by Gary Mead
19.Ian McNeill, To Long Tan: The Australian Army and the Vietnam War, 1950–1966 (Allen & Unwin, 1993), p. 48.
20.British Army Review, no. 101, August 1992.
21.Political considerations intrude on all aspects of the VC. In 2005 Gordon Brown, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, vetoed a new design for a fifty-pence piece commemorating the creation of the VC. The original design, by the sculptor Clive Duncan, depicted a soldier carrying a wounded comrade, with the cross-hair of an enemy sniper’s rifle focused on his back. Brown decided it was inappropriately gloomy. The designer reportedly wanted to spurn histrionics and ‘to do justice to the cold reality of combat’ (Daily Telegraph, 21 June 2005).
22.www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/44925/supplements/8873.
23.As of November 2013 only two VCs – both posthumous – had been awarded for the Afghanistan War, remarkably few considering the length of the campaign and the numbers of armed forces personnel. Lance Corporal James Ashworth, 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards, was killed on 13 June 2012 in a close-combat action; he was gazetted VC on 22 March 2013. Corporal Bryan Budd, 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, was killed in action on 20 August 2006 and gazetted 14 December 2006. Wounded, Budd independently pressed on with an assault; subsequently (and after his VC had been gazetted) a coroner ruled that Budd had probably been killed by a NATO bullet, caught in cross-fire.
24.The Independent, 24 July 2008.
25.Private William McFadzean’s posthumous Somme VC in 1916 was for an act remarkably similar to Croucher’s.
26.Daily Telegraph, 19 March 2010.
27.The need for this perverse interpretation exists only because the GC exists. The most outstanding example of this bizarre judgement in the post-1945 period is that of Captain Robert Nairac who, on 13 February 1979, was gazetted with a posthumous GC for ‘exceptional courage and acts of the greatest heroism in circumstances of extreme peril . . . [He] showed devotion to duty and personal courage second to none.’ Nairac was with the SAS, in civilian clothing, when he was taken prisoner by the IRA, tortured and killed. Who would honestly argue that Nairac was not in the presence of the enemy? www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/47769/supplements/1991.
28.NA WO 373/188/247. This shows that Illingsworth’s original VC recommendation was downgraded to ‘Distinguished Service Medal’ (an error: no such medal existed) by the ‘Special Honours Committee’.
29.Jones’s widow spoke to the Observer in March 2002 and said: ‘If anybody does anything heroic or good, the British look for reasons to denigrate them. It seems to be inevitable and it’s a great shame that we have this sort of national psyche. Why don’t we cheer for things that are good?’
30.www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1486650/A-Falklands-hero-and-the-VC-that-never-was.html.
31.www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/49134/supplements/12845.
32.The case of Flying Officer Lloyd Allen Trigg of RAF 200 Squadron set the precedent. In command of a Liberator bomber, Trigg attacked the surfaced U-boat 468 in the Atlantic on 11 August 1943. The U-boat’s anti-aircraft guns hit the Liberator and set it on fire. Nevertheless it circled for another (and this time successful) depth-charge run, before crashing 300 yards behind the submarine, with no survivors. The U-boat commander, Oberleutnant Klemens Schamong, was captured, and on his high praise for the pilot’s courage, Trigg was granted a posthumous VC on 2 November 1943, the citation mentioning his ‘grim determination and high courage’.
33.John Geddes, Spearhead Assault (Century, 2007), pp. 209–10.
34.Fitz-Gibbon, op. cit., p. 20.
35.Geddes, op. cit., pp. 211–12. Abols rose to the rank of captain in the Parachute Regiment; for his action at Goose Green he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
36.The 2012 Holmes review of military medals acknowledged that there is a problem with the lack of transparency in the way decisions about military decorations are arrived at:
the current system of decision-making is vulnerable to the charge of being a ‘black box’ operation, where those outside have no knowledge of what is being decided or why, and have no access to it; and where the rules and principles underlying the decisions, while frequently referred to, have never been properly codified or promulgated.
