The Unknown Warrior

All soldiers are brave, but some have gone above and beyond in their service and, quite rightly, their efforts have been commended with the Victoria Cross (VC).

The VC is the highest award available in the British Honours System to commend Armed Forces personnel.

It is awarded to members of the British military who show unparalleled bravery in the face of the enemy.

• Victoria Cross awarded to axe-wielding officer who stormed enemy boat up for auction

• What are the different medals that can be awarded?

• Watch: Incredible 1917 footage of WW1 Army hero being awarded Victoria Cross

What is the Victoria Cross?

The medal was introduced on 29 January 1856, by Queen Victoria, to reward the bravery shown by soldiers during the Crimean War.

At first, the policy excluded the award being given to soldiers who had died in action but in 1902, an exception was made and six soldiers received the award posthumously for their efforts in the Second Boer War.

Eventually, five years later in 1907, the policy was changed to reflect the bravery of those who had died in fighting for the country.

Initially, it was awarded only to British Army and Royal Navy personnel, but it was subsequently given to members of the other Armed Forces.

The design is of is a cross pattee with a lion statant gardant on the Royal Crown, with the words, 'FOR VALOUR' on the semi-circular scroll (Picture: MOD)

Design

The design is of is a cross pattee with a lion statant gardant on the Royal Crown, with the words FOR VALOUR on the semi-circular scroll.

As you can see in the image above, the Cross is suspended by a ring from a seriffed V attached to a suspension bar decorated with laurel leaves. If awarded a second time a bar is worn on the medal.

Originally, the VC ribbon was dark blue for the Royal Navy and crimson for the Army.

This was all before the Royal Air Force was formed in 1918 when King George V approved the recommendation that the crimson ribbon should be adopted by all three services. When the ribbon is worn alone, a miniature of the cross is pinned on it.

The prototype Victoria Cross was made by the London jewellers Hancocks & Co, which still makes VCs for presentation today.

According to legend, the prototype, along with the first 111 crosses awarded, were cast from the bronze of guns captured from the Russians in the Crimea. 

However, it is possible that the bronze cannon used was Chinese, having been captured during the First China War (1839-42) and then stored at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich.

How many have been awarded?

Since its inception in 1856, there have been 1,358 VCs awarded, since the first one in 1856.

This total includes three bars granted to soldiers who won a second VC and the cross awarded to the Unknown American soldier.

On 26 June 1857, Queen Victoria attended an event in Hyde Park, London, to invest 62 of the 111 Crimean War recipients of the Victoria Cross.

Watch: Incredible 1917 footage of WW1 Army hero Private Jack Cunningham being awarded his Victoria Cross

First recipient

The first recipient of the Victoria Cross was Rear Admiral Charles Davis Lucas at just 20 years old, having joined the Royal Navy at age 13 in 1847.

He was serving on board HMS Hecla which was part of an Anglo-French fleet in the Baltic, attacking the Russian Fortress of Bomarsund during the Crimean War.

The fortress had 80 guns. A live shell from a gun landed on the deck of the ship about to go off, Charles picked it up and threw it overboard where it exploded, saving countless lives and the ship.

Most recent recipient

The most recent recipient of the Victoria Cross was Corporal Joshua Leakey in 2015.

He joined the British Army in 2007, where he was posted to the 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment.

While serving out in Afghanistan in 2013, the routine joint patrol he was on came under fire.

Over his radio, he heard that someone had been injured and came up with a plan of action. He led his section to where the injured soldier was.

Watch: Victoria Cross awarded to Lance Corporal Joshua Leakey for gallantry in 2015

With his group under attack, Cpl Leakey gave first aid treatment before returning (still under fire) to his machine-gun to start a counter-attack.

Another soldier manned his gun and he ran over to a second machine-gun to get it back into action.

Fighting ceased when air support arrived and Leakey returned to the injured soldier to oversee the medical evacuation.

After being presented the Victoria Cross by Her Majesty The Queen, Cpl Leakey said: "It's great for my family, my friends, my regiment, but it does for me highlight the sacrifice everyone made in Afghan – not just in terms of the loss of life and limbs but people going away for months on end."

Awarded more than one

There are only three people who have received the Victoria Cross twice in its 163-year history.

Captain Arthur Martin-Leake received his first medal for his heroics during the Boer War in 1902 and his second in 1915 for rescuing wounded men under heavy fire during the First Battle of Ypres.

Captain Noel Chavasse tended to the wounded at night under fire during fighting at Guillemont in World War One and for this, he received his first Victoria Cross in February 1917.

In July 1917, Capt Chavasse was at the Battle of Passchendaele, having received a head wound early on in the fight he refused to leave and continued to look after the other wounded soldiers.

He died on 4 August 1917, having been hit by a blast from a shell two days previously. His second Victoria Cross was awarded posthumously.

Captain Charles Upham served with the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force during the Second World War.

While fighting German forces in Crete in 1941, he carried a wounded soldier to safety, despite himself also being wounded.

His second Victoria Cross was awarded in 1942 when in North Africa he helped capture a German position, destroying tanks and vehicles despite being injured.

Machine-gun fire shattered his arm but after his wounds were dressed he carried on fighting with his men even though he suffered further injuries.

He served out the rest of the Second World War in Colditz Castle after being captured by the Germans. 

Last Gurkha recipient

In 2023, a funeral for the last remaining Gurkha recipient of Britain's Victoria Cross was held at British Gurkhas Nepal HQ in Kathmandu.

Captain Rambahadur Limbu was awarded Britain's highest military decoration by Queen Elizabeth II, in 1966, for gallantry during the Borneo confrontation, when he ran across open ground under heavy fire to save two of his friends.

Watch: Funeral held for last remaining Gurkha recipient of Victoria Cross

His casket was taken first to his residence in central Kathmandu where family and locals crowded around the open doors of the ambulance clutching Nepalese scarves and flowers.

He was then taken to British Gurkhas Nepal where a sports court crammed with personnel and representatives from the Nepalese army, government and the British Embassy, played host to a service of remembrance.

Capt Limbu's body was then later loaded onto a small plane and flown to his home in Damak where he was buried after a village ceremony.