The

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

is a

military decoration Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a medallion. Civil decorations award ...

awarded for valour of the British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

forces. The highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy, it was first instituted by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

in 1856 after the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

. Officially there have been 22 Imperial Victoria Crosses awarded to New Zealand military personnel. These awards were bestowed upon 21 individuals, with

Charles Upham Charles Hazlitt Upham (21 September 1908 – 22 November 1994) was a New Zealand soldier decorated for actions during World War II. Born in Christchurch, New Zealand, he attended Christ's College, Christchurch, Christ's College and later the ...

receiving the award on two occasions.

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. Six people (four Irish, one

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and one

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

) 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 The Andaman Islands expedition was a British expedition to the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal, India. For actions during the expedition, five soldiers of the 24th Regiment of Foot were awarded Victoria Crosses. Campbell Mellis Douglas, Dav ...

), until it was amended in 1881 to only allow acts "in the presence of the enemy". In 1999 the

Victoria Cross for New Zealand The Victoria Cross for New Zealand (VC; ) is a military decoration awarded for valour or gallantry in the presence of the enemy to members of the New Zealand Defence Force, New Zealand Armed Forces. It may be awarded to a person of any Military ...

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 Bill Henry "Willie" Apiata, VC (born 28 June 1972) is an honorary warrant officer class one in the New Zealand Army Reserve Forces. As a corporal in the New Zealand Special Air Service, he became the first recipient of the Victoria Cross for N ...

for actions in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

in 2004 – 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 Charles Heaphy VC (1820 – 3 August 1881) was an English-born New Zealand explorer and recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest military award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that could be awarded to British and Empire forc ...

received a Victoria Cross for his actions during the

Invasion of Waikato The invasion of the Waikato became the largest and most important campaign of the 19th-century New Zealand Wars. Hostilities took place in the North Island of New Zealand between the military forces of the colonial government and a federation ...

during the

New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars () took place from 1845 to 1872 between the Colony of New Zealand, New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori people, Māori on one side, and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. Though the wars were initi ...

. Since then there has been one award to a New Zealander serving during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, 11 during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and nine in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. There were no awards to New Zealanders for service during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

or the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. 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. Of these, the majority served with the Australian forces during the First World War, including:

Alfred Shout Alfred John Shout, (8 August 1882 – 11 August 1915) was a New Zealand–born soldier and an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" awarded to members of the Brit ...

, Percy Storkey,

Lawrence Weathers Lawrence Carthage Weathers, (14 May 1890 – 29 September 1918) was a New Zealand-born Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in battle that could be awarded to a member of the Australian armed forces at ...

, and Thomas Cooke, all of whom are listed as Australian recipients. New Zealand's most famous soldier,

Bernard Freyberg Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Bernard Cyril Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, (21 March 1889 – 4 July 1963) was a United Kingdom, British-born New Zealand soldier and Victoria Cross recipient, who served as the List of g ...

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, and is not included in the official count. William Barnard Rhodes-Moorhouse received the award posthumously for service with the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

in 1915, while

William Edward Sanders William Edward Sanders (7 February 1883 – 14 August 1917) was a First World War List of New Zealand Victoria Cross recipients, New Zealand recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that ...

, commanding HMS ''Prize'', received the award for actions at sea in 1917 while serving in the

Royal Navy Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original R ...

. An eighth, Cecil D'Arcy (born in Wanganui), who served during the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in present-day South Africa from January to early July 1879 between forces of the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Two famous battles of the war were the Zulu victory at Battle of Isandlwana, Isandlwana and th ...

in 1879, is variously listed as a New Zealand or South African recipient, but is not officially included on the list of New Zealanders who received the award in overseas forces.

Background

Summary

Recipients

Notes

References

Further reading