The Victoria Cross (VC; French: Croix de Victoria) 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 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.
Whereas in many other Commonwealth countries the relevant version of the Victoria Cross can only be awarded for actions against the enemy in a wartime setting, the Canadian government has a broader definition of the term enemy. In Canada, the Victoria Cross can be awarded for action against armed mutineers, pirates, or other such hostile forces without war being officially declared. Recipients are entitled to use the post-nominal lettersVC (for both English and French), but they do not receive an annuity for the award.[1] The decoration has not been awarded since its inception.
The original Victoria Cross was created by a Royal Warrant issued on 29 January 1856 with the royal sign-manual of Queen Victoria, and was intended to recognize demonstrations of gallantry during the Crimean War, regardless of either a man's social status or his record of service.[2] Initially, the Victoria Cross could not be conferred on colonial troops,[3] until Major Charles Heaphy received the medal for his actions while serving with a New Zealand militia unit in 1864.[4] After this, the Victoria Cross was made available to all "local forces under imperial command."[5] The cross could not be awarded posthumously but the policy was reversed in 1907.[3][6]
Until 1972, 81 members of the Canadian military (including those from Newfoundland) and 13 Canadians serving in British units had been awarded the Victoria Cross.[7] After that date, however, the Canadian honours system was overhauled, and the Victoria Cross was eliminated from the official list of honours, instigating a decades-long debate on whether or not to reinstate the decoration. The prime minister at the time, Pierre Trudeau, regularly dodged questions about the Victoria Cross, stating only that Canadians should receive Canadian decorations.[8] In 1987, prime minister Brian Mulroney set up a committee to look into the creation of a Canadian Victoria Cross as part of a new series of military honours.[9] Although the committee did not recommend the Victoria Cross—names such as the Canada Cross and the Cross of Military Valour were put forward[10][11]—the creation of a Victoria Cross for Australia in 1991 and pressure from The Globe and Mail and advocacy groups,[12] such as the Monarchist League of Canada and the Royal Canadian Legion, forced the plans to be amended.[10][13] In 1991 a private member's bill received all-party support in the House of Commons, following which the Victoria Cross, along with other Canadian military valour decorations, were on 31 December 1992 formally requested by Mulroney. The request was approved with the issue of letters patent by Queen Elizabeth II on 2 February of the following year, thereby ceasing Canadian dependence (except for those honours and awards in the personal gift of the Sovereign) on the British honours system.[14]
Criteria
The Victoria Cross is awarded for "the most conspicuous bravery, a daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty, in the presence of the enemy" at any point after 1 January 1993. It may be presented posthumously, and, like its British counterpart, can not be revoked.[14] The main distinction between the Victoria Cross and the Cross of Valour is the specific reference to "the enemy",[15] which the Canadian government has defined as a force hostile towards the Canadian Crown, including armed mutineers, rebels, rioters, and pirates. This means that the King-in-Council does not officially have to declare war to give acknowledgement of the existence of a hostile force that fits the official description.[16] Thus, a Canadian serving as part of a peacekeeping operation is eligible to be awarded the Victoria Cross if the service member fulfils the above criteria.
In the case of a gallant and daring act having been performed by a squadron, ship's company, or detached body of individuals (such as a security detachment) in which all persons were deemed equally brave and deserving of the Victoria Cross, a ballot is to be drawn; the commissioned and non-commissioned officers each select one of their own, and the private soldiers or seamen select from amongst themselves two individuals.[n 1] This provision with modification is included in the current warrant but has not been used since the First World War.
The process of awarding the Victoria Cross may take place in two ways: One is through a recommendation by the Decorations and Commendations Advisory Committee,[18] which is a part of the Department of National Defence and has six members, one appointed by the governor general and the rest by the chief of the Defence Staff. Alternatively, a field commander can submit a name for consideration, though permission must be obtained from the governor general before the award can be presented. Recipients are entitled to receive an annuity from the federal Canadian Crown; per the Canadian gallantry awards order issued in January 2005, members of the Canadian Armed Forces or those who joined the British forces while domiciled in Canada or Newfoundland prior to 31 March 1949, after receiving the Victoria Cross, be granted CA$3,000 each year.[19] Previously, Canadians who were posthumously awarded the British Victoria Cross were given special headstones at their burial sites in Commonwealth War Graves and other cemeteries.[15]
To date, no Canadian Victoria Cross has been conferred; Smokey Smith, who died in 2005, was the last living Canadian recipient of the imperial Victoria Cross, personally receiving it from King George VI at Buckingham Palace in December 1944. The last action that resulted in a Canadian being awarded the Victoria Cross was to Lieutenant Robert Hampton Gray for gallantry on 9 August 1945, at Onagawa Bay, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. The award was posthumously gazetted on 13 November 1945 although in the following five months, three additional awards to Canadians were gazetted for actions in 1941, 1942 and February 1945. Prior to Queen Elizabeth II's re-dedication of the Vimy Memorial on 7 April 2007, there was speculation she would present a Canadian Victoria Cross to her then-prime minister, Stephen Harper, offering it in recognition of the gallantry of the Unknown Soldier, as representative of all Canada's casualties of combat.[20] The proposal was met with a mixed response from members of the Royal Canadian Legion and Canadian Armed Forces, detractors feeling that the Unknown Soldier should not be elevated above his other comrades killed in war. It had also been agreed at the time of the Unknown Soldier's repatriation that no award or decoration would be bestowed on the remains.[21] No decision was taken about the awarding of the Victoria Cross to the Unknown Soldier.[22]
