The common soldier, would most likely have at the least, expected a campaign medal which would have been issued to all those who took part in the war, whether he had fought bravely or not. To remedy this situation the
Distinguished Conduct Medal was instituted in 1854 for NCOs and privates. Although this medal was highly valued and carried a pension with it, there was a growing awareness of the need for a decoration which ultimately would be open to all, regardless of rank and which would more fairly reflect the individual gallantry of those who served on the front-line. Liberal Member of Parliament, Captain Thomas SCOBELL an ex-naval officer placed a motion before the House of Commons in December 1854 asking that an 'Order of Merit' should be awarded to 'persons serving in the army or navy for distinguished and prominent personal gallantry..... and to which every grade and individual from the highest to the lowest..... may be admissable'.The French, our allies in the Crimea, already had
two decorations, the Legion
d'Honneur and the Medaille Militaire. The Austrians and
the Russians also had awards for gallantry regardless of rank. The Secretary of
State for War, The Duke of Newcastle, had formed this same idea, and in January
1855 he wrote to the husband of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and reminded him
of an earlier conversation in which he had suggested 'a new decoration open to
all ranks'. On the 29th January 1855 in a speech to the House of Lords the
Secretary of State for War announced the new award. An official memorandum was
circulating within the War Office about this same time, setting out the details
of a cross to be awarded for 'a signal act of
valour in the presence of the enemy'.
Unfortunately within three days of giving his
speech to the House of Lords, the Duke of Newcastle lost his job. Interest by
then had been sufficuently aroused and Lord Panmure, the new Secretary of State
for War, continued to correspond with Prince Albert on the subject. Queen
Victoria herself was actively involved in the proposals. On the original draft
warrant it had already been decided that the award should carry her name. The
Civil Service proposed that the award should be called 'the Military Order of Victoria', Prince Albert thought that this was rather long-winded and on making
pencil alterations to the draft document scored through the word Order and
suggested instead 'the Victoria
Cross'. Queen Victoria showed a lot of interest
especially in the design of the Cross. From the original drawings that were
submitted to her, the Queen selected one that was closely modelled on an
existing campaign medal, the Army Gold
Cross from the Peninsular War. Queen Victoria suggested that the Cross should be
'a little smaller'. The Queen also made a significant alteration to the motto,
scoring out 'for the brave' and replacing it with 'for valour', in case anyone
should come to the conclusion that the only brave men in a battle were those who
won the cross. Hancock's of Bruton Street, London, jewellers who had a high
reputation for silver work received the commission from Lord Panmure for the new
medal. It had already been decided that the new decoration would be made of base
metal. The first proof that Queen Victoria received was not at all to her taste.
'The Cross looks very well in form, but the metal is ugly; it is copper and not
bronze and will look very heavy on a red coat'. An unknown person perhaps inspired by Queen
Victoria's remarks made the suggestion that it would be fitting to take the
bronze for the new medals from Russian guns captured in the Crimea. Two
18-pounders were placed at the disposal of an engineer who was sent off to
Woolwich Barracks. The two 18-pounder guns were clearly of an antique design and
were found to be inscribed with very un-Russian characters. Many years had
passed before it was pointed out that the 'VC guns' were in fact Chinese and not
Russian as was first thought, and may or may not have been anywhere near the
Crimea. The dies which Hancock's used began to crack up, this was as a result of
the Chinese gunmetal being so hard. It was therefore decided to cast the medals
instead, this fortunately turned out to be a lucky chance as it resulted in
higher relief and more depth in the moulding than would have been possible with
a die-stamped medal. It was not until the 29th January 1856 when a Royal
Warrant was finally signed instituting the Victoria Cross. Queen Victoria had
made it plain to Lord Panmure that she herself wished to bestow her new award on
as many of the recipients as possible. The Queen decided that the 26th June 1857
was a suitable date and that a grand parade was to be laid on in Hyde Park and
that she would 'herself' attend on horseback. Preparations for the great day
were made, the final list of recipients being published in the London Gazette on
the 22nd June 1857. Hancock's the jewellers had to work around the clock to
engrave the names of the recipients on the Crosses. Those who were to receive
the award from the Queen had somehow to be found and then rushed to London,
together with detachments of the units in which they had served. Some of the
recipients were not in uniform for the ceremony, this was as a result of them
having left the services. Regardless, the Queen herself was well satisfied with
the arrangements. Public interest in the ceremony on the 26th was intense. At an
early hour crowds of well dressed sightseers swarmed into Hyde Park, where a
vast amphitheatre of seats, capable of accomodating 12,000 persons had been
erected. In the centre stood a simple table, on which were laid the bronze
Maltese crosses, their red and blue ribbons being the only patches of colour
that caught the eye. In front, a body of 4,000 troops, consisting of the corps
d'elite of the army - Guards, Highlanders, Royal Marines, the Rifle Brigade,
Enniskillens, and Hussars, Artillery and Engineers - was drawn up. Between them
and the Royal Pavilion stood the small group of heroes-sixty-two in number-who
were to be decorated. At 10 a.m. the Queen, the Prince Consort, Prince Frederick
William of Prussia, and a brilliant train, rode into the Park. The Queen,
mounted on a gallant and spirited roan, and wearing a scarlet jacket, black
shirt, and plumed hat, rode up to the table, but did not dismount. One by one
each hero was summoned to her presence, and bending from her saddle, her Majesty
pinned the Cross on his breast with her own hands, whilst the Prince Consort
saluted him with grave and respectful courtesy. As each soldier or sailor was
decorated, the vast concourse of spectators cheered and clapped their hands.
Whether he were an officer whose breast was already glittering with stars and
orders, or a humble private or Jack Tar whose rough tunic carried no more
resplendent embellishment than the ordinary war medal. But of all the cheers
none were heartier than those which were given for a man who, when called out,
stepped forward arrayed in what was then the grotesque and pacific garb of an
ordinary policeman.