37.The Spectator, 7 May 2005.
38.According to the New York Times, 29 July 2012, in 2012 the US Air Force had 1,300 ‘pilots’ controlling drones in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen, operating from at least thirteen bases across the US. The Pentagon estimates that by 2015 the US Air Force will need more than 2,000 drone pilots operating twenty-four hours a day.
39.Since 1991 Australia, New Zealand and Canada have had their own versions of the VC, the Australia and New Zealand VC design being identical to the original. The Canadian design is slightly different: it is a bronze cross suspended from a crimson ribbon bearing a lion and crown insignia, a fleur-de-lis has been added, and the English motto ‘For Valour’ has been changed to the Latin ‘Pro Valore’. The first Australian VC was awarded on 16 January 2009 to Trooper Mark Donaldson for the rescue of a coalition forces interpreter from heavy fire in Afghanistan. Speaking in 2010, Robert Macklin, author of Bravest, a book about Australian medal winners, said: ‘in a battlefield like Afghanistan, it is sometimes almost impossible to pick out the most deserving soldier for a gallantry award. Indeed, in the action where Mark Donaldson won his VC, at least two other SAS troopers deserved decorations for bravery which have yet to be awarded. It is probably time to review the system.’
40.Nicola T, twenty-three, from Croydon, commented from the chilly climes of p. 3 in the same edition that she was ‘awestruck’ by the bravery of Private Johnson Beharry.
41.Daily Telegraph, 23 September 2006.
42.John Winton, ‘The High Price of Valour’, Illustrated London News, 29 September 1979, p. 51.
43.Lieutenant General H. J. Stannus, My Reasons for Leaving the British Army (William Ridgway, 1881), p. 106.
44.Ethics and the senior ranks of the military are not what they used to be. Formerly a retired general might eke out a living from his pension while tending his garden and slowly writing his memoirs. Today’s generals prefer to shift to a more lucrative career in the private sector. The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) vets on behalf of the government all applications by senior military personnel and civil servants for jobs in the private sector. Since 1996, senior officers and MoD officials have taken 3,500 jobs in arms companies (as of the end of 2012); over that time not a single application was vetoed.
45.The current ‘quota’ in the 1961 warrant stipulates one commissioned officer, one NCO and one other rank (or their RN and RAF equivalent) if the unit does not exceed 100; twice that for units greater than 100 but lower than 200; above 200, the number of Crosses ‘shall be the subject of special consideration’.
46.There is no evidence of a formal ballot at Gallipoli, but Major General Hunter Weston, commanding the 29th Division (which included the Lancashire Fusiliers’ battalion), in recommending the VCs, implied that informal soundings had occurred. He said: ‘Where all did so marvellously it is difficult to discriminate, but the opinion of the battalion is that Bromley and Willis are the officers, and Stubbs, Richards, Grimshaw and Keneally are the NCOs and men to whom perhaps the greatest credit is due.’ Crook, op. cit., p. 109.
47.NA WO 32/3443.
48.www.gov.uk/government/publications/military-medals-review-report-by-sir-john-holmes.
49.Rudyard Kipling, ‘Winning the Victoria Cross’, first published simultaneously in Youth’s Companion and the Windsor Magazine in June 1897; updated and republished in 1924 as Land and Sea Tales for Scouts and Scoutmasters.
