Victoria Cross (tactile)
Synopsis
The Victoria Cross is the highest award for bravery in for the British and Commonwealth Forces. The first Victoria Cross (VC) was given in 1856. It is 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". The British monarch presents the VC to the winner. If the winner has died, the medal is presented to their family.All VC medals are made from bronze that comes from a gun captured from the Russians during the Crimea War. Each VC is unique and hand-made by the London jeweller, Hancocks.
The VC is similar in shape to a Maltese cross and it is almost 1.54 inches (34mm) wide. It hangs from a wine red ribbon which slots into a straight bar decorated with laurel leaves. A "V" shaped lug is joined to the straight bar. The lug is connected to an oval shaped link. The Cross hangs from this link.
The Royal crest is on the back of the medal in the centre of the cross. This crest is a side view of a standing lion wearing a crown with its tail held up over its body. This is called a Lion Statant Guardant and it stands over the crown of the British monarch. Underneath the lion and crown is a semi-circular `banner' with the words "For Valour". At each end of the banner are two small "V"s with little spheres on the tips of the "V"s.
The name of the person receiving the award, their rank, number and unit are on the back of the straight bar. The date of the brave act is written in the centre of the back of the cross.
Tactile image details
This image shows the medal hanging from the straight bar on the wine red ribbon, of which just a small length is shown. The braille labels added are: wine red ribbon, straight bar with laurel leaves, oval link, "V" shaped lug, lion with crown, monarch's crown, banner with "For Valour", and end of banner with spheres.