The Victoria Cross

Queen Victoria instituted this medal as the Empire's highest decoration for bravery in battle. The year was 1856, the year that saw the end of the Crimean War. Among the military plunder and souvenirs taken back to Britain by her victorious regiments were a number of Russian guns captured when Sevastopol fell, and the first Victoria Crosses were cast from these captured cannons, a tradition that persisted for over a century.

To wear the bronze cross on the simple deep red ribbon is to be seen as among the bravest of the brave. The inscription says it all-