The Victoria Cross

By Richard Bishop

The Victoria Cross was founded by Royal Warrant on 29 January 1856. The first act of gallantry for which the Victoria Cross was awarded had already been performed, by Charles Davis Lucas, Mate of HMS Hecla, on 21 June 1854. His medal is now in the National Maritime Museum. At the first investiture ceremony, in Hyde Park on 26 June 1857, Queen Victoria presented 62 Victoria Crosses.

Within a few years Victoria Crosses found their way into collections, and soon they were appearing at public auction. The ‘Choice Collection of Military and Naval Medals and Decorations formed by Major J Lawson Whalley of Lancaster’ offered at Sotheby’s on 5 May 1884, contained two Victoria Crosses. Lot 143 was the Victoria Cross to Seaman Thomas Reeves for gallantry at the Battle of Inkermann (London Gazette 24.2.1857). Curiously, the medal was offered with a completely unrelated South Africa 1853 medal to J Hauton, Captain Mizen-top. The two medals sold for £26 to Mr Holland. The second was lot 186, to Corporal William Dowling, 32nd Light Infantry, for gallantry on 4 and 9 July and 27 September 1859. This was offered with ‘replacement’ Punjab and Mutiny medals, and a small silver engraved presentation plate dated 1865. The lot sold for £10 to Mr Panton, and the medal is now in the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry Museum, Bodmin.

Two years later, on 9 February 1886, another two Victoria Crosses appeared at auction. Lot 218 was the award to Gunner William Connolly, Bengal Horse Artillery, for gallantry at Jhelum on 7 July 1857. Spink bought this medal for £10. The next lot was the Victoria Cross to Lance Corporal John Sinnott, 84th Regiment, for gallantry at Lucknow on 6 October 1857. Mr Partridge had to pay £23.10/- for this. Both medals have since found their way to permanent homes, the first in the British in India Museum in Colne, Lancashire, the second in the York and Lancaster Museum, Rotherham.

In the same sale in 1886, Waterloo Medals were selling for around 10/- each.

The first complete Victoria Cross group to appear at auction was the group of four to Lance Sergeant Philip Smith, 17th Regiment. This was lot 189 in the Greg sale of 16 May 1887, described as ‘The Valuable Collection of British and Indian Military, Naval and Commemorative War Medals, Orders and Decorations formed by Captain E Hyde Greg between the years 1860 and 1885.’ The sale was considered exceptional and the catalogue was the first to provide an appendix containing ‘notes and details referring to the lives and services of recipients of some of the medals and orders in the collection’. The Victoria Cross was awarded for ‘repeatedly going out in front of the advance trenches against the Great Redan on 18 June 1855’. The other medals were the French Médaille Militaire, Crimea Medal with clasp Sebastopol, and Turkish Crimea medal, and the group sold to Partridge for £18.10/-. The medals are now in the Royal Leicestershire Regiment Museum, Leicester.

It is interesting to note that of these five Victoria Crosses mentioned, four are now in museums.

Over the years the medal specialists here at Spink have bought and sold over 300 Victoria Crosses. Many of these sales have been through public auction or via our fixed price lists, but many more have been by private treaty. A summary of the Victoria Crosses sold at auction by Spink over the last five years is given below.

Back to achievements page