THE V.C.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11670, 10 April 1916, Page 3

THE V.C.

ITS DIAMOND JUBILEL STORY OF THE FAMOUS MEDAL. Sixty years ago to-day siiw the birth. of what has become throughout tho British Empire—and especially in those times of war—the most famous and the most coveted gift that is in tho possession cf the Sovereign, of these realms to bos tow—tho Victoria. Cross (remarks the Glasgow ''Weekly Herald" of January 29). It is, perhaps, appropriate that the diamond jubilee of a decoration instituted in the closing day.? of what was then regarded as one of the most serious of the many armed conflicts in which the nation had been engaged should fall in the midst of a. vast struggle that eclipses in every way tho battles of past centuries in which Great Britain lias been engaged. Possibly among the countless brave deeds that are being performed to-day by tho wonderful army that, has &pnmg to the defence of the fair name or the Empire there will bo on© that is rewarded by—as there will bo many that merit—the little bronze medal " For Valour." if such there be, tho recipient of the Cross will havo reason to bo doubly proud, as the winner of the decoration on tho diamond jubilee of its foundation.

QUEEN'S HAPPY IDEA. In no other country is there a war distinction so renowned as that established by Queen Victoria, on January 29, 1856, when the Crimean War was all but ended and the shadow of the Indian Mutiny had not yet fallen upon tho country. There was at that time no method of honouring individual gallantry. Only the higher ranks of tho Navy and Army could receive oven the lowest class of the Order of the Bath, and the medals which could be conferred upon tho services were either for indiscriminate participation in. a particular action or campaign or for Jong service and meritorious conduct. The happy idea, of creating " a new naval and military' decoration which we are desirous should bo highly prized and eagerly sought after by the officers and men of our naval and military services' 5 had occurred to tlie gracious lady who occupied the throne only just in time, for within a year or two just upon 300 —nearly half the total given, in tho sixty years —had been won in the campaigns that made the fifties memorable.

Although many persons havo seen the Victoria Cross and are familiar with, the general appearance of the symbol of bravery, tho details of the little bronze medal are not so well known. Fashioned out of cannon captured by tho British troops at Sebastopol a few months beforo the institution of the decoration, the Cross, though valued intrinsically at a few halfpence, is worth its weight in gold. In shape, a' cross-pattee and not Maltese—fop the four arms are not cleft at the end as is the true Maltese—it . (fears in a centre a crown, abe?q> which is a lion, with the legend ''For vatour" beneath. Simple and devoid of artistic merit as the medal is, there is no other honour in the world that brings its recipient so proud a-, thrill. Neither title nor rank is held as a claim to the V.C—indeed, this was expressly ordained in the _ Royal Warrant by which it was instituted; and to-day its standing is as high as when it was the "baby" of British distinctions. ■ THE FIRST RECIPIENTS.

Although to-day marks the sixtieth anniversary of the announcement of tlie creation of the Cross, it is a'few days more than sixty-two years Since the deed that gained the first V.C. was performed, as its conferment was made retrospective. On January 6, 1854*, a young officer on H.M.S. Hecla saved his vessel and hor custodians during the Baltic Campaign by throwing overboard a live shel'l that had fallen on the deck. He was Xieutenant Charles Davis Lucas, and he reached the' rank of i\,c+rAdmiral beforo he died a year or two ago. Rear-Admiral Lucas and MajorGeneral Sir Luke O'Connor, who also died full of years and honour not long ago, were among the heroes of the services who received their Crosses from the hands of Queen Victoria at what may be described as the inauguration of the decoration in Hydo Park in Juno of 1867, when the first "investiture " of the new order was held. A PICTURESQUE cmEMONY.

