151-936: Vice-Admiral Alfred Francis Blakeney Carpenter , VC (17 September 1881 – 27 December 1955) was a Royal Navy officer who was selected by his fellow officers and men to receive the Victoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Carpenter was born in Barnes , the son of Henrietta Maud née Shadwell (1858-1889) and Captain Alfred Carpenter RN, and grandson of Commander Charles Carpenter. He attended Bedales School founded by his Uncle Edward Carpenter 's close friend John Haden Badley . In 1903 married to Emily Maud Mary Tordiffe (1881-1923) and after her death married Hilda Margaret Allison née Smith (1891-1958) in 1927. Carpenter joined
302-400: A Maltese cross of bronze". Nonetheless, it has always been a cross pattée ; the discrepancy with the warrant has never been corrected. The ribbon is crimson, 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 ″(38 mm) wide. The original (1856) specification for the award stated that the ribbon should be red for army recipients and dark blue for naval recipients, but the dark blue ribbon was abolished soon after
453-654: A Mention in Despatches existed as an alternative award for acts of lesser gallantry. This structure was very limited; in practice, awards of the Order of the Bath were confined to officers of field rank and brevet promotions or Mentions in Despatches were largely confined to those who were under the immediate notice of the commanders in the field, generally members of the commander's own staff. Other European countries had awards that did not discriminate against class or rank; France awarded
604-595: A private awarded a VC or GC. As there was no formal order of wear laid down, the Victoria Cross was at first worn as the recipient fancied. It was popular to pin it on the left side of the chest over the heart, with other decorations grouped around the VC. The Queen's Regulations for the Army of 1881 gave clear instructions on how to wear it; the VC had to follow the badge of the Order of
755-572: A world financial crisis , George encouraged the formation of a National Government in 1931 led by MacDonald and Baldwin, and volunteered to reduce the civil list to help balance the budget. He was concerned by the rise to power in Germany of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party . In 1934, George bluntly told the German ambassador Leopold von Hoesch that Germany was now the peril of the world, and that there
906-520: A "terrible father" in later years. They lived mainly at York Cottage , a relatively small house in Sandringham, Norfolk , where their way of life mirrored that of a comfortable middle-class family rather than royalty. George preferred a simple, almost quiet, life, in marked contrast to the lively social life pursued by his father. His official biographer, Harold Nicolson , later despaired of George's time as Duke of York, writing: "He may be all right as
1057-759: A 1919 Order in Council under the provisions of the Titles Deprivation Act 1917 . Under pressure from his mother, George also removed the Garter flags of his German relations from St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle . When Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, George's first cousin, was overthrown in the Russian Revolution of 1917, the British government offered political asylum to the Tsar and his family, but worsening conditions for
1208-501: A Companion in an Order of Chivalry , the VC has no place in a coat of arms . The original warrant stated that NCOs and private soldiers or seamen on the Victoria Cross Register were entitled to a £10 per annum annuity . In 1898, Queen Victoria raised the pension to £50 for those that could not earn a livelihood, be it from old age or infirmity. Today holders of the Victoria Cross or George Cross are entitled to an annuity,
1359-551: A brief final scene. Hours of waiting just for the mechanical end when all that is really life has departed only exhausts the onlookers & keeps them so strained that they cannot avail themselves of the solace of thought, communion or prayer. I therefore decided to determine the end and injected (myself) morphia gr.3/4 [grains] and shortly afterwards cocaine gr.1 [grains] into the distended jugular vein ... In about 1/4 an hour – breathing quieter – appearance more placid – physical struggle gone. Dawson wrote that he acted to preserve
1510-665: A ceremony in Wellington in June 1870 to Mōkena Kōhere , Te Keepa Te Rangihiwinui (Major Kemp), Te Pokiha Taranui , Henare Tomoana , Ropata Wahawaha , and Ihaka Whaanga . The question of whether awards could be made to colonial troops not serving with British troops was raised in South Africa in 1881. Surgeon John McCrea , an officer of the South African forces was recommended for gallantry during hostilities which had not been approved by
1661-534: A descendant of the German Dukes of Württemberg . George had brothers-in-law and cousins who were British subjects but who bore German titles such as Duke and Duchess of Teck, Prince and Princess of Battenberg, and Prince and Princess of Schleswig-Holstein. When H. G. Wells wrote about Britain's "alien and uninspiring court", George replied: "I may be uninspiring, but I'll be damned if I'm alien." On 17 July 1917, George appeased British nationalist feelings by issuing
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#17330856166181812-561: A lecturing tour through the US and Canada, 1918–19. After the war, Carpenter was in command of HMS Carysfort in the Atlantic Fleet 1921–23, Captain of Chatham Dockyard 1924–26, in command of HMS Benbow in 1926 and of HMS Marlborough 1927–28. He was a naval aide-de-camp to the King (an honorary position) in 1929, and promoted rear-admiral and placed on the retired list in the same year. He
1963-555: A little too far" that day. George inherited the throne at a politically turbulent time. Lloyd George 's People's Budget had been rejected the previous year by the Conservative and Unionist -dominated House of Lords , contrary to the normal convention that the Lords did not veto money bills . Liberal Prime Minister H. H. Asquith had asked the previous king to give an undertaking that he would create sufficient Liberal peers to allow
2114-588: A metallurgical examination of the VCs in the custody of the Australian War Memorial, and later the historian John Glanfield wrote that, through the use of X-ray studies of older Victoria Crosses, it was determined that the metal used for almost all VCs since December 1914 is taken from antique Chinese guns, replacing an earlier gun. Creagh noted the existence of Chinese inscriptions on the cannon, which are now barely legible due to corrosion. A likely explanation
2265-448: A miniature of the Cross has been affixed to the centre of the ribbon bar when worn without the Cross. In the event of a second award bar, a second replica is worn alongside the first. The Victoria Cross is awarded for ... most conspicuous bravery, or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy. A recommendation for
2416-537: A mumbled "God damn you!", were addressed to his nurse, Catherine Black , when she gave him a sedative that night. Dawson, who supported the "gentle growth of euthanasia ", admitted in the diary that he ended the King's life: At about 11 o'clock it was evident that the last stage might endure for many hours, unknown to the Patient but little comporting with that dignity and serenity which he so richly merited and which demanded
2567-508: A recipient's name to be erased from the official register in certain wholly discreditable circumstances and his pension cancelled. Eight were forfeited between 1861 and 1908. The power to cancel and restore awards is still included in the Victoria Cross warrant. King George V felt very strongly that the decoration should never be forfeited and in a letter from his Private Secretary, Lord Stamfordham , on 26 July 1920, his views are forcefully expressed: The King feels so strongly that, no matter
2718-565: A royal proclamation that changed the name of the British royal house from the German-sounding House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the House of Windsor . He and all his British relatives relinquished their German titles and styles and adopted British-sounding surnames. George compensated his male relatives by giving them British peerages. His cousin Prince Louis of Battenberg , who earlier in
