Victoria Cross Gallery
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The Victoria Cross replaced the original British Victoria Cross awarded to Canadians during several conflicts between the creation of the award and the end of the Second World War. The new Victoria Cross, formally adopted into the Canadian Honours System in 1993, is identical to the original award, only the motto on the obverse having been changed from “For Valour” to “Pro Valore”.
The original Victoria Cross was awarded to eighty-one members (81) of Canada’s military forces (out of a total of 1,351 crosses and three bars awarded throughout the British Empire). Canada’s last surviving recipient of the Victoria Cross, Sergeant Ernest Alvia “Smokey” Smith, V.C., C.M., O.B.C., C.D., (Retired), passed away on August 3, 2005.
His Royal Highness The Prince Albert, Prince Consort to Queen Victoria, designed the British Victoria Cross. Bruce Beatty designed the modifications incorporated into the new Victoria Cross. The details of the recipient will be engraved on the reverse of the suspension bar while the date of the action will be engraved on the reverse of the Cross itself.
The Victoria Cross Gallery of Canada’s Military Forces
Full citations to these awards are recorded in 1000 Brave Canadians, published by The Unitrade Press.
