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THE VICTORIA CROSS See Also: Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross is the highest award for valour within the British Empire. Although instituted more than a century ago and spanning the four most terrible wars in Britain's history, it has been awarded to only 1,350 men, three of whom have won it twice, plus one more for the American Unknown Warrior , who lies buried in Arlington National Cemetery , Washington, as a symbol for all those who died in the Allied cause. The British Unknown Warrior, who was buried in Westminster Abbey, received the Congressional Medal of Honor from the United States Government. He was not awarded the Victoria Cross. The deeds for which the VC has been won are as varied as the backgrounds from which the winners have come. For it is the most democratic of all medals, open to the private soldier no less than his commanding officer - "every rank and grade of all branches of Her Majesty's forces". Cast in Bronze from the Cannon s captured at Sevastopol in the Crimean War , the Victoria Cross retains a mystique that no other decoration has ever achieved. It takes precedence over all others, and the merest glimpse of that distinctive crimson ribbon on the brest of a veteran is sufficient to establish him as a military monarch in the minds of his fellow men, and nothing short of a god in the eyes of schoolboys throughout the world. The VC has never been won by a woman, although the rules do not preclude that possibility. It has been awarded to five Civilians , four during the Indian Mutiny and one during the Second Afghan War (to Reverend James William Adams ). Two Germans have won it, as well as a Russian and five Americans. THE BOOK Over the years, many books have been written on the various exploits of those whose bravery in action has earned the VC, but never before have all 1,350 been listed alphabetically in one volume together with details of birth, place of deed, town or county connections, memorials, etc. The first edition of the Register was published in 1981, a year before the Falklands conflict when two more VCs were awarded. In the revised and enlarged second edition, published in 1988, brief accounts of the deeds for which the VC was awarded were also included. This third edition contains further amendments and also more original material which has been received during the last few years. In the 141 years since its foundation there have been many claims, particularly among family descendants, that a kinsman had won the Victoria Cross. Until this book was published those claims have been difficult to prove or deny without access to Ministry of Defence files and other Service lists, resulting in lingering disputes. That was a minor reason for This England magazine embarking on the production of this comprehensive Register of the Victoria Cross. The major reason, however, was to create a definitive and lasting work of reference as a tribute to the bravery of the men themselves... DETAILS OF PUBLICATION Third Edition, 352 pages, '' This England '', 1997 (ISBN 0906324270) hardback. Compiled and researched for '' This England '' by Nora Buzzell. Published by: This England Alma House, Rodney Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 1HT. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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