2869-554: A sighting of the Flying Dutchman , a mythical ghost ship. When they returned to Britain, the Queen complained that her grandsons could not speak French or German, and so they spent six months in Lausanne in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to learn another language. After Lausanne, the brothers were separated; Albert Victor attended Trinity College, Cambridge , while George continued in
3020-590: A single unit during a single action is seven, to the 2nd/ 24th Foot , for the defence of Rorke's Drift , 22–23 January 1879, during the Zulu War . The greatest number won in a single conflict is 628, during the First World War. Ishar Singh became the first Indian Sikh to receive the award. Eight of the 12 surviving holders of the Victoria Cross attended the 150th Anniversary service of remembrance at Westminster Abbey on 26 June 2006. Three people have been awarded
3171-676: A visit to troops in France. The presentation occurred on 5 December 1914 and he is one of a very few soldiers presented with his award before it appeared in the London Gazette . Since the Second World War , most but not all Commonwealth countries have created their own honours systems and no longer participate in the British honours system . This began soon after the Partition of India in 1947, when
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#17330856166183322-582: A wide variety of public duties. On the death of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901, George's father ascended the throne as King Edward VII . George inherited the title of Duke of Cornwall , and for much of the rest of that year, he was known as the Duke of Cornwall and York. In 1901, the Duke and Duchess toured the British Empire . Their tour included Gibraltar, Malta, Port Said, Aden , Ceylon, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Mauritius, South Africa, Canada, and
3473-610: A young midshipman and a wise old king, but when he was Duke of York ... he did nothing at all but kill [ i.e. shoot] animals and stick in stamps." George was an avid stamp collector , which Nicolson disparaged, but George played a large role in building the Royal Philatelic Collection into the most comprehensive collection of United Kingdom and Commonwealth stamps in the world, in some cases setting record purchase prices for items. In October 1894, George's maternal uncle-by-marriage, Alexander III of Russia , died. At
3624-492: Is a bronze cross pattée , 1 + 39 ⁄ 64 ″ (41 mm) high, 1 + 27 ⁄ 64 ″ (36 mm) wide, bearing the crown of Saint Edward surmounted by a lion, and the inscription "for valour". This was originally to have been "for the brave", until it was changed on the recommendation of Queen Victoria, as it implied that only men who were awarded the cross were brave. The decoration, suspension bar, and link weigh about 0.87 troy ounces (27 g). The cross
3775-480: Is similar to that for the early WW1 medals. This is likely to be due to the reuse of material from earlier pourings, casting sprues , defective medals, etc. The remaining portion of the only remaining cascabel, weighing 358 oz (10 kg), is stored in a vault maintained by 15 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps at MoD Donnington and may only be removed under armed guard. It is estimated that approximately 80 to 85 more VCs could be cast from this source. The decoration
3926-432: Is suspended by a ring from a seriffed "V" to a bar ornamented with laurel leaves, through which the ribbon passes. The reverse of the suspension bar is engraved with the recipient's name, rank, number and unit. On the reverse of the medal is a circular panel on which the date of the act for which it was awarded is engraved in the centre. The Original Warrant Clause 1 states that the Victoria Cross "shall consist of
4077-811: Is that the cannon were taken as trophies during the First Opium War and held in the Woolwich repository. It was also thought that some medals made during the First World War were composed of metal captured from different Chinese guns during the Boxer Rebellion . This is not so, however. The VCs examined by Creagh and Ashton both in Australia (58) and at the National Army Museum in New Zealand (14) spanned
4228-524: Is the Empire?" An unusual phrase in that form, and the secretary said: "All is well, sir, with the Empire", and the King gave him a smile and relapsed once more into unconsciousness. By 20 January, George was close to death. His physicians, led by Lord Dawson of Penn , issued a bulletin with the words "The King's life is moving peacefully towards its close." Dawson's private diary, unearthed after his death and made public in 1986, reveals that George's last words,
4379-604: Is the largest collection of such decorations. In July 2008 it was announced that Ashcroft was to donate £5 million for a permanent gallery at the Imperial War Museum where the 50 VCs held by the museum would be put on display alongside his collection. The Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum opened on 12 November 2010, containing a total of 210 VCs and 31 GCs. George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936)
4530-646: Is the sole recipient of both the Victoria Cross and the Iron Cross . The VC was awarded for his actions during the Waikato-Hauhau Maori War , New Zealand on 29 April 1864, while the Iron Cross was awarded for tending the wounded during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. Royal New Zealand Air Force Flying Officer Lloyd Allan Trigg is the only serviceman ever awarded a VC on evidence solely provided by
4681-570: The 1931 Statute of Westminster recognised the Empire's Dominions as separate, independent states within the British Commonwealth of Nations . George suffered from smoking-related health problems during his later reign. On his death in January 1936, he was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward VIII . Edward abdicated in December of that year and was succeeded by his younger brother Albert, who took
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4832-600: The Archbishop of Canterbury , Charles Longley . As a younger son of the Prince of Wales, there was little expectation that George would become king. He was third in line to the throne, after his father and elder brother, Prince Albert Victor . George was only 17 months younger than Albert Victor, and the two princes were educated together. John Neale Dalton was appointed as their tutor in 1871. Neither Albert Victor nor George excelled intellectually. As their father thought that
4983-528: The British Army and 4 to members of the Australian Army , have been awarded since the Second World War . The traditional explanation of the source of the metal from which the medals are struck is that it derives from a Russian cannon captured at the siege of Sevastopol . However, research has indicated another origin for the material. The historian John Glanfield has established that the metal for most of
5134-581: The Colony of Newfoundland . The tour was designed by Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain with the support of Prime Minister Lord Salisbury to reward the Dominions for their participation in the South African War of 1899–1902. George presented thousands of specially designed South African War medals to colonial troops. In South Africa, the royal party met civic leaders, African leaders, and Boer prisoners, and
5285-532: The Earl of Derby : "My father was frightened of his mother, I was frightened of my father, and I am damned well going to see to it that my children are frightened of me." In reality, there is no direct source for the quotation and it is likely that George's parenting style was little different from that adopted by most people at the time. Whether this was the case or not, his children did seem to resent his strict nature, his son Prince Henry going as far as to describe him as
5436-478: The First World War (1914–1918), the empires of his first cousins Nicholas II of Russia and Wilhelm II of Germany fell, while the British Empire expanded to its greatest effective extent. In 1917, George became the first monarch of the House of Windsor , which he renamed from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as a result of anti-German public sentiment . He appointed the first Labour ministry in 1924, and
