Victoria Cross

An Order instituted by Queen Victoria in1856 for eminent personal valour and awarded to military personnel of all ranks.  The Victoria Cross is the highest decoration that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces but a number of persons who are not British or Commonwealth citizens have also been recipients. It is in the form of a Cross Paté  (although called Maltese Cross in the Royal Warrant) of bronze charged with the Imperial crown and crest with the motto For Valour.

The medal is cast from the bronze of Chinese cannon captured from the Russians at the Siege of Sebastopol during the Crimean War (1854-1856) and was first awarded to heroes of that war.