TRADE SECRETS OF THEN VICTORIA CROSS.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 144, 11 February 1916, Page 1 (Supplement)

TRADE SECRETS OF THEN VICTORIA CROSS.

WHERE AND HOW IT IS MADE. Who would suspect that our unique decoration, " For Valour "—a few pennyworth of bronze as to intrinsic worth—has a saleroom value of £SO or more, when one comes into the market ? Where and how is the famous Cross made—that sovere : gn cymbol of the superman, singling him out from the rest in sheer self-sacrifice, and braving of imminent death in truly terrifying surroundings ? Well, the most glorious and democratic of badges is made in New Bond Street—of all aristocratic places—and not at the Roval Mint at all, as is popularly supposed. There are a few ancient and historic jewellers in this quarter of London, who'for centuries have specialised in the making of Orders and chivalric •tfegalia of r , all 6orts. Crown 'goldsmiths like Garrard's, who supply the gorgeous Star of the Garter—once in a blue moon! MADE OF METAL. Messrs. Hancocks ana €o. make the Victoria Cross to WarV-Offiee orders, and have hitherto been; supplied with scraps of bronze Russian guns. But this year Russian metal is withheld, and archa'e"Chinese pieces are drawn upon for the making of this famous decoration. Strange as it may 6eem, the sovereign pitch of human courage was onee without its regular badge. The Cross "bears.'-Queen Victoria's name and owes its-origin to that' high-spirited lady, who'(bestrode her own charger, decked in imirtial-searlet and gold, for the inaugural ceremony on the Horee Guards Parade. That was in 1857. Prior to that -year signal acts of heroism either went or else got a crude fliedar,-of which examp'es are rare, and highly prized by the numismatist. The Crimean War drew to a close with many a record of stoic endurance. "General Winter" was the worst foe our men faced m that dreary campaign. And then it was that Queen Victoria and the Printe-Consort decided on the Cross as the highest possible tribute to naval or military heroes "who should perform,'in the presence of the enemy, ». supreme .act of valour or devotion to their eonntry." RARELY FORFEITED. Thus award was to carry with it an annual pension of £lO,-and £5 extra for each additional bar. Where the soldier was wholly incapacitated, the pension might be increased to £50 —of course, in all cases for life. And all through life the Cross is naturally the key to preferment, alike in civil and in military careers. It is rarely forfeited and redeems a man more than once from misdemeanour. In case of crime, special reports are ma4e to the War Office, which in turn advises the King as to whether this rarest of badges is to be retained or removed. The very first recipient was a naval man —young C. D. Lucas, who rose to be an Admiral. He was on board the Hecla in the Baltic when a live shell crashed on board amid a group of terrified tars. Without a moment's hesitation Lucas dashed upon the terrible thing and hurled it overboard. Perhaps 650 V.C.'s have been awarded to men of all ranks and origins. Some families have more than one. Thus the famous Goughs (distinguished also in this war) have as many as three. Admiral Sir George Sartorious won the V.C, so did both his sons, Generals Reginald and Eustace Sartorius. Now and then, in some mysterious way, a Victoria Cross comes up for sale at Christie's er Sotheby's salerooms. It is, of course, a prize, eagerly competed for by rich collectors—the pathetic symbol of uttermost sacrifice for King and country. On one occasion the original owner made a dramatic entry in the middle of the sale, and in broken tones begged that it might not proceed! THE PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE. Now what happens when the long chain of recommendations is complete, and the new award decided on An order is flashed froin the War Office to Messrs. Hancocks :—" Ono Victoria Cross —same as before." And next day the Chinese bronze is delivered. At the same time it is worth noting that no two Crosses are precisely though in what respects they differ is a closely-guarded secret. The first process of manufacture is to obtain a rough cast by melting the metal at a temperature of 2000 deg. Fahr., and pouring it into a mould. This mould has already taken the original impress in sand—a design which is said to be the work of the Prince Consort himself, who entered into Queen Victoria's idea with characteristic zeal. After this process, rough marks of the mould are removed from the Cross, and the main features heightened and brought out by cunning such as we look for in London's famous Street of Jewels. Now is the chaser's turn. He places the modest emblem on a globe of pitch, and with hammer and delicate chisel tools up the relief, till every detail becomes vivid and clear. At this stage the Cross abruptly leaves Bond Strcvt for Whitehall. Nothing further may be done till the War Office has duly inspected and passed the new decoration. GOVERNED BY OLD-TIME TRADITIONS. It will be seen that each step :s governed by old-world tradition, to which authority clings with peculiar tenacity in the case of the Victoria Cross. * It is our Empire's highest award. Aristocratic Boycl-Rochfort may get it as an officer of the Guards, but so mav tiie greengrocer. Edward Dwyer; Belcher, the ex-shopman, and Angus, the collier lad of,Carluke —he was the only V.C. at the Palace that morning, though fifteen commissioned officers attended for lesser awards. Passed bv the War Office, the Cross got - again into the Bond Street studio. Nnw thr- bar and ribbon are added rod for the Army, and blue for the Navy. The name*of the recipient now appears, also his regiment, and the simalf magic of " For Valour!" ' Ba< k to the War Office again, whore p-ipers nre prepared, and the King advised ;n the matter of the forthcoming investiture. How busy the Palace has been in this way during the past heroic year, when the strangest Courts have been hold.

We're told of one V.C. who was a convict, with twenty-seven convictions to a dishonoured name! But he'd taken another, and covered that one with glory, winning the Cross by superhuman efforts in a hell-swept zone of roaring flame and steel —a scene of shattering death and wholesale mangling by all the means of tortured and perverted Science. Such is the uplifting power of a new idea upon character hitherto debased. And this man with the bronze Cross —"For Valour" —on his breast, now holds up his head with the bravest and best; h:s past redeemed, and his future entirely assured by the heroic moment's impuelse.—W. J. Fitz-Gerald.