5587-682: The Gazette dating back to the Indian Mutiny. The Victoria Cross warrant was not amended to explicitly allow posthumous awards until 1920, but one quarter of all awards for World War I were posthumous. The process and motivations of selecting the medal's recipients has sometimes been interpreted as inconsistent or overly political. The most common observation has been that the Victoria Cross may be given more often for engagements that senior military personnel would like to publicly promote. The 1920 royal warrant made provision for awards to women serving in
5738-595: The Imperial War Museum , the Ashcroft collection went on public display alongside the museum's Victoria and George Cross collection in November 2010. Beginning with Canada on its centenary of confederation in 1967, followed in 1975 by Australia and New Zealand , these countries developed their own national honours systems, separate from and independent of the British or Imperial honours system. As each country's system evolved, operational gallantry awards were developed with
5889-660: The Indian Order of Merit since 1837, which was the oldest British gallantry award for general issue. When the Victoria Cross was created, Indian troops were still controlled by the Honourable East India Company and did not come under Crown control until 1860. European officers and men serving with the Honourable East India Company were not eligible for the Indian Order of Merit and the Victoria Cross
6040-562: The Latin " pro valore " . This language was chosen so as to favour neither French nor English, the two official languages of Canada. New Zealand was the third country to adapt the VC into its own honours system. While the New Zealand and Australian VCs are technically separate awards, the decoration is identical to the British design, including being cast from the same gunmetal as the British VC. The Canadian Victoria Cross also includes metal from
6191-637: The Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honour, established 1802) and the Netherlands gave the Order of William (established in 1815). There was a growing feeling among the public and in the Royal Court that a new award was needed to recognise incidents of gallantry that were unconnected with the length or merit of a man's service. Queen Victoria issued a warrant under the royal sign-manual on 29 January 1856 ( gazetted 5 February 1856) that officially constituted
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6342-525: The Mediterranean , Egypt, and East Asia. In 1881 on a visit to Japan, George had a local artist tattoo a blue and red dragon on his arm, and was received in an audience by the Emperor Meiji ; George and his brother presented Empress Haruko with two wallabies from Australia. Dalton wrote an account of their journey entitled The Cruise of HMS Bacchante . Between Melbourne and Sydney , Dalton recorded
6493-495: The Parama Weera Vibhushanaya medal. Three Commonwealth realms —Australia, Canada and New Zealand —have each introduced their own decorations for gallantry and bravery, replacing British decorations such as the Victoria Cross with their own. The only Commonwealth countries that still can recommend the VC are the small nations that still participate in the British honours system, none of whose forces have ever been awarded
6644-686: The QEII Army Memorial Museum in Waiouru , New Zealand, with a value of around NZD $ 20 million. Charles Upham 's VC and Bar was among these. A reward of NZ$ 300,000, provided by Lord Ashcroft, was posted for information leading to the recovery of the decorations. On 16 February 2008, New Zealand Police announced that all of the medals had been recovered. There are a number of collections of Victoria Crosses. The VC collection of businessman and politician Lord Ashcroft , amassed since 1986, contains 162 medals, over one-tenth of all VCs awarded. It
6795-499: The Royal Navy , until his elder brother's unexpected death in January 1892 put him directly in line for the throne. The next year George married his brother's former fiancée, Princess Victoria Mary of Teck , and they had six children. When Queen Victoria died in 1901, George's father ascended the throne as Edward VII, and George was created Prince of Wales . He became king-emperor on his father's death in 1910. George's reign saw
6946-498: The Royal Navy . He travelled the world, visiting many areas of the British Empire. During his naval career he commanded Torpedo Boat 79 in home waters, then HMS Thrush on the North America and West Indies Station . His last active service was in command of HMS Melampus in 1891–1892. From then on, his naval rank was largely honorary. As a young man destined to serve in the navy, Prince George served for many years under
7097-540: The Silver Jubilee of his reign in 1935, he had become a well-loved king, saying in response to the crowd's adulation, "I cannot understand it, after all I am only a very ordinary sort of fellow." George's relationship with his eldest son and heir, Edward , deteriorated in these later years. George was disappointed in Edward's failure to settle down in life and appalled by his many affairs with married women. In contrast, he
7248-399: The War in Afghanistan in 2004. The Canadian Victoria Cross has been cast once, to be awarded to the Unknown Soldier at the rededication of the Vimy Memorial on 7 April 2007 (this date being chosen as it was the 90th anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge ), but pressure from veterans' organisations caused the plan to be dropped. As the highest award for valour of the United Kingdom,
7399-434: The War in Afghanistan ; Ben Roberts-Smith , Daniel Keighran and Cameron Baird were also awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia for actions in Afghanistan. Teddy Sheean was awarded the VC after the Australian Government convened an expert panel to review his case. The Victoria Cross for New Zealand has been awarded once: Corporal Willie Apiata ( New Zealand Special Air Service ) on 2 July 2007, for his actions in
7550-502: The coronation of King Haakon VII , George's cousin and brother-in-law, and Queen Maud , George's sister. On 6 May 1910, Edward VII died , and George became king. He wrote in his diary: I have lost my best friend and the best of fathers ... I never had a [cross] word with him in my life. I am heart-broken and overwhelmed with grief but God will help me in my responsibilities and darling May will be my comfort as she has always been. May God give me strength and guidance in
7701-426: The 111 Crimean recipients in a ceremony in Hyde Park, London . A single company of jewellers, Hancocks & Co , has been responsible for the production of every VC awarded since its inception. It has long been widely believed that all the VCs were cast in bronze from the cascabels of two cannons that were captured from the Russians at the siege of Sevastopol . However, in 1990 Creagh and Ashton conducted
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#17330856166187852-466: The Armed Forces. No woman has been awarded a VC. In the case of a gallant and daring act being performed by a squadron, ship's company or a detached body of men (such as marines) in which all men are deemed equally brave and deserving of the Victoria Cross, a ballot is drawn. The officers select one officer, the NCOs select one individual, and the private soldiers or seamen select two individuals. In all, 46 awards have been awarded by ballot with 29 of
8003-444: The British Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood . Australia was the first Commonwealth realm to create its own VC, on 15 January 1991. Although it is a separate award, its appearance is identical to its British counterpart. Canada followed suit when in 1993 Queen Elizabeth signed Letters Patent creating the Canadian VC, which is also similar to the British version, except that the legend has been changed from "for valour" to
8154-447: The British Government. He was awarded the Victoria Cross and the principle was established that gallant conduct could be rewarded independently of any political consideration of military operations. More recently, four Australian soldiers were awarded the Victoria Cross in the Vietnam War although Britain was not involved in the conflict. Indian troops were not originally eligible for the Victoria Cross since they had been eligible for
8305-472: The British forces before 31 March 1949 while domiciled in Canada or Newfoundland receive Can$ 3,000 per year. Under Subsection 103.4 of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986, the Australian Government provides a Victoria Cross Allowance. Until November 2005 the amount was A$ 3,230 per year. Since then this amount has been increased annually in line with the Australian Consumer Price Index. The original royal warrant involved an expulsion clause that allowed for
