List of living Victoria Cross recipients

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As of 2018, there are five living recipients of the British Victoria Cross, three living recipients of the Victoria Cross for Australia and one living recipient of the Victoria Cross for New Zealand. Since 1991, three Commonwealth countries that retain the Queen as head of state have instituted their own versions of the VC. See Victoria Cross for Australia, Victoria Cross (Canada) and Victoria Cross for New Zealand.

Contents

Award

The VC is a military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of armed forces of some Commonwealth countries and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other Orders, decorations and medals; it may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service and to civilians under military command. [1] The award was officially constituted when Queen Victoria issued a warrant under the Royal sign-manual on 29 January 1856. [2] [3] (gazetted 5 February 1856) [3] The order was backdated to 1854 to recognise acts of valour during the Crimean War. [4] The first awards ceremony was held on 26 June 1857 where Queen Victoria invested 62 of the 111 Crimean recipients in a ceremony in Hyde Park. [2]

The Victoria Cross has been awarded 1358 times to 1355 individual recipients. The first citations of the VC, particularly those in the initial gazette of 24 February 1857, varied in the details of each action; some specify one date, some date ranges, some the name of the battle and others have both sets of information. The original Royal Warrant did not contain a specific clause regarding posthumous awards, although official policy was to not award the VC posthumously. Between 1859 and 1901, notices were issued in the London Gazette regarding soldiers who would have been awarded the VC had they survived. In an exception to policy in 1902, six soldiers were posthumously awarded the VC for gallantry during the Boer War 1899–1902. In 1907, the posthumous policy was reversed and medals were sent to the next of kin of the six officers and men who had been listed in the London Gazette for actions prior to the South African War. [5] The Victoria Cross warrant was officially amended to explicitly allow posthumous awards in 1920. One quarter of all awards for the First World War were posthumous. [6] [7]

Since 1991, Australia, Canada and New Zealand have created gallantry awards for operational service in their own honours systems. The highest awards are the Victoria Cross for Australia, the Canadian Victoria Cross and the Victoria Cross for New Zealand. One New Zealand and four Australian Victoria Crosses have so far been awarded, with all but one of the Australian recipients surviving to receive their medals. Of the living recipients, Willie Apiata received the Victoria Cross for New Zealand on 26 July 2007; Mark Donaldson received the Victoria Cross for Australia on 16 January 2009 and Ben Roberts-Smith received the Victoria Cross for Australia on 23 January 2011, all for actions in Afghanistan. [8] Daniel Keighran was awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia for his actions in a fire fight with insurgents in Oruzgan Province as part of Operation Slipper on 24 August 2010 [9]

Living recipients

The number of living people holding the Victoria Cross changes occasionally as new awards are made and previous recipients die, and as of 22 June 2018 there were nine such individuals. [10] [11] [12] [13]

NameYear of awardUnitLocation of gallantry
John Alexander Cruickshank (b. 20 May 1920)1944 No. 210 Squadron RAF Atlantic
Rambahadur Limbu (b. 8 July 1939)19662nd Bn, 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles Sarawak, Malaysia
Keith Payne (b. 30 August 1933)1969 Australian Army Training Team Vietnam Ben Het, Vietnam
Johnson Beharry (b. 26 July 1979)20051st Bn, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires) Al-Amarah, Iraq
Willie Apiata (b. 28 June 1972)
(Victoria Cross for New Zealand)		2007 New Zealand Special Air Service Afghanistan
Mark Donaldson (b. 2 April 1979)
(Victoria Cross for Australia)		2009 Australian Special Air Service Regiment Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan
Ben Roberts-Smith (b. 1 November 1978)
(Victoria Cross for Australia)		2011 Australian Special Air Service Regiment Kandahar Province, Afghanistan
Daniel Keighran (b. 18 June 1983)
(Victoria Cross for Australia)		2012 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan
Joshua Leakey (b. 1988)2015 Parachute Regiment Helmand Province, Afghanistan

Recently deceased

Recipients who died within the last five years are listed below. [13]

NameYear of
award		UnitLocation of gallantryDeceasedNotes
William Speakman 1951 The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment)
(att'd 1st Bn, King's Own Scottish Borderers)		Korea20 June 2018

Related Research Articles

Victoria Cross (Canada) Military decoration of Canada

The Victoria Cross was created in 1993, perpetuating the lineage of the British Victoria Cross, while serving as the highest award within the Canadian honours system, taking precedence over all other orders, decorations, and medals. It is awarded by either the Canadian monarch or his or her viceregal representative, the Governor General of Canada, to any member of the Canadian Armed Forces or allies serving under or with Canadian military command for extraordinary valour and devotion to duty while facing hostile forces. The British Victoria Cross was recommended prior to the creation of the Canadian medal. The previous Victoria Cross remains the highest award of the United Kingdom honours system and was also awarded in other Commonwealth countries; although most, including Canada, later established their own honours systems and no longer recommended British honours.

The Victoria Cross for New Zealand (VC) is a military decoration awarded for valour or gallantry in the presence of the enemy to members of the New Zealand Armed Forces. It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service and civilians under military command, and is presented to the recipient by the Governor-General of New Zealand during an investiture held at Government House, Wellington. As the highest award for gallantry in New Zealand it takes precedence over all other postnominals and medals.

The Victoria Cross for Australia is the highest award in the Australian Honours System, superseding the British Victoria Cross for issue to Australians. The Victoria Cross for Australia is the "decoration for according recognition to persons who in the presence of the enemy, perform acts of the most conspicuous gallantry, or daring or pre-eminent acts of valour or self-sacrifice or display extreme devotion to duty."

Victoria Cross Highest military decoration awarded for valour in armed forces of various Commonwealth countries

The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces. It may be awarded posthumously. It was previously awarded to Commonwealth countries, most of which have established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians under military command although no civilian has received the award since 1879. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857, two-thirds of all awards have been personally presented by the British monarch. These investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace.

References

  1. ↑ Ashcroft, Michael; preface; XI–XIII
  2. 1 2 Ashcroft, Michael; Preface to Victoria Cross Heroes
  3. 1 2 The Gazette publishing the original Royal Warrant
    "No. 21846". The London Gazette . 5 February 1856. pp. 410–411.
  4. ↑ Ashcroft, Michael; pp. 7–10
  5. ↑ "No. 27986". The London Gazette . 15 January 1907. p. 325.
  6. ↑ Crook, MJ, Chapter 8 pp. 68–90
  7. ↑ "No. 31946". The London Gazette . 18 June 1920. p. 6702.
  8. ↑ "Press kit related to July 2007 gallantry awards (NZ)" (PDF). NZ Government through news agency. 2 July 2007. Retrieved 3 July 2007.
  9. ↑ "Soldier honoured with Victoria Cross medal". Fairfax. 1 November 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  10. ↑ "Meet the ten living recipients of the Victoria Cross". www.telegraph.co.uk. 15 April 2015. Archived from the original on 15 April 2015.
  11. ↑ Dassanayake, Dion (5 March 2015). "Victoria Cross: The ten living recipients of Britain's highest military honour". Express.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "Victoria Cross heroes". msn . 18 April 2015. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015.
  13. 1 2 "Sergeant Bill Speakman, VC, obituary". The Times . 22 June 2018. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. He was the last surviving holder of the Victoria Cross from the Korean War. His death leaves nine living holders of the gallantry award.
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