Victoria Cross

The peculiarities of this decoration, which was instituted on the termination of the Crime an campaign in 1856, are, that it may be granted to a soldier of any rank, and for a single act of valor. The Cro of the Legion of Honor, as was felt during the Crime an campaign, served a purpose in the French army which was served by none of the British decorations, and it was in imitation of it that the Victoria Cro was founded, with the inscription “For Valor,” and which can be given to none but those who have performed, in presence of the enemy, some signal act of valor or devotion to their country. The general distribution of the cro es earned in the Crime an war took place in Hyde Park on June 26, 1857. The recipients were 62 in number. The Victoria Cro is in the form of a Maltese cro , formed from the cannon captured at Sebastopol. In the centre is the royal crown, surmounted by the lion, and below, on a scroll, the words, “For Valor.” The ribbon is blue for the navy, and red for the army. On the clasp are two branches of laurel, and from it the cro hangs, supported by the initial “ V .” The decoration is accompanied by a pension of £10 a year.