Near the end of Canada's role in the Afghanistan War, concerns were raised about the stringency of the criteria that needed to be met to receive the Victoria Cross. Other countries with a Victoria Cross had awarded it numerous times since the end of the Second World War, some members of the Australian, New Zealand, and British armed forces receiving the decoration for their actions during the Afghan and Iraq wars of the 2000s. Members of the Canadian Armed Forces questioned why some actions by Canadians were deemed worthy only of the Star of Military Valour; citations for individuals who had received the imperial Victoria Cross during the First World War were very similar to those for Canadians who were presented with the Star of Military Valour during the war in Afghanistan. This led then Chief of the Defence Staff, Walter Natynczyk, to create a special committee to review the matter. The Department of National Defence's Directorate of Honours and Recognition explained concepts of war had changed since the mid-20th century and Canada had also developed a more elaborate honours system.[23]
The Victoria Cross of Canada, shown with a medal bar indicating a second award
The design of the Canadian medal is derived from that of the British original, which was the creation of Albert, Prince Consort,[25]royal consort to Queen Victoria. Canada's Victoria Cross is thus a cross pattée with straight arms, 38 millimetres (1.5in) across in each direction, and made out of bronze coloured alloy, the obverse bearing a lion crowned and statant guardant, similar to that which forms the crest of the Royal Arms of Canada, standing upon a representation of St. Edward's Crown, which itself rests above a semi-circular scroll. On the reverse is a raised circle for engraving the date of the act of gallantry along with the name, rank, and unit of the recipient.[25] The medal is suspended from a link forming the letter V attached to a bar adorned on the front with laurel leaves, and on the reverse with the name, rank, and unit of the medal's recipient,[16] all cast in the same metal as the medal. The ribbon, also 38 mm wide, is solid crimson in colour.[26]Cathy Bursey-Sabourin, Fraser Herald of the Canadian Heraldic Authority, and Bruce W. Beatty, however, made certain modifications for the Canadian Victoria Cross, the most notable being the inclusion of Canadian flora as decoration and the alteration of the inscription on the scroll from FOR VALOUR to the Latin translation, PRO VALORE,[25] so as to accommodate Canada's two official languages.[27] In 2008, Citizens for a Canadian Republic's leader, Tom Freda, publicly objected to the decoration's name and appearance, with what he saw as its "objectionable colonial symbolism," royal iconography, and a shape offensive to Muslims and Jews.[28]
As the apex of the Canadian system of honours, the Victoria Cross is to be worn before all other Canadian decorations and insignia of orders, including the Order of Merit and the Order of Canada. It is worn as a medal, suspended from a medal bar on the left chest, unless protocol calls for a ribbon bar, which consists of a crimson ribbon with a miniature bronze Victoria Cross at its centre. Should an individual receive multiple awards of the Victoria Cross, additional bronze medal bars are added to the ribbon and further miniatures are placed evenly on the ribbon bar, reflecting the number of crosses the wearer has earned.[14]
Notes
↑ Clause 13 of the original warrant constituting the Victoria Cross states: "It is ordained that in the event of a gallant and daring act having been performed by a squadron, ship's company, or detached body of seamen and marines not under fifty in number, or by a brigade, regiment, troop or company in which the admiral, general, or other officer commanding such forces may deem that all are equally brave and distinguished, and that no special selection can be made by them, then is such case the admiral, general, or other officer commanding, may direct that for any such body of seamen or marines, or for every troop or company of soldiers, one officer shall be selected by the officers engaged for the Decoration, and in like manner one petty officer or non-commissioned officer shall be selected by the petty officers and non-commissioned officers engaged, and two seamen or private soldiers or marines shall be selected by the seamen, or private soldiers, or marines engaged, respectively for the Decoration, and the names of those selected shall be transmitted by the senior officers in command of the Naval force, brigade, regiment, troop, or company, to the admiral or general officer commanding, who shall in due manner confer the Decoration as if the acts were done under his own eye."[17]
↑ According to Natural Resources Canada: "All British and Commonwealth Victoria Crosses reputedly include metal from a cannon captured during the Crimean War (1854–1856). The Canadian Victoria Cross also includes metal from the same cannon, as does one of Canada's Confederation Medals, produced in 1867. To reflect Canada's rich resource-based industries, commercially-made copper and other metals from Canadian sources were used. This was supplemented with naturally occurring copper from NRCan and private collections, representing all regions of Canada."[31] The traditional explanation of the source of the gunmetal has been cast in doubt by the research of John Glanfield, which suggested a variety of origins for the British medals' materials.[32]
Citations
↑ "The Military Valour Decorations 1993-2018"(PDF). Government of Canada. Directorate of Honours and Recognition of the Department of National Defence. 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2024. p.30: The decorations [...] carry no monetary benefits.
↑ Standish, Michael Wordsworth (1966). "Heaphy, Charles". In McLintock, A.H. (ed.). An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Wellington: Queen's Printer. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
↑ Lochnan, Carl. "Victoria Cross". In Marsh, James Harley (ed.). The Canadian Encyclopedia. Toronto: Historica Foundation of Canada. Archived from the original on 16 May 2005. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
1 2 3 Dundas, Charles (2007). "VC Not Presented at Vimy Commemoration"(PDF). Canadian Monarchist News. Summer 2007 (26). Toronto: Monarchist League of Canada: 3. Archived from the original(PDF) on 25 June 2008. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
↑ Jackson, Michael D. (2007). "Honours of the Crown"(PDF). Canadian Monarchist News. Summer 2007 (26). Toronto: Monarchist League of Canada: 11. Archived from the original(PDF) on 25 June 2008. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
↑ Noppe, Dave (28 May 2008). "Canadian Victoria Cross unveiled". The Maple Leaf. 11 (20). Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Canada. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
The Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers, and since 1993 to other ranks, of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against the enemy".
The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been equal in stature to the Victoria Cross, the highest military award for valour. It is awarded "for acts of the greatest heroism or for most conspicuous courage in circumstance of extreme danger", not in the presence of the enemy, to members of the British armed forces and to British civilians. Posthumous awards have been allowed since it was instituted. It was previously awarded to residents of Commonwealth countries, most of which have since 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 including police, emergency services and merchant seamen. Many of the awards have been personally presented by the British monarch to recipients or, in the case of posthumous awards, to next of kin. The investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace.
The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a third-level military decoration awarded for gallantry during active operations against the enemy at sea to officers; and, since 1993, ratings and other ranks of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and the British Merchant Navy have been eligible. The award was formerly also awarded to members of armed forces of other Commonwealth countries.
The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries.
To be mentioned in dispatches describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy is described.
The Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (CGM) was, until 1993, a British military decoration for gallantry in action for petty officers and seamen of the Royal Navy, including Warrant Officers and other ranks of the Royal Marines. It was formerly awarded to personnel of other Commonwealth countries. In 1943 a Royal Air Force version was created for conspicuous gallantry in action against the enemy in the air.
The orders, decorations, and medals of Canada comprise a complex system by which Canadians are honoured by the country's sovereign for actions or deeds that benefit their community or the country at large. Modelled on its British predecessor, the structure originated in the 1930s, but began to come to full fruition at the time of Canada's centennial in 1967, with the establishment of the Order of Canada, and has since grown in both size and scope to include dynastic and national orders, state, civil, and military decorations; and various campaign medals. The monarch in right of each Canadian province also issues distinct orders and medals to honour residents for work performed in just their province. The provincial honours, as with some of their national counterparts, grant the use of post-nominal letters and or supporters and other devices to be used on personal coats of arms.
The following is the Canadian order of precedence for decorations and medals in the Canadian Honours System. Where applicable, post-nominal letters are indicated.
The Star of Military Valour is a military decoration that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the second highest award for military valour, and one of three honours for military valour awarded by the Canadian monarch, generally through his or her viceroy-in-Council. Created in 1993, the medal is presented to both living and deceased members of the Canadian Forces deemed to have demonstrated "distinguished and valiant service in the presence of the enemy," and grants recipients the ability to use the post-nominal letters SMV.
The Victoria Cross for New Zealand 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 relationship between the Canadian Crown and the Canadian Armed Forces is both constitutional and ceremonial, with the king of Canada being the commander-in-chief of the Canadian Forces and he and other members of the Canadian royal family holding honorary positions in various branches and regiments, embodying the historical relationship of the Crown with its armed forces. This construct stems from Canada's system of constitutional monarchy and through its 500 years of monarchical history, the relationship symbolically represented through royal symbols, such as crowns on military badges and insignia, coats of arms, royal portraits, and the grant of the royal prefix to various military units and institutions. The role of the Canadian sovereign within the Canadian Armed Forces is established within the Canadian constitution, the National Defence Act, and the King's Regulations and Orders (KR&Os) for the Canadian Forces.
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".
The Order of Military Merit is a military honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the second highest order administered by the Governor in Council on behalf of the Canadian monarch.
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously awarded to service personnel in the broader British Empire, with most successor independent nations now having established their own honours systems and no longer recommending British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians under military command. 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. The investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace.
Bishop, William Arthur (1995). Our Bravest and Our Best: The Stories of Canada's Victoria Cross Winners. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson. ISBN978-0-07-552619-3.
Boileau, John (2005). Valiant Hearts: Atlantic Canada and the Victoria Cross. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Nimbus Publishing. ISBN978-1-55109-548-6.
Machum, George C. (1956). Canada's V.C.s: The Story of Canadians who have been Awarded the Victoria Cross. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart. OCLC421841304.
Swettenham, John (1973). Valiant Men: Canada's Victoria Cross and George Cross Winners. Toronto: Hakkert. ISBN978-0-88866-525-6.
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