Firstly. - It is ordained, that the
distinction shall be styled and designated the "Victoria Cross", and shall
consist of a Maltese Cross of Bronze with Our Royal Crest in the centre, and
underneath which an escroll bearing this inscription, "For
Valour".
Secondly. - It is ordained, that the Cross shall be suspended
from the left breast, by a blue riband for the Navy, and by a red riband for the
Army.
Thirdly. - It is ordained, that the names of those upon whom We may
be pleased to confer the Decoration shall be published in the London Gazette,
and a registry thereof kept in the office of Our Secretary of State for
War.
Fourthly. - It is ordained that anyone who, after having received
the Cross, shall again perform an act of bravery, which if he had not received
such Cross would have entitled him to it, such further act shall be 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.
Fifthly. - It
is ordained, that the Cross shall only be awarded to those officers and men who
have served Us in the presence of the enemy, and shall have then performed some
signal act of valour, or devotion to their country.
Sixthly. - It is
ordained, with a view to place all persons on a perfectly equal footing in
relation to eligibility for the Decoration, that neither rank, nor long service,
nor wounds, nor any other circumstance or condition whatsoever, save the merit
of conspicuous bravery shall be held to establish a sufficient claim to the
honour.
Seventhly. - It is ordained, that the Decoration may be conferred
on the spot where the act to be rewarded by the grant of such Decoration has
been performed, under the following circumstances:
I. When the Fleet or Army in which such act has been
performed, is under the eye and command of an Admiral or Genral Officer
commanding the forces.
II. Where the naval or military force is under the
eye and command of an Admiral or Commodore commanding a squadron or detached
naval force, or of a General commanding a corps, or division or brigade on a
distinct and detached service, when such Admiral, Commodore, or General Officer
shall have the power of conferring the Decoration on the spot, subject to
confirmation by Us.
Eightly. - It is ordained, where such act shall not have been
performed in sight of a commanding officer as aforesaid, then the claimant for
the honour shall prove the act to the satisfaction of the captain or officer
commanding his ship, or to the officer commanding the regiment to which the
claimant belongs, and such captain or commanding officer shall report the same
through the usual channel to the Admiral or Commodore commanding the force
employed on the service, or to the officer commanding the forces in the field,
who shall call for such description and attestation of the act as he may think
requisite, and on approval shall recommend the grant of the
Decoration.
Ninthly. - It is ordained that every person selected for the
Cross, under rule seven, shall be publicly decorated before the naval or
military force or body to which he belongs, and with which the act of bravery
for which he is to be rewarded shall have been performed, and his name shall be
recorded in a General Order, together with the cause of his special
distinction.
Tenthly. - It is ordained that every person selected under
rule eight shall receive his Decoration as soon as possible, and his name shall
likewise appear in a General Order as above required, such General Order to be
issued by the naval or military commander of the forces employed on the
service.
Eleventhly. - It is ordained that the General Orders above
referred to shall from time to time be transmitted to Our Secretary of State for
War, to be laid before Us, and shall be by him registered.
Twelthly. - It
is ordained that as cases may arise not falling within the rules above
specified, or in which a claim, though well founded, may not have been
established on the spot, We will, on the joint submission of Our Secretary of
State for War, and of Our Commander-in-Chief of Our army, or on that of Our Lord
High Admiral or Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty in the case of the Navy,
confer the Decoration, but never without conclusive proof of the performance of
the act of bravery for which the claim is made.
Thirteenthly. - It is
ordained that, in the event of a gallant and daring act having been performed by
a squadron, ship's company, a detached body of seamen or marines, not under
fifty in number, or by a brigade, regiment, troop, or company, in which the
Admiral, General, or other officer commanding such forces, may deem that all are
equally brave and distinguished, and that no special selection can be made by
them, then in such case the Admiral, General, or other officer commanding may
direct that for any such body of seamen and marines, or for every troop or
company of soldiers, one officer shall be selected by the officers engaged for
the Decoration; and in like manner one petty officer or non-commissioned officer
shall be selected by the petty officers and non-commissioned officers engaged;
and two seamen or private soldiers or marines shall be selected by the seamen,
or private soldiers, or marines engaged respectively, for the Decoration; and
the names of those selected shall be transmitted by the senior officer in
command of the naval force, brigade, regiment, troop, or company, to the Admiral
or General Officer commanding, who shall in due manner confer the Decoration as
if the acts were done under his own eye.
Fourteenthly. - It is ordained
that every warrant officer, petty officer, seman, or marine, or non-commissioned
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 Ten Pounds a year, and each additional Bar conferred under rule four
on such warrant or petty officers, or non-commissioned officers or men, shall
carry with it an additional pension of Five Pounds per
annum.
Fifteenthly. - In order to make such additional provision as shall
effectually preserve pure this most honourable distinction, it is ordained, that
on any person on whom such distinction shall be conferred, be convicted of
treason, cowardice, felony, or of any infamous crime, or if he is accused of any
such offence and doth not after reasonable time surrender himself to be tried
for the same, his name shall forthwith be erased from the registry of
individuals upon whom the said Decoration shall have been conferred by an
especial Warrant under Our Royal Sign Manual, and the pension conferred under
rule fourteen shall cease and determine from the date of such Warrant. It is
hereby further declared that We, Our Heirs and Successors, shall be the sole
judges of the circumstance demanding such expulsion; moreover, We shall at all
times have power to restore such persons as may at any time have been expelled
both to the enjoyment of the Decoration and Pension.
Given at Our Court at Buckingham Palace, this
twenty-ninth day of January, in the nineteenth year of Our reign, and in the
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
By Her
Majesty's Command,
PANMURE."