Victoria Cross for Australia

The Victoria Cross for Australia is the highest award in the Australian honours system, superseding the British Victoria Cross for issue to Australians. The Victoria Cross for Australia is the "decoration for according recognition to persons who in the presence of the enemy, perform acts of the most conspicuous gallantry, or daring or pre-eminent acts of valour or self-sacrifice or display extreme devotion to duty."[3]

Victoria Cross for Australia
Obverse of the medal and ribbon. Ribbon: 32 mm, crimson
TypeMilitary decoration
Awarded for"... most conspicuous bravery, or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy."[1]
DescriptionBronze cross pattée with crown and lion superimposed, and motto: 'For Valour'
Presented byAustralia
EligibilityAustralian military personnel
Post-nominalsVC
StatusCurrently awarded
Established15 January 1991
First awarded16 January 2009
Last awarded12 August 2020
FounderElizabeth II
Total5
Total awarded posthumously2
Total recipients5
Order of Wear
Next (higher)none
EquivalentVictoria Cross
Next (lower)George Cross, Cross of Valour[2]

The Victoria Cross for Australia was created by letters patent signed by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on 15 January 1991. It is listed equal first with the British Victoria Cross on the Australian Order of Wear with precedence in Australia over all orders, decorations and medals.[4] The decoration may be awarded to members of the Australian Defence Force and to other persons determined by the Australian Minister for Defence.[5] A person to whom the Victoria Cross for Australia has been awarded is entitled to the post nominals VC placed after the person's name.[6]

The Governor-General of Australia awards the Victoria Cross for Australia, with the approval of the Sovereign, on the recommendation of the Minister for Defence, subject to review by the Defence Honours and Awards Appeal Tribunal. As at February 2021, five Victoria Cross for Australia had been awarded, two posthumously. The first was awarded on 16 January 2009 to Trooper Mark Donaldson, who had rescued an International Security Assistance Force interpreter under heavy fire in Uruzgan Province in Afghanistan. Donaldson's award came almost 40 years after Warrant Officer Keith Payne became the last Australian to be awarded the (original) Victoria Cross for gallantry on 24 May 1969 during the Vietnam War. Unlike the original Victoria Cross where the announcement of the award may be followed some time later by the presentation of the award, the announcement of all awards of the Australian VC have occurred on the same occasion as the presentation by the Governor-General in the presence of the Prime Minister. Both VC for Australia and original Victoria Cross recipients are entitled to the Victoria Cross allowance under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.[7]

History

Original Victoria Cross

The original Victoria Cross was officially instituted on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria by royal warrant and backdated to 1854 to recognise acts of valour committed during the Crimean War.[8] It was originally intended that the Victoria Crosses would be cast from the bronze cascabels of two cannons that were captured from the Russians at the siege of Sevastopol.[9][10][11] However, historian John Glanfield has proven, through the use of X-rays of older Victoria Crosses, that the metal used for the Victoria Crosses is in fact made from antique Chinese guns, and not of Russian origin.[10][11][12]

The barrels of the cannon used to cast the medals are stationed outside the Officers' Mess, at the Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich. The remaining portion of the only remaining cascabel, weighing 10 kilograms (358 oz), is stored in a vault maintained by 15 Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps at MoD Donnington, and can be removed only under armed guard. It is estimated that 80 to 85 more Victoria Crosses could be cast from this source. A single company of jewellers, Hancocks of London, established in 1849, has been responsible for the production of every medal since its inception.[13] Both the Australian and New Zealand Victoria Crosses are made from the same gunmetal as the originals.[14]

The original medal was awarded to 96 Australians; 91 of these were received while serving as members of Australian forces; five were received by former members of the Australian forces who were serving with South African or British forces.[15] Sixty-four awards were for action in the First World War, nine of them for action during the Gallipoli Campaign. Twenty medals were awarded for action in the Second World War, and the other medals were for action in the Second Boer War, Russian Civil War and in the Vietnam War. The last recipient was Warrant Officer Keith Payne, for gallantry on 24 May 1969 during the Vietnam War. Payne was awarded the medal for instigating a rescue of more than 40 men.[1]

Separate Commonwealth awards

Since the end of the Second World War most but not all Commonwealth countries have introduced their own honours systems, separate from the British honours system. Commonwealth countries, when replacing the British Victoria Cross, George Cross and lesser decorations, created their own decorations for gallantry and bravery. The highest awards for Australia, Canada and New Zealand[14] were named in honour of the British Victoria Cross but are unique awards of each country's honours system. Commonwealth countries have their own Order of Wear which is published in each country's gazette or other publication.

