Holders of the Victoria Cross in the Oxford DNB

The Victoria Cross (VC) is Britain's highest award for conspicuous courage and bravery by members of the armed forces in the face of the enemy. It takes precedence over all other medals and orders, including the George Cross (awarded for bravery in a non-combat role).

The decoration, chosen by Queen Victoria, is in the form of a Maltese cross on a crimson ribbon. Each medal is made of bronze melted from enemy cannon captured at Sevastopol during the Crimean War and bears the royal crest and the inscription ‘For Valour’. Open to all ranks in the British (and later colonial, Indian, and Commonwealth) armed services, the VC was instituted by royal warrant in January 1856. The award is granted by the British sovereign and the first investiture ceremony was held in June 1857 by Queen Victoria. On this occasion the award was conferred on members of the armed forces whose deeds dated from the beginning of the Crimean War in 1854. In 1920 eligibility to the VC was extended to enable awards to be conferred posthumously (though there were earlier instances when this had occurred). In total 1350 men have been awarded the Victoria Cross since its foundation; the following are those who receive entries in the Oxford DNB, ordered by the date on which they performed the deed for which they were honoured.