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Victoria Cross history
Michel de Montaigne- Valour is the stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and soul.
The Victoria Cross first came into existence on the 29th January 1856 when Queen Victoria signed a royal warrant creating the award. She later approved a Victoria Cross medal design on 3rd March the same year. Prior to 1854 the highest award for the military in the British Army was the ‘Order of the Bath’, but it was only awarded to senior officers. Due to the severity of the Crimean War it was decided that there needed to be a medal which could be awarded to anyone that, ‘displayed courage and valour in the face of the enemy against insurmountable odds’. By the time the Victoria Cross had actually been created and agreed upon hostilities had ceased; the first award was made 12 months after.