Victoria Cross

"The most democratic and at the same time the most exclusive all orders of chivalry - the most enviable order of the Victoria Cross." – Edward VIII (when Prince of Wales)
The Victoria Cross is Britain's most prestigious military honour, awarded for valour in the presence of the enemy. From the Crimea to Iraq, it has been bestowed only 1,355 times, proving the recipients' bravery beyond all doubt - always facing mortal danger, sometimes a certain death.

"A riveting historical mystery that sweeps four continents and fills a void in the Victoria Cross story." Frederick Whirlpool's Victoria Cross is displayed near the entrance to the Hall of Valour at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra. It was the first VC pinned to an Australian uniform, yet almost nothing was known about its enigmatic recipient.

What is the nature of courage, how and when should it be recognized, and how has our appreciation of it changed? These are among the questions Granville Allen Mawer seeks to answer in this absorbing study of the history of the Victoria Cross, the highest award in the British honors system for gallantry in the presence of the enemy. His is the first analytical account of the institution of the Victoria Cross, and it is a fascinating study of the ethics of rewarding bravery. It explores in dispassionate detail the thinking behind the creation of the award, the reasons why individual awards were given and how, over the last 160 years, the system has developed and changed.

This fully revised paperback edition of the complete chronological record of VC holders is an essential work of reference for every student of military history. All the British and Commonwealth servicemen who have been awarded the highest honour for exceptional acts of bravery and self-sacrifice are commemorated here.

The British Empire at its height stretched around the globe. From Asia to the Americas, scores of countries were conquered or assimilated into the greatest commonwealth of nations in history. Many of these countries were won, and held, at the point of the bayonet, and British soldiers and sailors fought long and hard campaigns in deserts, mountains and jungles to maintain and expand the Empire. Fighting, though, means bloodshed; it also means bravery.