The most highly prized decoration in the Army or Navy is the Victoria Cross. This was instituted by Queen Victoria after the Crimean War for the purpose of rewarding individual cases of conspicuous gallantry in presence of the enemy. Hitherto the only war decoration that could be won by an individual soldier or sailor was the Order of the Bath, and by the rules of that order no officer below the rank of major, or of equivalent rank in the Navy, could be recommended for it. Queen Victoria’s intention was that the Victoria Cross should be open to all from admiral or general to bugler boy or sailor boy. “Neither rank, nor long service, nor wounds, nor any other circumstance or condition whatsoever save the merit of conspicuous bravery (in the presence of the enemy) shall be held to establish a sufficient claim to the honour.”[[23]]
The Victoria Cross, like all decorations, has had its ups and downs, but there is not the least doubt that during the Great War it has upheld its highest traditions. During its middle history the decoration was perhaps more popular with the public than with the military, for soldiers in action saw how often it was a pure matter of luck that one should get the Cross and another not. The interpretation of the Warrant also varied, for whereas some generals in the field were very chary about recommending anyone, others were most liberal. In the South African War a sumptuary law was passed that no one above the rank of captain should be recommended, and thus several well-known officers of higher rank were ruled out and given the Bath instead. This probably came from reading the first part of the Warrant which emphasises the eligibility of the junior ranks for the Bath, without reading the context above quoted.
Again at one period nobody could hope to get the Victoria Cross unless he had assisted a wounded man under fire; it came for a time at any rate to take the position of a life-saving medal on land, as is the Humane Society’s medal for saving life from the water. Indeed so obsessed did some become with this strange doctrine that Lord Roberts himself had the greatest difficulty in obtaining the Victoria Cross for two very gallant officers at Kabul in 1879, because their gallantry had no connection with carrying wounded men out of action.
With these vagaries before them it is not to be wondered at that the Victoria Cross for some years lost its value amongst officers, indeed it was openly discussed whether it would not be wiser to reserve the Cross for the N.C.O.’s and men in the ranks only, and to make all officers ineligible. This on the grounds that all, or anyway the majority of British officers, are brave and that it was a pity to draw invidious distinctions. The Great War has, however, as we have seen, thoroughly rehabilitated the Victoria Cross, for though there certainly are hundreds who with better luck would have received it, yet those who have obtained it have set a very high standard of gallantry in face of the enemy.
The Cross itself is familiar to all. It is a plain bronze Maltese Cross, with a Lion standing on a Crown in the centre, and the words “For Valour” inscribed beneath. The actual cost of the Cross is threepence. The ribbon is red for all branches of His Majesty’s Service whether on sea, or land, or the air. When the ribbon is worn in undress a miniature V.C. is placed on it, and should there be clasps to the V.C. for each one a miniature is added. Until recently the Navy had a blue ribbon, but when the Air Force came into being the King thought it better to have one and the same ribbon for all.
In precedence the Victoria Cross ranks before all decorations and medals and is worn on the right of all. Thus in addressing a letter to one who has the Victoria Cross the letters V.C. precede all others, even if the addressee is a Knight of the Garter or a Grand Cross of the Bath. All those not of commissioned rank who are decorated with the Victoria Cross are given a special pension of £10 a year, and for each bar £5 extra per annum.[[24]]
The Distinguished Service Order was inaugurated in 1886 by Queen Victoria, and at the time the general impression in the services was that it was intended to be in the nature of a second grade of the Victoria Cross. This was a mistake, for the Order was really instituted as a second grade to the Bath. Experience in our numberless small wars had shown that many junior officers performed distinguished service, but being ineligible for the Bath got nothing. The new Order was to be granted to officers irrespective of rank for “meritorious and distinguished service in war.”
From the very beginning, in the Burmah War of 1886-87, a very wide interpretation of these words was used, and though the D.S.O. was given for deeds of gallantry and devotion in action it was also given to those who had done meritorious service far far away from the sound of guns. With this precedent the Order ran downhill at a great pace till it got to be known as the “Doing Something-or-Other Order.” All sorts and conditions of people got it, sometimes with but the faintest glimmer of merit or distinction. The Great War has, however, to a great extent improved the status of the Order, and if only the present high standard is maintained it will undoubtedly rise to the position it was originally intended to occupy.
The decoration is in the form of an eight-pointed gold cross the wings of which are covered with white enamel. In the centre is the Imperial Crown in gold on a red enamel background round which is a wreath of green enamel laurels. The ribbon is crimson with narrow borders of blue. If an officer gets a clasp to his D.S.O. a small silver rose is placed on the ribbon when worn in undress uniform and an additional rose is added for each subsequent clasp. The decoration is open to officers of all ranks both in the Army and the Navy.
A decoration which came into being during the Great War is that of Companions of Honour. This decoration, like the Order of Merit, is bestowed on those who for various reasons are averse to receiving any reward from the Sovereign which carries a title.