With the issuing of letters patent by the Queen of Australia on 15 January 1991, Australia became the first Commonwealth realm to institute a separate Victoria Cross award in its own honours system. Although it is a separate award, the Victoria Cross for Australia's appearance is identical to its British counterpart.[16] Canada followed suit when in 1993, Queen Elizabeth II as Queen of Canada signed letters patent creating the Canadian Victoria Cross. The Canadian version has a different inscription, as well as being cast from three groupings of metals. The legend has been changed from FOR VALOUR to the Latin PRO VALORE.[17] Although one Canadian VC has been cast, none have been awarded. In 1999, New Zealand created the Victoria Cross for New Zealand, identical to the Australian and British Victoria Crosses,[14] and this has been awarded once, on 2 July 2007 to Corporal Willie Apiata.[18]

Appearance
Trooper Donaldson's medals on display at the Australian War Memorial. His Victoria Cross for Australia is at left.

The Victoria Cross for Australia is identical to the original design. It is a "cross pattée 41 millimetres high, 36 millimetres wide. The arms of the Cross have raised edges. The obverse bears a Crowned Lion standing on the Royal Crown with the words 'FOR VALOUR' inscribed on a semi-circular scroll below the Crown. The reverse bears raised edges on the arms of the cross and the date of the act for which the Cross is awarded is engraved within the circle in the centre.[19][20] The inscription was originally to have been FOR BRAVERY, until it was changed on the recommendation of Queen Victoria, who thought some might erroneously consider that only the recipients of the Victoria Cross were brave in battle.[10] The decoration, suspension bar, and link weigh about 27 grams (0.87 troy ounces).[21]

The cross is suspended by a ring from a seriffed "V" to a bar ornamented with laurel leaves, through which the ribbon passes. The reverse of the suspension bar is engraved with the recipient's name, rank, number and unit.[22] On the reverse of the medal is a circular panel, on which the date of the act for which it was awarded is engraved in the centre.[22] The ribbon is crimson, and is 38 millimetres (1.5 inches) wide. Although the warrants state the colour as red, it is defined by most commentators as "crimson" or "wine-red".[23]

Conferment

The Victoria Cross for Australia is awarded for

... most conspicuous gallantry, or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy or belligerents.[1]

Awards are granted by the Governor-General with the approval of the Sovereign. The warrant for the Victoria Cross for Australia differs markedly from the Imperial warrant. The new warrant does not specify any particular process for recommendations, though it is expected that any recommendation will pass through the military hierarchy to the Minister for Defence.[1][24] The new warrant also allows for "other persons determined by the Minister [for Defence] for the purposes of this regulation." Author Robert Macklin has speculated that this has opened up the field of eligibility to policemen and women or civilians during a terrorist act. He goes on to say that by "separating the VC from its traditional roots the Hawke government can be accused, with some justice, of devaluing the honour ..."[25] Subsequent awards of the Victoria Cross for Australia to the same individual shall be made in the form of a bar to the Cross.[26] Where a person has been awarded a second or three or more awards, the post nominals "VC and Bar" or "VC and Bars" may be used.[6]

The Australian War Memorial which holds 66 Victoria Crosses

The Victoria Cross for Australia is the highest award in the Australian Honours Order of Precedence. As such, it takes precedence over all other Australian orders and decorations, except the Imperial Victoria Cross, with which it shares equal precedence. This postnominal is valid only for the recipient and is not transferred to the recipient's heirs.[27] "Tradition holds that even the most senior officer will salute a Victoria Cross recipient as a mark of the utmost respect for their act of valour."[28] Whilst it has been a tradition for many years to salute a Victoria Cross recipient the Australian Army Ceremonial Manual, Volume 1, Annex B to Chapter 13 states "Victoria Cross winners, unless they are serving commissioned officers in the armed forces, are not saluted". Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston saluted Trooper Mark Donaldson after he received his VC.[28][29] Under Section 103, Subsection (4), of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986, the Australian Government pays a Victoria Cross Allowance to any service person awarded the medal.[30] The act set this amount at A$3,230 per year. Since 20 September 2005, this amount has been indexed annually in line with Australian Consumer Price Index increases.[31] This amount is in addition to any amount that the veteran may be awarded under the general decoration allowance of $2.10 per fortnight.[32]

