Download or read book Victoria Cross Heroes Volume II written by Michael Ashcroft and published by Biteback Publishing. This book was released on 2016-11-08 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Foreword by Lance-Sergeant Johnson Beharry VC THE VICTORIA CROSS is Britain and the Commonwealth's most prestigious gallantry medal for courage in the face of the enemy. It has been bestowed upon 1,355 heroic individuals from all walks of life since its creation during the Crimean War. Lord Ashcroft, who has been fascinated with bravery since he was a young boy, now owns 200 VCs, by far the largest collection of its kind in the world. Following on from the bestselling Victoria Cross Heroes, first published in 2006 to mark the 150th anniversary of the award, Victoria Cross Heroes: Volume II gives extraordinary accounts of the bravery behind the newest additions to Lord Ashcroft's VC collection - those decorations purchased in the last decade. With nearly sixty action-packed stories of courageous soldiers, sailors and airmen from a range of global conflicts including the Indian Mutiny of 1857-58, the Second Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902 and the First and Second World Wars, this book is a powerful testament to the strength of the human spirit and a worthy tribute to the servicemen who earned the Victoria Cross. Their inspirational deeds of valour and self-sacrifice should be championed and never forgotten.

Download or read book Victoria s Cross written by Gary Mead and published by Atlantic Books (UK). This book was released on 2016-04-07 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This controversial book, by one of the UK's finest military historians, reveals the squalid truth about Britain's highest military honor, exposing a shameful history of racism, misogyny, and political expediency. When 25-year old Private Johnson Beharry won the Victoria Cross in 2005 for bravery under fire in Iraq, he was the first person to win Britain's highest military honor since the Falklands war in 1982 and the first living recipient since 1969, when two Australians were given the award for action in Vietnam. Born out of the squalor of the Crimean War in 1856 and the fragility of the monarchy at that time, the VC's prestige is such that it takes precedence over all other orders and medals in Britain. But while many books have been written about specific aspects of the VC and its recipients, none have asked why so many brave men who deserved the medal were denied it, and why no women have ever been awarded the VC, even though they are entitled. Military historian Gary Mead's vivid and balanced account of the VC's life and times exposes the hypocrisy behind one of the UK's last sacred cows, and explores its role as a barometer for the shifting sands of political and social change during the last 150 years.

Download or read book The Complete Victoria Cross written by Kevin Brazier and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2015-09-30 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fully revised paperback edition of the complete chronological record of VC holders is an essential work of reference for every student of military history. All the British and Commonwealth servicemen who have been awarded the highest honour for exceptional acts of bravery and self-sacrifice are commemorated here. The first VCs awarded for the Crimean War and in the nineteenth-century colonial wars are described, as are the VCs awarded in the world wars of the twentieth century and the most recent VCs awarded during present-day conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The extraordinary exploits recounted in this fascinating book make unforgettable reading.

Download or read book Victoria Cross Winners of the Korean War written by Stephen Wynn and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2021-08-26 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Korean War (1950-53) is often referred to by many British and Commonwealth veterans who took part in it as the 'forgotten war', a reference which does not include themselves or the families and friends of those who were killed. On 15 August 1945, US and Soviet forces liberated Korea from the Japanese and the country was subsequently divided along the 38th parallel, with the Soviets administering the northern part of the country and the Americans the south. Tensions between the two states continued, with both governments claiming to be the legitimate government of Korea. This came to a head on 25 June 1950, when the Korean People’s Army of North Korea crossed the 38th parallel into South Korea. For nearly four months the fighting swung first one way then the other, before forces from South Korea and other UN countries chased the North Koreans towards the Chinese border, which in turn saw China enter the war on the side of North Korea on 19 October. Having initially refused to send troops to Korea due to commitments in Malaya, the British government was worried about the possibility of China threatening Hong Kong, which at the time was under British control. A combination of the worsening situation in Korea, concerns about its position as a major global power, and the potential damage to its relationship with the US, caused a change of heart and, on 29 August, British forces finally arrived in South Korea. During the course of the Korean War, the Victoria Cross was awarded on just four occasions, although two other men were also awarded the equivalent George Cross. The Victoria Cross was twice awarded posthumously, with a third recipient dying in 1986 and the fourth dying in July 2018. Each of the actions which led to the awards are discussed in this book, which in the case of Bill Speakman, includes an interview he gave to the author in 2017.

Download or read book The Victoria Cross written by Michael Madden and published by . This book was released on 2018-03-05 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is an ambitious endeavour to capture the history of Australia's pre-eminent award for acts of bravery in the face of the enemy and its highest military honour, the Victoria Cross (VC). Since 1856 when the award was created by Queen Victoria, 100 Australian servicemen have been recognised with the Cross. This book, however, is not a ......