An . enormous crowd thronged the park to eeo the popular young Sovereign reward her sailors and soldiers. Her Majesty rode on to the ground mounted on her favourite charger, accompanied' by the Prince Consort ._ A large-"gathering of members of the Royal Family was also present, the future King Edward, then a lad of fifteen, and his brother Prince. Alfred, the twelve-year-old boy who became Duke of Edinburgh and Duke, of SaxeCoburg and Gotha, being in attendants on ponies. Among the. occupants of carriages were the Princess Royal, who six months Inter married the then Crown Prince of Prussia, and who lived to see her eldest son ' (the present Kaiser) commence his term as German Emperor, and the then Princess Mary, who became the Duchess of Took and the mother of our present. Queen. The Secretary of War, Lord Panmure, was with Queen Victoria to outline the gallant actions of the men who paraded before her, and many other high officers of the two services witnessed", the inauguration. The Cross was on this occasion presented 1 to sixty-two. officers and men, twelve belonging to the Navy and fifty to the Army. All had won the decoration in the war with Russia, eithor in the Baltic or the Crimea, and not one of the group is alive to-day. Each of tho brave men—the representatives of the Navv first, in order of rank, and then the soldiers according to their position in the service—advanced singly to the spot where Queen Victoria'.awaited him. and as each arrived before her Majesty. Lord Panmure handed a Cross to the Queen, who, stooping from her saddle, pinned the little piece of bronze on the tunic of the recipient. The vast crowd assembled round the parade ground accorded to evorv man of the sixty-two a welcome that added appreciably to the. pride that lie must have, felt at receiving his sovereign's thanks for his heroism. ROY A L CONCESSIONS. In the sixty years that have passed since the rules 'governing the Victoria Cross drawn up only a. few slight alterations in tho conditions have been made, each being an improvement, and none loosening the strictness with which awards are made. The most interesting change enables the Sovereign to confer the distinction posthumously, as so many have'been done in the'past eighteen months. Until the beginning of this century, it a man were "killed in executing a deed ot bravery which would have brought him the ho'nuir if he had lived, the " London Gazette" merely stated this fact, and there was no actual bestowal ot the Cross. In the South African war. however, the V.C. which was granted to Lieutenant the Hon ['. H o. Roberts for his gallantry at Colen&o was given to his father —himself the owiie'- of the decoration —when the Commander-in-Chiefs son died of his round*. Tho question whether the relatives in similar ease* should he presented with \K> Cross was then raised. and- Kin/ Edward quickly oru'ered that this favour ,-liould be granted, the ,i.. v . i-iih- 'km';;- si;l>-\".|ii«'htiy made tv-t!(i->pi'(-'ivc. so that a V.C oanicd ns

long ago as 185-?, and others merited in 1879, were handed to the representatives of the brave men who had given their liven and who had', therefore, missed the honour. Only two other changes are of sufficient importance to mention. The Royal Warrant set forth that recipients of the Cross, below commissioned rank were to have an annuity of £lO, but lafteu- this provision had been _in force for nearly forty years the pension was increased to £SO when, in th 3 opinion of tho Admiralty or War Office, the circumstances of the hero tendered it desirable. -By the remaining alteration, which was- effected only a few years ago, the right- to win. the Cross was extended to native soldiers in the Indian Army, and it is common knowledge how these splendid lighters brought to Europe from the great Empire in the East .availed thenibslves of this privilege before they were replaced in France by our new armies .and removed to other fieids of action where the weather conditions wore less trying. THIS WAR'S RECORD. Tiie present war has already advanced to second place in the list of Y.C. producing campaigns, and it must he rcmembelter that the distinction was never harder to win, because of the innumerable cases of individual bravery, from which it is only possible to make a. .selection of the most notable. In all close upon seven hundred Crosses have "been conferred during the sixty years, and of these 182 were gained in the Indian Mutiny. Nearly LW have been bestowed in the past eighteen months —many of them being posthumous—while in the combined' operations in the Baltic and Crimea, in the fifties 111 were awarded. The last straggle in South Africa was marked by an addition of seventy-eight, while the Zululand campaign of 1879 brought twenty-three, and tho Afghanistan Expedition of tho same period another sixteen. The record of heading the individual ''honours' list" is held by the Rifle Brigade, -which has placed nineteen to its credit, the King's Royal Riflo Corps comes a good second with seventeen, the South Wales 'Borderers (who won ten in Zululand) third with sixteen, <a-nd tho Gordon Highlanders fourth with fifteen. Among the few other regiments that can boast of double figures are the Black Watch, with a d'osen. and the Ca-merouia-ns and Sea-forth Highlanders, with eleven each.