8456-400: The British people, and fears that revolution might come to the British Isles, led George to think that the presence of the Romanovs would be seen as inappropriate. Despite the later claims of Lord Mountbatten of Burma that Prime Minister David Lloyd George was opposed to the rescue of the Russian imperial family, the letters of Lord Stamfordham suggest that it was George V who opposed
8607-401: The British public came to symbolise all the horrors of the war, was the King's first cousin. George's paternal grandfather was Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha ; consequently, the King and his children bore the German titles Prince and Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duke and Duchess of Saxony. Queen Mary, although born in England like her mother, was the daughter of the Duke of Teck,
8758-405: The Dominions' legislative independence and established that the succession to the throne could not be changed unless all the Parliaments of the Dominions as well as the Parliament at Westminster agreed. The Statute's preamble described the monarch as "the symbol of the free association of the members of the British Commonwealth of Nations", who were "united by a common allegiance". In the wake of
8909-401: The Indian Empire . In 1900 it was ordained in Dress Regulations for the Army that it should be worn after the cross of a Member of the Royal Victorian Order . It was only in 1902 that Edward VII gave the cross its present position on a bar brooch. The cross is also worn as a miniature decoration on a brooch or a chain with mess jacket , white tie or black tie . As a bearer of the VC is not
9060-466: The King and Queen travelled to India for the Delhi Durbar , where they were presented to an assembled audience of Indian dignitaries and princes as the Emperor and Empress of India on 12 December 1911. George wore the newly created Imperial Crown of India at the ceremony and declared the shifting of the Indian capital from Calcutta to Delhi. He was the only Emperor of India to be present at his own Delhi Durbar. As he and Mary travelled throughout
9211-556: The King's dignity, to prevent further strain on the family, and so that George's death at 11:55 pm could be announced in the morning edition of The Times newspaper rather than "less appropriate ... evening journals". Neither Queen Mary, who was intensely religious and might not have sanctioned euthanasia, nor the Prince of Wales were consulted. The royal family did not want the King to endure pain and suffering and did not want his life prolonged artificially but neither did they approve Dawson's actions. British Pathé announced
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#17330856166189362-484: The Parliament Act, relations between the elderly Knollys and the Conservatives became poor, and he was pushed into retirement. Desperate to avoid the prospect of civil war in Ireland between Unionists and Nationalists, George called a meeting of all parties at Buckingham Palace in July 1914 in an attempt to negotiate a settlement. After four days the conference ended without an agreement. Political developments in Britain and Ireland were overtaken by events in Europe, and
9513-440: The Royal Navy and saw naval service as a midshipman in Crete in 1898 and during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900–01. He was acting sub-lieutenant from 15 May 1901. In August 1902 he was temporarily posted to the torpedo boat destroyer HMS Havock for service during the Coronation Fleet review . From late October that year he was posted to the corvette HMS Cleopatra , used as a training cruiser in home waters, and confirmed in
9664-399: The Royal Warrant provides that after an action in which all are equally brave and distinguished, where no special selection can be made, the officer in overall command may direct that one officer may be selected for the award by the officers and men who took part in the action.) Carpenter was also made an Officer of the Legion of Honour and awarded the Croix de Guerre with palm. He was sent on
9815-441: The Second Boer War. In an exception to policy for the Second Boer War, six posthumous Victoria Crosses, three to those mentioned in the notices in 1900 and 1901 and a further three, were granted on 8 August 1902, the first official posthumous awards. Five years later in 1907, the posthumous policy was reversed for earlier wars, and medals were sent to the next of kin of the six officers and men whose names were mentioned in notices in
9966-431: The Somme . In January 1969, the record reached £1700 (£35300 ) for the medal set of William Rennie . In April 2004 the VC awarded in 1944 to Sergeant Norman Jackson , RAF, was sold at an auction for £235,250. On 24 July 2006, an auction at Bonhams in Sydney of the VC awarded to Captain Alfred Shout fetched a world record hammer price of A$ 1 million (approximately £410,000 at the time). In November 2009, it
10117-401: The US Medal of Honor and reciprocally the Victoria Cross was presented to the American Unknown Soldier of the First World War. This is the only ungazetted VC award following the normal British practice for both gallantry and meritorious awards to foreign recipients not being gazetted. It is included in the total of 1,358 awards. In 1856, Queen Victoria laid an unnamed Victoria Cross beneath
10268-420: The Upper House. A constitutional conference on the reforms broke down in November 1910 after 21 meetings. Asquith and Lord Crewe , Liberal leader in the Lords, asked George to grant a dissolution, leading to a second general election, and to promise to create sufficient Liberal peers if the Lords blocked the legislation again. If George refused, the Liberal government would otherwise resign, which would have given
10419-420: The VC and Bar , the bar representing a second award of the VC. They are Noel Godfrey Chavasse and Arthur Martin-Leake , both doctors in the Royal Army Medical Corps , for rescuing wounded under fire; and New Zealander Captain Charles Upham , an infantryman, for combat actions. Upham remains the only combatant soldier to have received a VC and Bar. Surgeon General William George Nicholas Manley , an Irishman,
10570-399: The VC can be seen by the increasing sums that the medals reach at auctions. In 1955 the set of medals awarded to Edmund Barron Hartley was bought at Sotheby's for the then record price of £300 (approximately £9900 in present-day terms ). In October 1966 the Middlesex Regiment paid a new record figure of £900 (approximately £21200 in present-day terms ) for a VC awarded after the Battle of
10721-455: The VC is normally issued by an officer at regimental level, or equivalent, and has to be supported by three witnesses, although this has been waived on occasion. The recommendation is then passed up the military hierarchy until it reaches the Secretary of State for Defence . The recommendation is then laid before the monarch who approves the award with his or her signature. Victoria Cross awards are always promulgated in The London Gazette with
10872-467: The VC. When the Union of South Africa instituted its own range of military decorations and medals with effect from 6 April 1952, these new awards took precedence before all earlier British decorations and medals awarded to South Africans, with the exception of the Victoria Cross, which still took precedence before all other awards. The other older British awards continued to be worn in the order prescribed by
11023-535: The VC. The order was backdated to 1854 to recognise acts of valour during the Crimean War. Queen Victoria had instructed the War Office to strike a new medal that would not recognise birth or class. The medal was meant to be a simple decoration that would be highly prized and eagerly sought after by those in the military services. To maintain its simplicity, Queen Victoria, under the guidance of Prince Albert , vetoed
11174-486: The Victoria Cross is always the first award to be presented at an investiture, even before knighthoods , as was shown at the investiture of Private Johnson Beharry , who received his medal before General Sir Mike Jackson received his knighthood. Owing to its status, the VC is always the first decoration worn in a row of medals and it is the first set of post-nominal letters used to indicate any decoration or order. Similar acts of extreme valour that do not take place in
