Manufactured tradition? – the Victoria Cross

SUMMARY The Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy, is commonly believed to be cast from the bronze of Russian cannon captured at Sebastopol during the Crimean War. There is no corroboration for this belief beyond an entry in The Times in 1857. Historical sources suggest that neither the Queen nor her Prime Minister would have favoured an association of the medal with Sebastopol. From 1914, however, it is likely that many Victoria Crosses were indeed sourced from captured ordnance, but probably using Chinese guns. Some may even have been cast from entirely unprovenanced metal. Recent examination of VCs and putative sources of their metal by X-ray fluorescence suggest multiple sources of material, presenting medals variously of bronze, brass and copper.