The various forms of the Victoria Cross are inherently valuable, as was highlighted on 24 July 2006, when at the auctionhouse Bonhams in Sydney, the VC which had been awarded to First World War soldier Captain Alfred Shout, fetched a world-record hammer price of $1 million. Shout had been awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously in 1915 for hand-to-hand combat at the Lone Pine trenches in Gallipoli, Turkey. The buyer, Kerry Stokes, has lent it to the Australian War Memorial for display with the eight other Victoria Crosses awarded to Australians at Gallipoli.[33][34] The Australian War Memorial in Canberra currently holds 66 Victoria Crosses, 63 awarded to Australians—including Mark Donaldson's Victoria Cross for Australia on loan—and three to British soldiers; this formed the largest publicly displayed collection in the world,[34] until the opening of the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum (IWM) in London during November 2010, which displays the 168 VCs owned by Lord Ashcroft and 48 more held by the IWM.[35]

Recipients
Main article: List of Australian Victoria Cross recipients § Victoria Cross for Australia

Mark Donaldson

The first Victoria Cross for Australia was awarded to Trooper Mark Donaldson of the Special Air Service Regiment by Governor-General Quentin Bryce at Government House, Canberra, on 16 January 2009.[36][37] On 2 September 2008, Donaldson rescued an interpreter under heavy enemy fire in Oruzgan province during Operation Slipper, the Australian contribution to the War in Afghanistan.[38]

On 2 September 2008 Trooper Donaldson was outstanding in the manner in which he fought during a prolonged and effective enemy ambush. On numerous occasions, he deliberately drew the enemy's fire in order to allow wounded soldiers to be moved to safety. As the battle raged around him he saw that a coalition interpreter was lying motionless on exposed ground. With complete disregard for his own safety, on his own initiative and alone, Trooper Donaldson ran back eighty metres across exposed ground to rescue the interpreter and carry him back to a vehicle. Trooper Donaldson then rejoined his patrol and continued to engage the enemy while remaining exposed to heavy enemy fire.[36]

Ben Roberts-Smith

Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith MG of the Special Air Service Regiment was awarded the second Victoria Cross for Australia on 23 January 2011.[39] Corporal Roberts-Smith was awarded the medal for single-handedly charging and destroying two Taliban machine gun positions during the Shah Wali Kot Offensive in Afghanistan on 11 June 2010.[39] This act has been described as similar to that of Edward Kenna VC.[40] Corporal Roberts-Smith had previously been awarded a Medal for Gallantry in 2006, and upon receiving the VC became the most highly decorated serving member of the Australian Defence Force.[39]

Daniel Keighran

Corporal Daniel Keighran of the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment was awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia on 1 November 2012 for actions in the Battle of Derapet (Oruzgan province, Afghanistan) in August 2010. Corporal Keighran deliberately exposed himself to enemy fire, drawing the fire away from an injured colleague and those who were attending to him. He is the third recipient, and the first non-Special Forces recipient, of the award.[41][42]

Cameron Baird

On 13 February 2014, Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced that Corporal Cameron Baird of the 2nd Commando Regiment would be awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. Corporal Baird had been awarded the Medal for Gallantry in 2007 and was killed in Afghanistan in 2013.[43]

Edward "Teddy" Sheean

On 12 August 2020, the Queen gave royal assent for Edward "Teddy" Sheean to be awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia. Sheean's case was reviewed three times, the first two reviews came up with conflicting advice. In June 2020, Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison ordered an expert panel to review the decision.[44] On 10 August 2020, Morrison accepted the findings of the panel and recommended the Queen posthumously award Sheean the Victoria Cross for Australia.[45]