11325-560: The Victoria Cross were raised for local troops who distinguished themselves in action. Following gallant actions by three New Zealand soldiers in November 1868 and January 1869 during the New Zealand Wars , an Order in Council on 10 March 1869 created a "Distinctive Decoration" for members of the local forces without seeking permission from the Secretary of State for the Colonies . Although
11476-399: The ages of twelve and thirteen, and receiving the same education, whatever their class and eventual assignments. The reforms were implemented by the then Second (later First) Sea Lord, Sir John Fisher . From November 1905 to March 1906, George and May toured British India , where he was disgusted by racial discrimination and campaigned for greater involvement of Indians in the government of
11627-594: The amount of which is determined by the awarding government. Since 2015, the annuity paid by the British Government is £10,000 per year. This is exempted from tax for British taxpayers by Section 638 Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, along with pensions or annuities from other awards for bravery. In Canada, under the Gallantry Awards Order , members of the Canadian Forces or people who joined
11778-586: The appearance that the monarch was taking sides – with "the peers against the people" – in party politics. The King's two private secretaries, the Liberal Lord Knollys and the Unionist Lord Stamfordham , gave George conflicting advice. Knollys advised George to accept the Cabinet's demands, while Stamfordham advised George to accept the resignation. Like his father, George reluctantly agreed to
11929-520: 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 . The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts of valour during the Crimean War . Since then, the medal has been awarded 1,358 times to 1,355 individual recipients. Only 15 medals, of which 11 to members of
12080-533: The awards during the Indian Mutiny. Four further awards were granted to Q Battery, Royal Horse Artillery at Korn Spruit on 31 March 1900 during the Second Boer War. The final ballot awards for the army were the six awards to the Lancashire Fusiliers at W Beach during the landing at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915, although three of the awards were not gazetted until 1917. The final seven ballot awards were
12231-603: The children of the Sovereign, the children of the sons of the Sovereign and the eldest living son of the eldest son of a Prince of Wales. The letters patent also stated that "the titles of Royal Highness, Highness or Serene Highness, and the titular dignity of Prince and Princess shall cease except those titles already granted and remaining unrevoked". George's relatives who fought on the German side, such as Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover , and Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , had their British peerages suspended by
12382-562: The command of his uncle Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh , who was stationed in Malta . There, he grew close to and fell in love with his cousin Princess Marie of Edinburgh . His grandmother, father and uncle all approved the match, but his own mother and Marie's mother opposed it. The Princess of Wales thought the family was too pro-German, and the Duchess of Edinburgh disliked England. The Duchess,
12533-484: The country. The tour was almost immediately followed by a trip to Spain for the wedding of King Alfonso XIII to George's cousin Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg , at which the bride and groom narrowly avoided assassination when the driver of their coach and more than a dozen spectators were killed by a bomb thrown by an anarchist, Mateu Morral . A week after returning to Britain, George and May travelled to Norway for
12684-609: The crime committed by anyone on whom the VC has been conferred, the decoration should not be forfeited. Even were a VC to be sentenced to be hanged for murder, he should be allowed to wear his VC on the scaffold . A total of 1,358 Victoria Crosses have been awarded since 1856 to 1,355 men. The greatest number of Victoria Crosses awarded for a single day was 24 for deeds performed during the Indian Mutiny on 16 November 1857, 23 for deeds at Lucknow and one by Francis David Millet Brown for action at Narnoul . The greatest number won by
12835-510: The dissolution and creation of peers, although he felt his ministers had taken advantage of his inexperience to browbeat him. After the December 1910 general election , the Lords let the bill pass on hearing of the threat to swamp the house with new peers. The subsequent Parliament Act 1911 permanently removed – with a few exceptions – the power of the Lords to veto bills. George later came to feel that Knollys had withheld information from him about
12986-895: The end of the Second World War, the original VC has been awarded 15 times: four in the Korean War , one in the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation in 1965, four to Australians in the Vietnam War , two during the Falklands War in 1982, one in the Iraq War in 2004, and three in the War in Afghanistan for actions in 2006, 2012 and 2013. In 1921, the British Unknown Warrior was awarded
13137-525: 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 (later Commonwealth of Nations ), 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
13288-519: The enemy, for an action in which there were no surviving Allied witnesses. The recommendation was made by the captain of the German U-boat U-468 sunk by Trigg's aircraft. Lieutenant Commander Gerard Roope was also awarded a VC on recommendation of the enemy, the captain of the Admiral Hipper , but there were also numerous surviving Allied witnesses to corroborate his actions. Since
13439-498: The enemy. Six such awards were made during this period—five of them for a single incident during an Expedition to the Andaman Islands in 1867. In 1881, the criteria were changed again and the VC was only awarded for acts of valour "in the face of the enemy". Due to this, it has been suggested by many historians including Lord Ashcroft that the changing nature of warfare will result in fewer VCs being awarded. The Victoria Cross
13590-579: The entire time during which VCs have been issued and no compositional inconsistencies were found. It was also believed that another source of metal was used between 1942 and 1945 to create five Second World War VCs when the Sevastopol metal "went missing". Creagh accessed the Army records at MoD Donnington in 1991 and did not find any gaps in the custodial record. The composition found in the WW2 VCs, among them those for Edwards (Australia) and Upham (New Zealand),
13741-456: The evening of 15 January 1936, George took to his bedroom at Sandringham House complaining of a cold; he remained in the room until his death. He became gradually weaker, drifting in and out of consciousness. Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin later said: ... each time he became conscious it was some kind inquiry or kind observation of someone, some words of gratitude for kindness shown. But he did say to his secretary when he sent for him: "How
13892-526: The face of the enemy are honoured with the George Cross (GC), which has equal precedence but is awarded second because the GC is newer. It is not statutory for "all ranks to salute a bearer of the Victoria Cross": There is no official requirement that appears in the official warrant of the VC, nor in King's Regulations and Orders , but tradition dictates that this occurs and, consequently, senior officers will salute
14043-416: The family. Her parents were Francis, Duke of Teck (a member of a morganatic , cadet branch of the House of Württemberg ), and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge , a male-line granddaughter of George III and a first cousin of Queen Victoria. On 14 January 1892, six weeks after the formal engagement, Albert Victor died of pneumonia during an influenza pandemic , leaving George second in line to
14194-545: The first Labour Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald , in the absence of a clear majority for any one of the three major parties. George's tact in appointing the first Labour government (which lasted less than a year) allayed the suspicions of the party's sympathisers that he would work against their interests. During the General Strike of 1926 , George advised the government of Conservative Stanley Baldwin against taking inflammatory action, and took exception to suggestions that