Download or read book Symbol of Courage written by Max Arthur and published by Pan Macmillan. This book was released on 2005 with total page 750 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Victoria Cross can only be 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. It has been awarded only 1,354 times since the Crimean War, the majority going to British and Commonwealth troops. Symbol of Courage vividly brings the story of the medal to life, giving a narrative history from the Crimean War to the recent war in Afghanistan. It includes many first-hand accounts of individual acts of bravery and describes what happened to the VC holders, some of whom found it was harder wearing the medal than winning it. It also gives a complete listing of every VC holder with details of the action in which they won the medal. Written by acclaimed military historian Max Arthur, this is a fascinating and comprehensive study that will appeal to everyone who is interested in military history.The Victoria Cross is Britains most famous medalit has a great emotional appeal and this book is full of stories of remarkable courage. Max Arthurs last book, Forgotten Voices of the Great War, sold over 84,000 copies in paperback for Ebury. The first book for many years to give a complete history of the medal. There are many Commonwealth holders so there should be a market outside the UK.

Download or read book Victoria Cross at Takrouna written by Paul Moon and published by Huia Pub.. This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In May 1943, Lance Sergeant Haane Manahi of 28th Māori Battalion was recommended for a Victoria Cross by four Allied generals, including Freyberg and Montgomery, for his astonishing feats of bravery at Takrouna, Tunisia. However, the award was mysteriously downgraded to a Distinguished Conduct Medal. This biography of Haane Manahi details Manahi's courageous acts during the battle in the Second World War and uncovers the events surrounding the Victoria Cross recommendation and its downgrading"-- Back cover.

Download or read book The Victoria Cross in 100 Objects written by Brian Best and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 2021-11-30 with total page 856 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It was the events of the Crimean War that changed everything. Until that time, those serving in Britain’s army or navy had been expected to do their duty without thought of recognition or reward, particularly the men in the lower ranks. Fueled by reports from the first ever war correspondents, which were read by an increasingly literate public, the mumblings of discontent over how the gallantry and valor of the ordinary man was recognized rapidly grew into a national outcry. Questions were asked in Parliament, answers were demanded by the press – why were the heroes of the Alma, Inkerman and the Charge of the Light Brigade not being officially acknowledged? Something had to be done. That something was the introduction of an award that would be of such prestige it would be sought by all men from the most junior private to a Field Marshal. It would be the highest possible award for valor in the face of the enemy and it bore the name of the Queen for whom the men fought – The Victoria Cross. Since the VC was instituted in January 1856, it has been awarded 1,358 times to 1,355 individual recipients. Those men were thrown into wars and campaigns around the globe, from the seas and skies around the UK to the deserts of Africa and the sweltering jungles of the Far East. The two world wars saw the most VCs awarded – 628 in the First and 182 in the Second. Only fifteen medals, eleven to members of the British Army, and four to the Australian Army, have been awarded since the Second World War. In this highly-illustrated work, the renowned Victoria Cross historian and author Brian Best examines the introduction and evolution of the VC, along with some of the fascinating individuals and remarkable acts of valor associated with it, through an intriguing collection of 100 objects.

Download or read book Victoria Cross Heroes of World War One written by Robert Hamilton and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Victoria Cross had been in existence over 60 years when Archduke Franz Ferdinand fell to an assassins bullet, the event that triggered a Europe-wide call to arms in August 1914. It was an award that democratised military honours, for it was open to all ranks, the sole qualification being a display of conspicuous bravery in the field. The sovereign whose name it bore was personally responsible for the Crosss simple legend: For Valour. Forged, it is said, from cannons captured during the Crimean War, the medals were rather too plain for some tastes. The Times derided the VC as a dull, heavy, tasteless prize when the first investiture ceremony took place in Hyde Park on 26 June 1857. But its virtue, quite deliberately, lay in its very simplicity. It was the action for which the medal was given that should dazzle, not the decoration itself. The Victoria Cross became pre-eminent: first in line when pinned to a uniform or appended to a recipients name. Over 500 VCs had been awarded by the outbreak of the First World War. That figure more than doubled during the four-year-long conflict. Trench warfare, when the rival camps might be dug in less than 100 yards apart, afforded endless opportunities to show courage and mettle in the face of the enemy. Many were honoured for attacking feats, often taking the fight to the foe when the odds were stacked against survival. But hurling oneself into the fray was but one of valours many faces. Stretcher-bearers, medical staff, pipers and chaplains also showed the same strength in adversity, the same disregard for personal safety, the same willingness to exceed the call of duty. And, in over 180 instances, a readiness to make the ultimate sacrifice for King and Country. The call to act could come at any moment. In William McFadzeans case it came when the safety pins slipped from two grenades in a crowded trench just before the Somme battle. He flung himself onto the bombs, saving his comrades at the cost of his own life. For Rex Warneford it came in the skies over Ghent on 7 June 1915, when he became the first man to down a German airship in flight. He was thrown from his plane during a flight ten days later. For Jack Cornwell it came during the Battle of Jutland, when, mortally wounded, he stuck doggedly to his post awaiting orders. He was 16 years old. This book chronicles the inspiring, thrilling, humbling and deeply moving stories behind the 628 Victoria Crosses awarded during the course of the Great War. Without inscription, those 628 medals, like all the others cast by London jewelers, Hancocks over the past century and a half, would have no intrinsic worth. Once earned, inscribed and conferred, they assume inestimable value.

