) in the US, both awards came into being around the same time VC (1856 but retroactive to 1854), MoH (1861), and both are awarded for conspicuous bravery, heroism, and gallantry.
Now the VC while an award than can be given to any member of the armed forces is somewhat more rare than the MoH, almost a third as many VCs (1354) as MoHs (3459) have been awarded.
Trivia:
* Each medal is made from metal that comes from the cascabels (large knob at the end of a cannon) of two cannons captured at Sebastopol (last great battle of the Crimean War).
* Incredibly it wasn’t until 1920 that an amendment was made allowing for the awarding of a posthumous VC.
* There is no barrier of colour, creed, sex or rank (unlike many military decorations which have different types for officers and other ranks).
* Fourteen men not born British or Commonwealth citizens have received the VC; five Americans-(although 4 were serving with Canadian units- Link: (
http://www.victoriacross.net/subnat.asp?nat=6), one Belgian, three Danes, two Germans, one Swede, a Swiss and a Ukrainian.
* The ribbon was originally red for the Army and blue for the Royal Navy but when the Royal Air Force was formed in 1918 it was changed to red for all the services.
* The Victoria Cross is still awarded only by Royal assent and is presented by the monarch.
* Since 1945 the VC has been awarded only 11 times (4 during the Vietnam War to Australians, while the last two occasions were during the Falklands War in 1982).
* Only 3 men have ever been awarded the VC twice (entitling them to an extra bar on the ribbon): Noel Chavasse, Arthur Martin-Leake, and Charles Upham
* To date no woman has won the VC.
* The only ungazetted (un-named) VC was presented to the WWI American Unknown Soldier buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
* When the VC was first instituted a special pension of 10 pounds per annum was made payable to all non-commissioned ranks. In July 1898 it was decided this amount might be increased in times of need, at discretion, to 50 pounds then later to 75 pounds. It was not until 1959 that the pension was allowed irrespective of rank and increased to 100 pounds. In 1995 it was increased to 1,300 pounds and at that time there were 33 recipients still alive.
* A recipient of the medal regardless of rank must be saluted; so even a General or Field Marshal would have to salute or rise in the presence of a Private who had been awarded the VC.
Canada Specific Facts:
* Leo Clarke, Fred Hall, and Robert Shankland all lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. They all happened to live on the same street, Pine Street and it is believed to be the only street in the world to have three Victoria Cross winners that lived there. The city of Winnipeg later renamed it Valour Road in honour of the men. A bronze plaque is mounted on a street lamp to tell this story
* Canada instituted its own Honours and Awards some time ago and the VC remained the highest award. However, the motto FOR VALOR was changed to the Latin PRO VALORE although the Canadian Victoria Cross still needs full royal assent from the Queen to be awarded. No new Canadian VCs have yet been awarded.
* Canadians have been awarded the VC a total of 90 times.
* The first Canadian to win the VC was Alexander Robert Dunn, for actions at Balaclava – 25 October 1854 (Charge of the Light Brigade).
* The third Canadian to win the VC was William Hall, for actions at Lucknow India – 16 November 1857 (Indian Mutiny), was the first person of colour to win the award.
Other Links:
Victoria Cross Website:
http://www.victoriacross.net/default.asp
Specific Info on Medal itself:
http://www.victoriacross.net/medal.asp
Listing of Canadian Victoria Cross Recipients:
http://www.victoriacross.net/subnat.asp?nat=5