14345-517: The first session of the Australian Parliament on the creation of the Commonwealth of Australia . In New Zealand, he praised the military values, bravery, loyalty, and obedience to duty of New Zealanders, and the tour gave New Zealand a chance to show off its progress, especially in its adoption of up-to-date British standards in communications and the processing industries. The implicit goal
14496-467: The formation of the Royal Air Force on 1 April 1918. On 22 May 1920 George V signed a warrant that stated all recipients would now receive a red ribbon and the living recipients of the naval version were required to exchange their ribbons for the new colour. Although the army warrants state the colour as being red, it is defined by most commentators as being crimson or "wine-red". Since 1917
14647-483: The foundation stone of Netley Military hospital . When the hospital was demolished in 1966 the VC, known as "The Netley VC", was retrieved and is now on display in the Army Medical Services Museum , Mytchett , near Aldershot. This VC is not counted in official statistics. Since 1879, more than 300 Victoria Crosses have been publicly auctioned or advertised. Others have been privately sold. The value of
14798-499: The governor was chided for exceeding his authority, the Order in Council was ratified by the Queen. The title "Distinctive Decoration" was later replaced by the title New Zealand Cross . In addition, in 1870 Victoria sent six ceremonial Highland broadswords to New Zealand, to be presented as "Swords of Honour" to Māori rangatira who had served with distinction during the New Zealand Land Wars . The swords were presented in
14949-502: The heavy task which has fallen on me. George had never liked his wife's habit of signing official documents and letters as "Victoria Mary" and insisted she drop one of those names. They both thought she should not be called Queen Victoria, and so she became Queen Mary. Later that year, a radical propagandist, Edward Mylius , published a lie that George had secretly married in Malta as a young man, and that consequently his marriage to Queen Mary
15100-602: The idea against the advice of the government. Advance planning for a rescue was undertaken by MI1 , a branch of the British secret service, but because of the strengthening position of the Bolshevik revolutionaries and wider difficulties with the conduct of the war, the plan was never put into operation. Nicholas and his immediate family remained in Russia, where they were killed by the Bolsheviks in 1918 . George wrote in his diary: "It
15251-538: The issue of Irish Home Rule was suspended for the duration of the war. On 4 August 1914, George wrote in his diary, "I held a council at 10:45 to declare war with Germany. It is a terrible catastrophe but it is not our fault. ... Please to God it may soon be over." From 1914 to 1918, Britain and its allies were at war with the Central Powers , led by the German Empire . German Kaiser Wilhelm II , who for
15402-415: The medals made since December 1914 came from two Chinese cannons and that there is no evidence of Russian origin. The VC is highly prized and has been valued at over £400,000 at auctions. A number of public and private collections are devoted to the Victoria Cross. The private collection of Lord Ashcroft , amassed since 1986, contains over one-tenth of all Victoria Crosses awarded. After a 2008 donation to
15553-493: The men in the most dangerous and exposed positions. By his encouragement to those under him, his power of command and personal bearing, he undoubtedly contributed greatly to the success of the operation. Capt. Carpenter was selected by the officers of the "Vindictive," "Iris II.," and "Daffodil," and of the naval assaulting force to receive the Victoria Cross under Rule 13 of the Royal Warrant, dated 29 January 1856. (Rule 13 of
15704-410: The mole in darkness. When "Vindictive" was within a few yards of the mole the enemy started and maintained a heavy fire from batteries, machine guns and rifles on to the bridge. He showed most conspicuous bravery, and did much to encourage similar behaviour on the part of the crew, supervising the landing from the "Vindictive" on to the mole, and walking round the decks directing operations and encouraging
15855-536: The monarchy closer to the public and the working class—a dramatic change for the King, who was most comfortable with naval officers and landed gentry. He cultivated friendly relations with moderate Labour Party politicians and trade union officials. His abandonment of social aloofness conditioned the royal family's behaviour and enhanced its popularity during the economic crises of the 1920s and for over two generations thereafter. The years between 1922 and 1929 saw frequent changes in government. In 1924, George appointed
16006-558: The navy was "the very best possible training for any boy", in September 1877, when George was 12 years old, both brothers joined the cadet training ship HMS Britannia at Dartmouth, Devon . For three years from 1879, the princes served on HMS Bacchante , accompanied by Dalton. They toured the colonies of the British Empire in the Caribbean , South Africa and Australia, and visited Norfolk, Virginia , as well as South America,
16157-514: The new countries of India and Pakistan introduced their own systems of awards. The VC was replaced by the Param Vir Chakra (PVC) and Nishan-e-Haider (NH) respectively. Most if not all new honours systems continued to permit recipients of British honours to wear their awards according to the rules of each nation's order of wear. Sri Lanka, whose defence personnel were eligible to receive the Victoria Cross until 1972, introduced its own equivalent,
16308-562: The only daughter of Alexander II of Russia , resented the fact that, as the wife of a younger son of the British sovereign, she had to yield precedence to George's mother, whose father had been a minor German prince before being called unexpectedly to the throne of Denmark. Guided by her mother, Marie refused George when he proposed to her. She married Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Romania , in 1893. In November 1891, George's brother, Albert Victor, became engaged to his second cousin once removed Princess Victoria Mary of Teck , known as "May" within
16459-455: The only naval ballot awards with three awards to two Q-ships in 1917 and four awards for the Zeebrugge Raid in 1918. The provision for awards by ballot is still included in the Victoria Cross warrant, but there have been no further such awards since 1918. Between 1858 and 1881, the Victoria Cross could be awarded for actions taken "under circumstances of extreme danger" not in the face of
16610-623: The opening session of the Parliament of Northern Ireland on 22 June 1921, the King appealed for conciliation in a speech part drafted by General Jan Smuts and approved by Lloyd George. A few weeks later, a truce was agreed. Negotiations between Britain and the Irish secessionists led to the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty . By the end of 1922, Ireland was partitioned , the Irish Free State
16761-529: The passage of Liberal legislation. Edward had reluctantly agreed, provided the Lords rejected the budget after two successive general elections. After the January 1910 general election , the Conservative peers allowed the budget, for which the government now had an electoral mandate, to pass without a vote. Asquith attempted to curtail the power of the Lords through constitutional reforms, which were again blocked by
16912-472: The premier award of each system, with the Victoria Cross for Australia , the Canadian Victoria Cross and the Victoria Cross for New Zealand being created and named in honour of the Victoria Cross. They are unique awards of each honours system recommended, assessed, gazetted and presented by each country. In 1854, after 39 years of peace, Britain was in a major war against Russia. The Crimean War
17063-512: The rank of sub-lieutenant. He specialised in navigation from 1903 and received the thanks of the Admiralty for several inventions, and a Humane Society medal for saving life at sea. During World War I he served on Admiral Jellicoe 's staff 1914–15. He was promoted to Commander in 1915 and served as navigating officer of HMS Emperor of India 1915–17. On 22/23 April 1918, Captain Carpenter