Download or read book The History of the Victoria Cross written by Philip Aveling Wilkins and published by . This book was released on 1904 with total page 476 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Extraordinary Heroes written by The Imperial War Museum and published by Osprey Publishing. This book was released on 2010-11-23 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Victoria and George Crosses are the highest military and civil decorations of the United Kingdom, awarded for gallantry. The Victoria Cross, introduced in 1856, is awarded to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries for valour in the face of the enemy, while the George Cross was introduced during World War II so that civilians could also be awarded for acts of heroism, or conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger. There have been 1,356 Victoria Crosses awarded, and there have been 404 recipients of the George Cross since 1940. The Imperial War Museum is opening the Lord Ashcroft Gallery in November 2010 to showcase not only their large collection of Victoria and George crosses, but also Lord Ashcroft's collection, which he has loaned to the Museum for 10 years. The gallery will therefore contain the largest collection of VCs and GCs in the world. The museum envisages around 150,000 visitors a year. This fully illustrated book contains the stories of over 80 recipients: a mixture of individuals - including men, women and children from different countries - who performed their acts of heroism across the last century and a half.

Download or read book The Victoria Cross written by Ashali Varma and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Memoirs of the author's father, Prem Bhagat, who was military officer in Africa during World War II and after in independent India and awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry in World War II.

Download or read book Dasher written by Michael C. Madden and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-11-04 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kevin ‘Dasher’ Wheatley VC is one of the most extraordinary characters in Australian history. Dasher was a husband, father, champion footballer and one of the finest soldiers this country has ever produced. The story of his sacrifice is used by the ADF as a perfect example of valour and mateship to this day. Although he is one of the most famous Victoria Cross recipients of all time, his story has never been fully told. Until now. Dasher: The Kevin Wheatley VC Story was written with first-hand accounts from Dasher’s family and the men who served and fought alongside him. It tells not only the story of an unlikely lad from the mean streets of Sydney, but that of a soldier whose death devastated the ranks of three armies and changed the way Australia dealt with the overseas loss of service people forever. Everyone who met the man has a Dasher Wheatley story of larrikin behaviour, outstanding soldiering, stunning valour, or all three. Forwarded by Keith Payne VC and featuring the 2021 investiture of Dasher’s American Silver Star, an award 56 years in the making, this book also investigates other gallantry awards Wheatley qualified for but was never given.

Download or read book The Victoria Cross Wars written by Brian Best and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2017-03-30 with total page 599 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The British Empire at its height stretched around the globe. From Asia to the Americas, scores of countries were conquered or assimilated into the greatest commonwealth of nations in history. Many of these countries were won, and held, at the point of the bayonet, and British soldiers and sailors fought long and hard campaigns in deserts, mountains and jungles to maintain and expand the Empire. Fighting, though, means bloodshed; it also means bravery. Victoria Crosses were awarded in operations against Persia, Abyssinia and China, in New Zealand, Burma and Sudan, in the Perak War, the Andaman Islands Expedition and the Mashona Rebellion to name but a few of the forty-four different campaigns of the colonial era.The Victoria Cross Wars explains Britains involvement in these little-known and forgotten campaigns and details the battles and engagements that resulted in the granting of the most highly regarded award for valor in the face of the enemy. The greater conflicts of the twentieth century receive due treatment as do more recent operations in the troubled parts of the world.A total of 1,358 VCs have been awarded since the cross of valor was first instituted in 1855, the latest of which was announced in February 2015. The stories behind the awarding of these medals have been repeated in countless anthologies but The Victoria Cross Wars explains not just what the men did, but why they were there and what they were fighting for.

Download or read book For Valour written by Craig Blanch and published by NewSouth. This book was released on 2019-02 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For Valour tells the remarkable stories of the 100 Australians who have been awarded the Victoria Cross for exceptional acts of bravery and self-sacrifice in battle. From Captain Neville Howse of the New South Wales Army Medical Corps in 1900 to Corporal Cameron Baird of the 2nd Commando Regiment in 2013, heroic actions in the Boer War appear alongside those from the First World War, North Russia, the Second World War, Vietnam and Afghanistan. Vivid descriptions of events on the battlefield are matched with biographical profiles of each of the recipients to provide insights into their lives outside wartime service. With a foreword from Daniel Keighran VC, new archival research and striking photographs and artworks from the Australian War Memorial, For Valour commemorates the servicemen who have been awarded the military's highest honour.

Download or read book The Book of the Victoria Cross written by and published by . This book was released on 1916 with total page 590 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book How I Won the Victoria Cross written by Thomas Henry Kavanagh and published by . This book was released on 1860 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: