THE VICTORIA CROSS.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 348, 6 December 1915, Page 3

THE VICTORIA CROSS.

HOW IT ORIGINATED

Aery few Victoria Crosses have I been seen in Australasia, and a few ifacts ■ about its origin will be of interrest. According to a copy of the original Order-in-Council, issued by Queen Victoria, it states: "Whereas, we, taking ..into our Royal consideration that there exists no means of adequately rewarding the individual gallant services either of officers of the lower '-grades in our naval and military service or of warrant and petty officers, seamen and marines in our navy, and non-commissioned officers and soldiers jin onr army, and whereas the third jelass of our most honourable Order of the Bath is limited, except in very rare cases, to the higher ranks of both services, and the granting of medals, both in onr navy and army, is only rewarded for long service or L'meritoroins conduct, rather than for -’.bravery in action or campaign, or a clasp added to the medal for some ■ special engagement, in both of which ,cases all share equally in the boon, wand those who by their valour have 'particularly signalised themselves, roI'main undistinguished from their .com‘rades. Now, for the purpose of atI tailing an end -so desirable as that of rewarding individual instances of merit and valour, we have instituted and created, and by these presents I for us, onr heirs and successes, insti--1 tntc and create, a new naval and military decoration which we are desirI ons should bo highly prized and eagerly sought after by the officers and men of onr naval ' and military services, and are graciously pleased to make, ordain, and establish the following rules and ordinances for tingovernment of the same, which shall from henceforth be inviolably observed and kept. "Firstly, it is ordained that the distinction should be styled and designated 'the- Victoria Cross,’ and shall consist of a Maltese Cross of bronze, jyith a Royal crest in the centre, an'' underneath with an escroll bearing this inscription, ‘For Valour. ’

“Secondly-—lt is ordained that the cross shall bo suspended from the lef breast by a blue riband for the Navand a red riband for the Army. ” There is a list of further rules dealing iwth how the cross may be giver in action or awarded afterwards or the testimony of commanding officers or “on the conclusive proof of the performance of the act of bravery for which the claim is made,” and then- — “Fourteenthly—It is ordained that every warrant officer, petty officer

seaman or marine, or non-commission-ed officer or soldier, who shall have received the cross shall, from the date of the act by which the decoration has been gained, be entitled to a special pension of £lO a year an'" each additional bar conferred unde'Rule 4 (in which it is laid down that anyone who, after having received the cross, shall again perform an ac" of bravery which, if he had not received the cross, would have entitled him to it, such further act shall br

recorded by a bar attached to the riband by which the cross is suspended, and for every additional act of bravery an additional bar may be added), on such warrant or petty officers, or non-commissioned officers or men, shall carry with it an additional pension of £5 per annum.” It was considered by Her Majesty’s advisers that the sentence “rewarding; individual cases of merit or valour,” in the preamble, was rather ambiguous, and accordingly, on April 23rd, ISSI, the words “conspicuous bravery or devotion to the country in the presence of the enemy” were substituted. Another alteration was made on February, 1890, when authority was given to increase the ordinary Victoria Cross annuity of £lO by a sum not exceeding £4O a year, in any case in which a warrant officer, petty offi-

cer, seaman or marine who had gained the cross, might be found to be, from old age or infirmity not due to his own fault, in poor circumstances, and unable to earn a living, providing that the annuity, together with any pensions of which lie might be in receipt from public funds, did not exceed £SO a year.