I guess that this belongs here as it is an article on the physical medal, how and of what iti is made, and how it came to be authorized.
For those who may not know, the Victoria Cross, with the US Medal of Honor perhaps the simplest design of all the world's decorations for gallantry in combat, is Great Britain's, and formerly the British Empire's, highest award for bravery or gallantry in combat. It is, like the US MOH available to all ranks, requiring only that the act of gallantry be witnessed and attested. I have no idea of the number of Medals of Honor awarded by the US military, but there have been approximately 1370 Victoria Crosses made for issue, including some replacements for those lost due to wartime vicissitudes. Of these, some 560 were made from the initial stock of copper/tin bronze, possibly from a captured Russian cannon from the Crimean War. I had always read that all VCs were made from bronze from the Russian cannon captured at Balaklava, but this not so. In 1914, the supply from that one cannon ran out and they shifted to a copper/zinc brass alloy that is from one of two 18 pounder coastal defense cannon siezed from China, probably during the Opium Wars. Apparently metal analysis of VCs awarded supports this.
All of this and much, much more comes from a fascinating article in the February, 2006 issue of "Military Illustrated" magazine, only now coming on sale in the US. The article is entitled, "Truth Behind the Victoria Cross" and is from John Glanfield's new book on the subject, The Bravest of the Brave. I found the article fascinating in its discussion of the political machinations surrounding the creation of the VC and in its discussion of the technical aspects of how one is actually made. It is sand cast and not die-struck like most medals. Apparently the original bronze was so hard that it damaged the dies used to strike the VCs, so the maker went to sand casting them.
As there seems to be no website for the magazine, you will just have to find a copy for yourself in order to read further. I would like to provide more, but I cannot.
For those who may not know, the Victoria Cross, with the US Medal of Honor perhaps the simplest design of all the world's decorations for gallantry in combat, is Great Britain's, and formerly the British Empire's, highest award for bravery or gallantry in combat. It is, like the US MOH available to all ranks, requiring only that the act of gallantry be witnessed and attested. I have no idea of the number of Medals of Honor awarded by the US military, but there have been approximately 1370 Victoria Crosses made for issue, including some replacements for those lost due to wartime vicissitudes. Of these, some 560 were made from the initial stock of copper/tin bronze, possibly from a captured Russian cannon from the Crimean War. I had always read that all VCs were made from bronze from the Russian cannon captured at Balaklava, but this not so. In 1914, the supply from that one cannon ran out and they shifted to a copper/zinc brass alloy that is from one of two 18 pounder coastal defense cannon siezed from China, probably during the Opium Wars. Apparently metal analysis of VCs awarded supports this.
All of this and much, much more comes from a fascinating article in the February, 2006 issue of "Military Illustrated" magazine, only now coming on sale in the US. The article is entitled, "Truth Behind the Victoria Cross" and is from John Glanfield's new book on the subject, The Bravest of the Brave. I found the article fascinating in its discussion of the political machinations surrounding the creation of the VC and in its discussion of the technical aspects of how one is actually made. It is sand cast and not die-struck like most medals. Apparently the original bronze was so hard that it damaged the dies used to strike the VCs, so the maker went to sand casting them.
As there seems to be no website for the magazine, you will just have to find a copy for yourself in order to read further. I would like to provide more, but I cannot.