Proposed late awards

On 3 April 2001, Senator Chris Schacht, then a member of the Australian Senate, gave notice that on the next day of sitting he would introduce the Award of Victoria Cross for Australia Bill 2001 to award the Victoria Cross for Australia to certain persons. The next sitting day, 4 April 2001, Senator Schacht introduced the bill for three members of the Australian forces to be awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia.[46] The bill was read a first time and Senator Schacht gave his Second Reading Speech in which he said it could be argued that an Act conferring a Victoria Cross for Australia may be beyond the legislative power of the Parliament but he believed that the "naval and military defence of the Commonwealth" power under section 51(vi) of the Constitution gave the Parliament authority to legislate with respect to honours and awards. In accordance with normal procedure the debate was then adjourned. On 1 June 2001, Sid Sidebottom, the Member for Braddon introduced the Defence Act Amendment (Victoria Cross) Bill 2001. The Bill was similar to the Senate bill and Sidebottom also believed that the Parliament had power under section 51(vi) of the Constitution.[47] Neither bill was again debated before the 2001 Australian federal election. Both Senator Schacht and Mr Sidebottom were members of the Australian Labor Party, then in opposition and the issue was included by the then opposition leader Kim Beazley in his campaign in the following General Election.[48] The awards were intended "to raise the profile and recognition of three ordinary Australians, who displayed outstanding bravery."[47]

The awards were to be made posthumously to John Simpson Kirkpatrick ("Simpson"), Albert Cleary and Teddy Sheean (Teddy Sheean was subsequently recommended for the award on 12 August 2020[45]) for their actions in the First and Second World Wars. Simpson's story has become an Australian legend.[49] He was a stretcher bearer with the 3rd Australian Field Ambulance, Australian Army Medical Corps at Gallipoli during the First World War. He landed at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915 and, on that first night, took a donkey and began carrying wounded from the battle line to the beach for evacuation. He continued this work for three and a half weeks, often under fire, until he was killed. However, in 1919, King George V decreed that no more operational awards would be made for the recently concluded war.[50]

In 1965, a campaign to award the Victoria Cross to Simpson resulted in his image with a donkey appearing on the obverse of the Anzac Commemorative Medallion that was announced in 1966 and first issued in 1967. Following the 2007 Australian federal election the Labor party came to power and there was speculation that the 2001 bills may be reintroduced. Historians such as Anthony Staunton, writing in the Australian Journal of Military History, have opined that the Victoria Cross for Australia should not be awarded retrospectively.[51] It was announced on 13 April 2011 that 13 cases of valour would be examined posthumously by the Australian government's Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal. The Tribunal first debated "the eligibility of the 13 to receive the Victoria Cross, the Victoria Cross for Australia or other forms of recognition," before moving on to discuss the individual cases.[52] The recommendations of the inquiry were ultimately submitted to government on 6 February 2013, advocating no awards be made.[53]