17214-407: The recipient by the reigning British monarch. Nearly 300 awards have been presented by a member of the royal family or by a civil or military dignitary. About 150 awards were either forwarded to the recipient or next of kin by registered post or no details of the presentations are known. The original royal warrant did not contain a specific clause regarding posthumous awards, although official policy
17365-466: The regnal name George VI . George was born on 3 June 1865, in Marlborough House , London. He was the second son of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales , and Alexandra, Princess of Wales . His father was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert , and his mother was the eldest daughter of King Christian IX and Queen Louise of Denmark . He was baptised at Windsor Castle on 7 July 1865 by
17516-592: The request of his father, "out of respect for poor dear Uncle Sasha's memory", George joined his parents in Saint Petersburg for the funeral. He and his parents remained in Russia for the wedding a week later of the new Russian emperor, his maternal first cousin Nicholas II , to one of George's paternal first cousins, Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine , who had once been considered as a potential bride for George's elder brother. As Duke of York, George carried out
17667-458: The rise of socialism , communism , fascism , Irish republicanism , and the Indian independence movement , all of which radically changed the political landscape of the British Empire , which itself reached its territorial peak by the beginning of the 1920s. The Parliament Act 1911 established the supremacy of the elected British House of Commons over the unelected House of Lords . As a result of
17818-471: The same cannon, along with copper and other metals from all regions of Canada. There have been five recipients of the Victoria Cross for Australia, four for action in Afghanistan and one awarded for action in the Second World War following a review. The first was to Trooper Mark Donaldson ( Special Air Service Regiment ) on 16 January 2009 for actions during Operation Slipper , the Australian contribution to
17969-446: The seaside resort of Bognor , Sussex. As a result of his stay, the town acquired the suffix Regis – Latin for "of the King". A myth later grew that his last words, on being told that he would soon be well enough to revisit the town, were " Bugger Bognor!" George never fully recovered. In his final year, he was occasionally administered oxygen. The death of his favourite sister, Victoria , in December 1935 depressed him deeply. On
18120-614: The single exception of the award to the American Unknown Soldier in 1921. The Victoria Cross warrant makes no specific provision as to who should actually present the medals to the recipients. Queen Victoria indicated that she would like to present the medals in person and she presented 185 medals out of the 472 gazetted during her reign. Including the first 62 medals presented at a parade in Hyde Park on 26 June 1857 by Queen Victoria, nearly 900 awards have been personally presented to
18271-578: The strikers were "revolutionaries" saying, "Try living on their wages before you judge them." In 1926, George hosted an Imperial Conference in London at which the Balfour Declaration accepted the growth of the British Dominions into self-governing "autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another". The Statute of Westminster 1931 formalised
18422-471: The subcontinent, George took the opportunity to indulge in big game hunting in Nepal , shooting 21 tigers, 8 rhinoceroses and a bear over 10 days. He was a keen and expert marksman. On a later occasion, on 18 December 1913, he shot over a thousand pheasants in six hours (about one bird every 20 seconds) while visiting the home of Lord Burnham . Even George had to acknowledge that "we went
18573-400: The suggestion that the award be called The Military Order of Victoria and instead suggested the name Victoria Cross . The original warrant stated that the Victoria Cross would only be awarded to officers and men who had served in the presence of the enemy and had performed some signal act of valour or devotion. The first ceremony was held on 26 June 1857 at which Queen Victoria invested 62 of
18724-470: The throne and likely to succeed after his father. George had only just recovered from a serious illness himself, having been confined to bed for six weeks with typhoid fever , the disease that was thought to have killed his grandfather Prince Albert. Queen Victoria still regarded Princess May as a suitable match for her grandson, and George and May grew close during their shared period of mourning. A year after Albert Victor's death, George proposed to May and
18875-484: The throne". The First World War took a toll on George's health: he was seriously injured on 28 October 1915 when thrown by his horse at a troop review in France, and his heavy smoking exacerbated recurring breathing problems. He suffered from chronic bronchitis . In 1925, on the instruction of his doctors, he was reluctantly sent on a recuperative private cruise in the Mediterranean; it was his third trip abroad since
19026-424: The throne, after his father. George was created Duke of York , Earl of Inverness , and Baron Killarney by Queen Victoria on 24 May 1892, and received lessons in constitutional history from J. R. Tanner . The Duke and Duchess of York had five sons and a daughter . Randolph Churchill claimed that George was a strict father, to the extent that his children were terrified of him, and that George had remarked to
19177-456: The war had been forced to resign as First Sea Lord through anti-German feeling, became Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven, while Queen Mary's brothers became Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge , and Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone . In letters patent gazetted on 11 December 1917, the King restricted the style of "Royal Highness" and the titular dignity of "Prince (or Princess) of Great Britain and Ireland" to
19328-452: The war, and his last. In November 1928, he fell seriously ill with septicaemia , which localised between the base of his right lung and diaphragm in the form of an empyema that required drainage . For the next two years his son Edward took over many of his duties. In 1929, the suggestion of a further rest abroad was rejected by the King "in rather strong language". Instead, he retired for three months to Craigweil House , Aldwick, in
19479-742: The willingness of the opposition to form a government if the Liberals had resigned. The 1910 general elections had left the Liberals as a minority government dependent upon the support of the Irish Nationalist Party . As desired by the Nationalists, Asquith introduced legislation that would give Ireland Home Rule , but the Conservatives and Unionists opposed it. As tempers rose over the Home Rule Bill, which would never have been possible without
19630-534: Was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions , and Emperor of India , from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his paternal grandmother, Queen Victoria , as the second son of the Prince and Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra ). He was third in the line of succession to the British throne behind his father and his elder brother, Prince Albert Victor . From 1877 to 1892, George served in
19781-421: Was a foul murder. I was devoted to Nicky, who was the kindest of men and thorough gentleman: loved his country and people." The following year, Nicholas's mother, Marie Feodorovna , and other members of the extended Russian imperial family were rescued from Crimea by a British warship. Two months after the end of the war, the King's youngest son, John , died aged 13 after a lifetime of ill health. George
19932-515: Was accepted. They married on 6 July 1893 at the Chapel Royal in St James's Palace , London. Throughout their lives, they remained devoted to each other. George was, on his own admission, unable to express his feelings easily in speech, but they often exchanged loving letters and notes of endearment. The death of his elder brother effectively ended George's naval career, as he was now second in line to
20083-522: Was bigamous. The lie had first surfaced in print in 1893, but George had shrugged it off as a joke. In an effort to kill off rumours, Mylius was arrested, tried and found guilty of criminal libel , and was sentenced to a year in prison. George objected to the anti-Catholic wording of the Accession Declaration that he would be required to make at the opening of his first parliament. He made it known that he would refuse to open parliament unless it
20234-507: Was bound to be a war within ten years if Germany went on at the present rate; he warned the British ambassador in Berlin, Eric Phipps , to be suspicious of the Nazis. In 1932, George agreed to deliver a Royal Christmas speech on the radio, an event that became annual thereafter. He was not in favour of the innovation originally but was persuaded by the argument that it was what his people wanted. By
20385-572: Was changed. As a result, the Accession Declaration Act 1910 shortened the declaration and removed the most offensive phrases. George and Mary's coronation took place at Westminster Abbey on 22 June 1911, and was celebrated by the Festival of Empire in London. In July, the King and Queen visited Ireland for five days; they received a warm welcome, with thousands of people lining the route of their procession to cheer. Later in 1911,
20536-500: Was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester . George's father wished to prepare him for his future role as king. In contrast to Edward himself, whom Queen Victoria had deliberately excluded from state affairs, George was given wide access to state documents by his father. George in turn allowed his wife access to his papers, as he valued her counsel and she often helped write his speeches. As Prince of Wales, he supported reforms in naval training, including cadets being enrolled at
20687-500: Was described in a poem, " The King's Pilgrimage " by Rudyard Kipling . The tour, and one short visit to Italy in 1923, were the only times George agreed to leave the United Kingdom on official business after the end of the war. Before the First World War , most of Europe was ruled by monarchs related to George, but during and after the war, the monarchies of Austria, Germany, Greece, and Spain, like Russia, fell to revolution and war. In March 1919, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Lisle Strutt
20838-555: Was dispatched on the personal authority of the King to escort the former Emperor Charles I of Austria and his family to safety in Switzerland. In 1922, a Royal Navy ship was sent to Greece to rescue his cousins Prince and Princess Andrew . Political turmoil in Ireland continued as the Nationalists fought for independence ; George expressed his horror at government-sanctioned killings and reprisals to Prime Minister Lloyd George . At
20989-566: Was donated to the Royal Canadian Regiment Museum in London, Ontario , Canada in 1979, was stolen on Canada Day (1 July 1980), when the museum was overcrowded and has been missing since. A VC awarded in 1917 to Canadian soldier Corporal Filip Konowal was stolen from the same museum in 1973 and was not recovered until 2004. On 2 December 2007, nine VCs were among 100 medals (12 sets) stolen from locked, reinforced glass cabinets at
21140-441: Was established, and Lloyd George was out of office. George and his advisers were concerned about the rise of socialism and the growing labour movement, which they mistakenly associated with republicanism. The socialists no longer believed in their anti-monarchical slogans and were ready to come to terms with the monarchy if it took the first step. George adopted a more democratic, inclusive stance that crossed class lines and brought
21291-452: Was extended to colonial troops in 1867. The extension was made following a recommendation for gallantry regarding colonial soldier Major Charles Heaphy for action in the New Zealand Wars in 1864. He was operating under British command and the VC was gazetted in 1867. Later that year, the Government of New Zealand assumed full responsibility for operations, but no further recommendations for
21442-465: Was extended to cover them in October 1857. It was only at the end of the 19th century that calls for Indian troops to be awarded the Victoria Cross intensified. Indian troops became eligible for the award in 1911. The first awards to Indian troops appeared in the London Gazette on 7 December 1914 to Darwan Singh Negi and Khudadad Khan . Negi was presented with the Victoria Cross by George V during
21593-470: Was fond of his second son, Prince Albert (later George VI ), and doted on his eldest granddaughter, Princess Elizabeth ; he nicknamed her "Lilibet", and she affectionately called him "Grandpa England". In 1935, George said of his son Edward: "After I am dead, the boy will ruin himself within 12 months", and of Albert and Elizabeth: "I pray to God my eldest son will never marry and have children, and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet and
21744-529: Was greeted by elaborate decorations, expensive gifts, and fireworks displays. Despite this, not all residents responded favourably to the tour. Many white Cape Afrikaners resented the display and expense, the war having weakened their capacity to reconcile their Afrikaner-Dutch culture with their status as British subjects. Critics in the English-language press decried the enormous cost at a time when families faced severe hardship. In Australia, George opened
21895-481: Was in command of HMS Vindictive which was to land a force of 200 Royal Marines on the mole at Zeebrugge at the start of the Zeebrugge Raid . For his conduct during this action he was awarded the VC: For most conspicuous gallantry. This officer was in command of "Vindictive." He set a magnificent example to all those under his command by his calm composure when navigating mined waters, bringing his ship alongside
22046-500: Was informed of his death by Queen Mary, who wrote, "[John] had been a great anxiety to us for many years ... The first break in the family circle is hard to bear but people have been so kind & sympathetic & this has helped us much." In May 1922, George toured Belgium and northern France, visiting the First World War cemeteries and memorials being constructed by the Imperial War Graves Commission . The event
22197-519: Was not to award the VC posthumously. Between the First war of Indian Independence in 1857 and the beginning of the Second Boer War , the names of six officers and men were published in the London Gazette with a memorandum stating they would have been awarded the Victoria Cross had they survived. A further three notices were published in the London Gazette in September 1900 and April 1901 for gallantry in
22348-433: Was one of the first wars with modern reporting, and the dispatches of William Howard Russell described many acts of bravery and valour by British servicemen that went unrewarded. Before the Crimean War, there was no official standardised system for recognition of gallantry within the British armed forces. Officers were eligible for an award of one of the junior grades of the Order of the Bath and brevet promotions while
22499-409: Was promoted to vice-admiral (retired) in 1934. During World War II he commanded the Wye Valley section of the Gloucestershire Home Guard . His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Imperial War Museum , London, England. Victoria Cross 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
22650-481: Was reported that almost £1.5 million was paid to St Peter's College, Oxford by Lord Ashcroft for the VC and bar awarded to Noel Chavasse . Vice Admiral Gordon Campbell 's medal group, including the VC he received for actions while in command of HMS Farnborough , was reportedly sold for a record £840,000. Several VCs have been stolen and, being valuable, have been placed on the Interpol watch-list for stolen items. The VC awarded to Milton Gregg , which
22801-538: Was to advertise New Zealand's attractiveness to tourists and potential immigrants, while avoiding news of growing social tensions, by focusing the attention of the British press on a land few knew about. On his return to Britain, in a speech at Guildhall, London , George warned of "the impression which seemed to prevail among [our] brethren across the seas, that the Old Country must wake up if she intends to maintain her old position of pre-eminence in her colonial trade against foreign competitors." On 9 November 1901, George
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