This ebook edition contains the full text version as per the book. Doesn't include original photographic and illustrated material. VICTORIA CROSS HEROES tells the stories of over 150 individuals whose bravery has earned them the Victoria Cross, Britain's most prestigious medal for courage in action. The book is introduced by Michael Ashcroft, who owns over ten per cent of all VCs ever awarded. He explains the history of the medal and the story of his fascination with it. The main text of the book tells the stories of both those recipients whose medals are in his collection and those whose stories featured in the television series. Each chapter covers a different conflict, from the Crimean War to Iraq.

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 ......

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.

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.

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.

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.