Index
Aberdeen, Earl of (George Hamilton-Gordon) ref1
administration of ref1, ref2, ref3
Aberdeen Journal ref1, ref2
Abols, Corporal David ‘Pig’ nomination for VC ref1, ref2
Abyssinia ref1
Adams, Reverend James William ref1
&nbs
p; citation for VC (1881) ref1, ref2
Addiscombe Military Seminary ref1
Afghanistan ref1, ref2
Helmand Province ref1, ref2
Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–14) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
casualties of ref1
GCs awarded for actions during ref1
VCs awarded for actions during ref1
Operation Herrick (2002–14) ref1
Aitken, Max ref1
Albania ref1
Albert, Prince ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10
role in development of VC ref1, ref2, ref3
Albert Medal ref1, ref2
establishment of (1866) ref1
extension of (1877) ref1
posthumous awarding of ref1
Alexandra of Kent, Princess
family of ref1
Alison, Major General Sir Archibald
Alison Committee ref1
Anglo-Egyptian War (1882) ref1
Anglo-Zulu War (1879) ref1
Battle of Isandlwana (1879) ref1, ref2
Battle of Rorke’s Drift (1879) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
casualties of ref1, ref2
VCs awarded for actions during ref1, ref2
Annad, Lieutenant Richard
awarded VC ref1
Appelboom, Squadron Leader K. J. ref1
Argentina
military of ref1
Ashcroft, Lord Michael ref1, ref2
Victoria Cross Heroes ref1
Ashworth, Lance Corporal James
posthumous awarding of VC (2013) ref1
Atticus ref1
Australia ref1
Canberra ref1
Australian War Memorial ref1
military of ref1, ref2
26th Australian Brigade ref1
Australian Army Training Team ref1
Vietnam (AATTV) ref1, ref2
Sydney ref1
Australian Imperial Force (AIF) ref1
Australian National University
faculty of ref1
Baden-Powell, Robert ref1
Badsell, Andrew
eligibility for VC ref1
Bagehot, Walter ref1
Ball, Albert ref1
death of (1917) ref1, ref2
Bankes, Cornet
posthumous award of VC ref1
Barnard, General ref1
Bauward, Major A. C. ref1
Beale, Lieutenant Colonel Percy ref1
Beharry, Private Johnson ref1
awarding of VC (2013) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Belgium
Flanders ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
River, Dyle ref1
Ypres ref1
Bengal Civil Service
personnel of ref1
VCs awarded to ref1
Bengal Ecclesiastical Service ref1
Bhagat, Second Lieutenant Premindra Singh
awarded VC ref1
recommended for MC (1940) ref1
Bishop, William ‘Billy’ Avery ref1, ref2
gazetted with VC (1917) ref1, ref2
Black & White ref1
Blair, Tony ref1
Bleicher, Hugo ref1
Bonaparte, Napoleon ref1
Brade, Sir Reginald
Permanent Under-Secretary of State for War ref1
Brett, Lieutenant Colonel ref1
British Army Review ref1
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) ref1
Antiques Roadshow ref1
British Empire ref1
British Expeditionary Force (BEF) ref1
personnel of ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
British military xvii, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9
1st Cheshire Regiment ref1
1st Royal Irish Regiment ref1
10th Foot ref1
14th Batteries ref1
14th Hussars ref1
14th Royal Irish Rifles ref1
2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force ref1
20th Battalion ref1
2nd Rifles Battle Group ref1
20th Hussars ref1
21st Lancers ref1
24th Regiment ref1, ref2
42nd Royal Highlanders ref1
44th Foot ref1
46th Regiment ref1
54th Foot ref1
57th Regiment ref1
60th Regiment ref1
66th Batteries ref1
7th Hussars ref1
90th Light Infantry ref1
Army Nursing Service ref1
Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) ref1
Bengal Army
Meerut Division ref1
British Indian army ref1, ref2, ref3
1st Battalion
Burma Rifles ref1
1st Punjab Cavalry ref1
19th Hyderabad Regiment ref1
104th Bengal Fusiliers ref1
4th Punjab Rifles ref1
Coldstream Guards ref1
Corp of Indian Engineers ref1
Dublin Fusiliers ref1
Durham Light Infantry ref1
2nd Battalion ref1
First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Fusilier Guards ref1
Gordon Highlanders ref1
1st Battalion ref1
Gurkhas ref1
8th Rifles ref1
Irish Guards ref1
1st Battalion ref1
King’s Royal Rifle Corps ref1
Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS) ref1
Parachute Regiment ref1, ref2, ref3
2nd Battalion ref1
Rifle Brigade
1st Battalion ref1
Rifles, The
1st Battalion ref1
Royal Army Medical Corps ref1, ref2
Royal Artillery
Territorial Reserve ref1
Royal Berkshire Regiment ref1
Royal Field Artillery ref1
7th Battery ref1
Royal Horse Artillery ref1
Q Battery ref1
U Battery ref1
Royal Irish Fusiliers ref1
Royal Irish Regiment ref1
1st Battalion ref1
Royal Logistic Corps
Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment ref1
Royal Marines ref1
Reserve ref1
Royal Scot Fusiliers ref1
Royal Welch Fusiliers
2nd Battalion ref1
service of women in ref1, ref2, ref3
Special Air Service (SAS) ref1, ref2, ref3
Welsh Guards ref1
Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) ref1
creation of (1917) ref1
Women’s Royal Army Corps (WRAC) ref1
Broad Arrow ref1
Broadwood, Brigadier General Robert George ref1
Brodrick, William
Under-Secretary of State for War ref1
Bromhead, Lieutenant Gonville ref1
Bronze Stars ref1
Brooke, Field Marshal Sir Alan ref1
Brown, Father G. ref1
Brown, William ref1
Brownlow, Field Marshal Sir Charles ref1
Buckmaster, Colonel Maurice
Head of SOE F Section ref1
Budd, Corporal Bryan
posthumous awarding of VC (2006) ref1
Budgen, Patrick Joseph
awarded VC ref1
Buller, General Sir Redvers Henry ref1
Burke’s Peerage ref1
Burma ref1, ref2, ref3
Mewado ref1
Rangoon ref1
Byce, Acting Sergeant Charles Henry
awarded DCM ref1
citation for VC ref1
Byrne, Private Thomas
acquisition and sale of duplicate VC by family of ref1
Callwell, Colonel Charles ref1
Cameron, Lieutenant Donald ref1
awarded VC ref1
Cameronians Regimental Museum ref1
Campbell, Li
eutenant General Sir Colin ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Canada ref1, ref2
military of
1st Army ref1
Lake Superior Regiment (Motor) ref1
1st Canadian Division ref1
2nd Canadian Infantry Division ref1
Royal Hamilton Light Infantry ref1
Canning, Lord Charles John
Governor-General of India ref1
Cardigan, Lord (George Brudenell-Bruce) ref1
Cardwell, Edward
Colonial Secretary ref1
Carve Her Name With Pride (1956) ref1
Cather, Lieutenant Geoffrey St George Shillington
death of ref1
Catholicism ref1
Chamberlain, Crawford ref1
Chard, Lieutenant John Rouse Merriot ref1
Charlotte of Wales, Prince ref1
Charlton, Guardsman Edward
awarded VC ref1
Chatfield, Lord
Admiral of the Fleet ref1
Chelmsford, Lord ref1, ref2
Cheshire, Group Captain Leonard
awarded VC ref1
Cheshire Observer, The ref1
Chicken, George Bell ref1
China ref1
Christian Victor, Prince ref1
Christianity ref1
Church of England
ministers of ref1
Churchill, Peter ref1
Churchill, Winston ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11
First Sea Lord ref1
military career of ref1, ref2
River War, The ref1
Secretary of State for War
signing of extended VC warrant (1920) ref1, ref2
signing of GC warrant (1940) ref1
Clark, Major R. ref1
Clay, Lieutenant Colonel H. Clay ref1
Clery, Major Francis ref1
Clinton, Bill ref1
Coghill, Lieutenant Nevill Josiah Aylmer ref1
posthumous awarding of VC ref1
Colliss, Gunner James
recommended for VC (1880) ref1