Notes
  1. "Victoria Cross for Australia" (PDF). Australian Government. Retrieved 2 July 2007.
  2. "The Order of Wearing Australian Honours and Awards (Modified)" (PDF). DHAM, volume 1. Annex A to Chapter 4. Australian Government, Department of Defence. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  3. Commonwealth Gazette No. S25, 4 February 1991, p. 1.
  4. The order of wearing Australian honours and awards Archived 16 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Commonwealth Gazette No. S192, 28 September 2007, p. 1.
  5. Victoria Cross Regulations, Commonwealth Gazette No. S25, 4 February 1991, p. 2, Regulation 5.
  6. Victoria Cross Regulations, Commonwealth Gazette No. S25, 4 February 1991, p. 2, Regulation 8.
  7. Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 (Cth) s 103
  8. Ashcroft, Michael, pp. 7–10
  9. Beharry, Johnson, p. 359
  10. "150 years of the Victoria Cross". Royal Naval Museum. Archived from the original on 19 May 2007. Retrieved 18 June 2007.
  11. "Hancocks of London History of VC". Hancocks of London. Archived from the original on 27 August 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
  12. Davies, Catronia (28 December 2005). "Author explodes myth of the gunmetal VC". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 June 2007.
  13. "Hancocks Jewellers". Hancocks of London. Retrieved 16 June 2007.
  14. "New Zealand Honours". Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Archived from the original on 7 December 2006. Retrieved 30 January 2007.
  15. Ninety of the 91 members of the Australian forces served in Australian units while Rawdon Middleton, a member of the RAAF, was attached to the Royal Air Force.
  16. "Victoria Cross". The Government of Australia. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  17. CTV.ca, News staff (3 March 2007). "Top military honour now cast in Canada". CTV news. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
  18. "Willie Apiata receives his VC". NZ Herald. APN News & Media. 26 July 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2007.
  19. Victoria Cross Determination, Commonwealth Gazette No. S315, 18 November 1991, p. 1 Item 1.
  20. Original Warrant, Clause 1: 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 with an escroll bearing the inscription "For Valour".
  21. Ashcroft, Michael, p. 16
  22. "The Victoria Cross". Vietnam Veterans of Australia. Retrieved 15 June 2007.
  23. "The Victoria Cross". Imperial War Museum Exhibits and Firearms Collections. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2006.
  24. Macklin, Robert, p. 252
  25. Macklin, Robert, p. 253
  26. Victoria Cross Regulations, Commonwealth Gazette No. S25, 4 February 1991, p. 2, Regulation 6.
  27. Ashcroft, Michael, Introduction
  28. "I'm no hero says Aussie soldier with VC". The Age. Fairfax Media. 16 January 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
  29. The Chief of the Defence Force salutes Trooper Mark Donaldson, VC, Defence Media Release MSPA19/09, 16 January 2009.
  30. "Veteran's Entitlement Act 1986". Australasian Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 16 June 2007.
  31. Australian Veteran's Entitlement Act 1986, section 103, (4) Victoria Cross allowance granted to a veteran under this section is payable at the rate of $3,230 per year. Note: The amount fixed by this subsection is indexed annually in line with CPI increases. See section 198FA., "Veteran's Entitlement Act 1986, section 198a". Australasian Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 30 June 2007.
  32. "Veteran's Entitlement Act 1986, Section 102". Australasian Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 31 October 2007.
  33. "Gallipoli VC medal sets auction record". The Age. Fairfax Media. 24 July 2006. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
  34. "List of Victoria Crosses Held". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 17 June 2007.
  35. Lord Ashcroft (16 January 2011). "Fifty great heroes: the brave, the gallant and the extraordinary". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 January 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  36. "Trooper Mark Gregor Strang Donaldson, VC". Department of Defence. 16 January 2009. Archived from the original on 14 February 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
  37. "Australian SAS soldier Mark Donaldson awarded Victoria Cross". The Australian. News Limited. 16 January 2009. Archived from the original on 5 March 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  38. Mark Dodd (12 December 2008). "Aussie special forces crush Taliban leaders in Afghanistan". The Australian. News Limited. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  39. "SAS digger awarded VC for taking on Taliban". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Australian Associated Press. 23 January 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  40. Dodd, Mark (21 January 2010). "Second SAS Afghan Victoria Cross for heroic charge". The Australian. News Limited. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  41. "RAR soldier awarded Victoria Cross for Afghan valour". ABC News. 1 November 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  42. "Soldier Honoured with Victoria Cross". Army News. 1 November 2012. Archived from the original on 24 May 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
    "Corporal Daniel Alan Keighran, VC". Army News. 1 November 2012. Archived from the original on 20 May 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  43. "Victoria Cross: Corporal Cameron Baird becomes 100th recipient, PM Tony Abbott tells Parliament". ABC News. 13 February 2014.
  44. "Scott Morrison orders review of Victoria Cross decision for World War II hero Teddy Sheean". ABC News. 10 June 2020.
  45. "ORDINARY SEAMAN EDWARD 'TEDDY' SHEEAN". Prime Minister of Australia. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  46. "Parliamentary Debates, Senate" (PDF). Hansard. 1 April 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2008.(pp. 87–89)
  47. "Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives" (PDF). Hansard. 1 June 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 November 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2008.(20–23)
  48. "Kim Beazley's plans for veterans" (PDF). Australian Labor Party. 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
  49. "Australia's favourite hero". Anzacs. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
  50. Wilson, Graham (December 2006). "The Donkey Vote. A VC for Simpson – The Case Against". Sabretache: The Journal and Proceedings of the Military Historical Society of Australia. 47 (4): 25–37.
  51. Myles-Kelly, Paul (15 January 2008). "Bravery award for war hero blocked". The Shields Gazette. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
  52. "Awards tribunal to consider 13 posthumous VCs". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 16 April 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  53. "Inquiry into unresolved recognition for past acts of naval and military gallantry and valour". Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal. Australian government. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.

References

Further reading
  • Compiled by Buzzell, Nora (1997). The Register of the Victoria Cross. Cheltenham: This England. ISBN 978-0-906324-03-5.
  • Duckers, Peter (2006). British Gallantry Awards, 1855–2000. Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire: Shire Publications. ISBN 978-0-7478-0516-8.
  • Glanfield, John (2005). Bravest of the Brave. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7509-3695-8.
  • Harvey, David (2000). Monuments to Courage. Naval & Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-356-0.

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