List of New Zealand Victoria Cross recipients

Charles Heaphy, New Zealand's first Victoria Cross recipient

The Victoria Cross is a military decoration awarded for valour of the British and Commonwealth forces. The highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy, it was first instituted by Queen Victoria in 1856 after the Crimean War.[1] Officially there have been 22 Imperial Victoria Crosses awarded to New Zealand military personnel.[2] These awards were bestowed upon 21 individuals, with Charles Upham receiving the award on two separate occasions.[3]

Background

Established in 1856, the Victoria Cross has been awarded to service personnel for extraordinary valour and devotion to duty while facing a hostile force. Between 1858 and 1881 the Victoria Cross could also be awarded for actions taken "under circumstances of extreme danger" not in the face of the enemy.[4] Six people (four Irish, one English and one Canadian) were awarded Victoria Crosses under this clause (one in 1866 during the Fenian raids, five for a single incident in 1867 during the Andaman Islands Expedition), until it was amended in 1881 to only allow acts "in the presence of the enemy".[4][5]

In 1999 the Victoria Cross for New Zealand was created as a separate version of the award solely for New Zealand personnel. To date, there has been one recipient of that award – Willie Apiata for actions in Afghanistan in 2004[6] – although recipients of the Victoria Cross for New Zealand are not included on this list.

Summary

The first award to a New Zealander came in 1864 when Charles Heaphy received a Victoria Cross for his actions during the Invasion of Waikato during the New Zealand Wars.[7] Since then there has been one award to a New Zealander serving during the Second Boer War, 11 during World War I, and nine in World War II. There were no awards to New Zealanders for service during the Korean War or the Vietnam War.[8]

In addition to the 22 awards to New Zealand military personnel, there have been seven other awards to New Zealanders serving in overseas forces, which are not included in the official count.[2] Of these, the majority served with the Australian forces during the First World War, including: Alfred Shout, Percy Storkey, Lawrence Weathers, and Thomas Cooke, all of whom are listed as Australian recipients.[9] New Zealand's most famous soldier, Bernard Freyberg is sometimes listed as a New Zealand recipient, although he was serving in the British Army when he performed the deeds that led to his award in 1916,[8] and is not included in the official count. William Barnard Rhodes-Moorhouse received the award posthumously for service with the Royal Flying Corps in 1915, while William Edward Sanders, commanding HMS Prize, received the award for actions at sea in 1917 while serving in the Royal Navy Reserve.[10] An eighth, Cecil D'Arcy, who served during the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879, is variously listed as a New Zealand or South African recipient,[8][11] but is not officially included on the list of New Zealanders who received the award in overseas forces.[10]

Recipients

NameDate of actionConflictUnitPlace of actionNotes
Andrew, LeslieLeslie Andrew1917First World WarWellington Infantry RegimentLa Basse Ville, Belgium [3][8]
Bassett, CyrilCyril Bassett1915First World WarNew Zealand Divisional Signal CompanyGallipoli, Turkey [3][8]
Brown, DonaldDonald Brown1916First World WarOtago Infantry RegimentHigh Wood, France [3][Note 1]
Crichton, JamesJames Crichton1918First World WarAuckland Infantry RegimentCrèvecœur, France [3][8]
Elliott, KeithKeith Elliott1942Second World War22nd BattalionRuweisat, Egypt [3][8]
Forsyth, SamuelSamuel Forsyth1918*First World WarRoyal New Zealand EngineersGrévillers, France [3][8]
Frickleton, SamuelSamuel Frickleton1917First World WarNew Zealand Rifle BrigadeMessines, Belgium [3][8]
Grant, JohnJohn Grant1918First World WarWellington Infantry RegimentBancourt, France [3][8]
Hardham, WilliamWilliam Hardham1901Second Boer War4th New Zealand ContingentNaauwpoort, South Africa [3][8]
Heaphy, CharlesCharles Heaphy1864New Zealand WarsAuckland MilitiaMangapiko River, New Zealand [3][7][13]
Hinton, JohnJohn Hinton1941Second World War20th BattalionKalamai, Greece [3][8]
Hulme, AlfredAlfred Hulme1941Second World War23rd BattalionCrete, Greece [3][8]
Judson, ReginaldReginald Judson1918First World WarAuckland Infantry RegimentBapaume, France [3][8]
Laurent, HarryHarry Laurent1918First World WarNew Zealand Rifle BrigadeGouzeaucourt Wood, France [3][8]
Ngarimu, Moana-Nui-a-KiwaMoana-Nui-a-Kiwa Ngarimu1943*Second World War28th BattalionTebaga Gap, Tunisia [3][8]
Nicholas, HenryHenry Nicholas1917First World WarCanterbury Infantry RegimentPolderhoek, Belgium [3][8]
Travis, RichardRichard Travis1918*First World WarOtago Infantry RegimentRossignol Wood, France [3][14]
Trent, LeonardLeonard Trent1943Second World WarNo. 487 Squadron RNZAFAmsterdam, Netherlands [3][8]
Trigg, LloydLloyd Trigg1943*Second World WarNo. 200 Squadron RAF Atlantic [3][15]
Upham, CharlesCharles Upham1941
1942		Second World War20th BattalionCrete, Greece (1941)
Ruweisat Ridge, Egypt (1942)		[3][Note 2]
Ward, JamesJames Ward1941*Second World WarNo. 75 Squadron RNZAF Munster, Germany [3][8]

Notes

  1. ↑ Brown died in action three weeks after the action that led to his award.[12]
  2. ↑ Upham is one of only three people to have received the Victoria Cross twice.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Victoria Cross: The Premier Award for Gallantry". Ministry of Defence (UK). Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 Lintock, A.H. "Victoria Cross". An Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 1966. newzealand.govt.nz. Retrieved 15 January 2008.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Lintock, A.H. "Victoria Cross: Awards to New Zealand Servicemen". An Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 1966. newzealand.govt.nz. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  4. 1 2 Christopher McCreery (2015). The Canadian Honours System. Dundurn. p. 130. ISBN 978-1-4597-2417-4.
  5. ↑ "VC background". British War Graves Memorial. Archived from the original on 6 October 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
  6. ↑ "Willie Apiata receives his VC". The New Zealand Herald. 26 July 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2007.
  7. 1 2 "Heaphy, Charles 1820–1881". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 "The full list of 22 Kiwi VC winners". The New Zealand Herald. 2 July 2007. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  9. ↑ Staff (25 April 1993). "Our VC Heroes: 96 Brave Men Australia Will Never Forget". The Sunday Mail. pp. 61, 62, 99 & 100.
  10. 1 2 Lintock, A.H. "Awards to New Zealanders in Other Forces". An Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 1966. newzealand.govt.nz. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  11. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 24769. p. 5830. 10 October 1879. Retrieved 16 March 2009.
  12. ↑ Gray, John H. (2010). From the Uttermost Ends of the Earth: The New Zealand Division on the Western Front 1916-1918. Christchurch, New Zealand: Wilson Scott Publishing. p. 239. ISBN 978-1-877427-30-5.
  13. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 23217. p. 696. 8 February 1867. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  14. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30922. p. 11431. 24 September 1918. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  15. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 36230. p. 4813. 29 October 1943. Retrieved 19 December 2007.

Further reading

  • Harper, Glyn; Richardson, Colin (2006). In the Face of the Enemy: The Complete History of the Victoria Cross and New Zealand. Auckland: HarperCollins. ISBN 1869505220. 
  • Moorhead, Murray (2005). The Queen's Heroes: Victoria & New Zealand Crosses. Zenith, New Plymouth. ISBN 1877365238. 
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