Uncommon Valour: The Story of the Victoria Cross
A military historian presents a provocative study of the Victoria Cross, the heroes it honors, and the ethics of the British honors system.
 
What is the nature of courage? How and when should it be recognized? How has our appreciation of it changed over time? These are among the questions Granville Allen Mawer seeks to answer in this absorbing history of the Victoria Cross, the highest honor awarded to members of the British Armed Forces for valor in the presence of the enemy.
 
Uncommon Valor is both an analytical account of the institution of the Victoria Cross and a fascinating study of the ethics of rewarding bravery. It explores the origin of the award, the rationale behind individual awards, and the ways in which the institution has evolved over its long history. Historian Granville Allen Mawer compares individual actions that led to a Victoria Cross, analyzing the circumstances in which they took place, the character of the individual concerned, and the shifting criteria for giving awards.
 
This unconventional treatment of the Victoria Cross may be controversial, but it should stimulate a deeper understanding of the history of the medal and of the heroism of those to whom it has been awarded.
1130594388
Uncommon Valour: The Story of the Victoria Cross
A military historian presents a provocative study of the Victoria Cross, the heroes it honors, and the ethics of the British honors system.
 
What is the nature of courage? How and when should it be recognized? How has our appreciation of it changed over time? These are among the questions Granville Allen Mawer seeks to answer in this absorbing history of the Victoria Cross, the highest honor awarded to members of the British Armed Forces for valor in the presence of the enemy.
 
Uncommon Valor is both an analytical account of the institution of the Victoria Cross and a fascinating study of the ethics of rewarding bravery. It explores the origin of the award, the rationale behind individual awards, and the ways in which the institution has evolved over its long history. Historian Granville Allen Mawer compares individual actions that led to a Victoria Cross, analyzing the circumstances in which they took place, the character of the individual concerned, and the shifting criteria for giving awards.
 
This unconventional treatment of the Victoria Cross may be controversial, but it should stimulate a deeper understanding of the history of the medal and of the heroism of those to whom it has been awarded.
17.99 In Stock
Uncommon Valour: The Story of the Victoria Cross

Uncommon Valour: The Story of the Victoria Cross

by Granville Allen Mawer
Uncommon Valour: The Story of the Victoria Cross

Uncommon Valour: The Story of the Victoria Cross

by Granville Allen Mawer

eBook

$17.99 

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Overview

A military historian presents a provocative study of the Victoria Cross, the heroes it honors, and the ethics of the British honors system.
 
What is the nature of courage? How and when should it be recognized? How has our appreciation of it changed over time? These are among the questions Granville Allen Mawer seeks to answer in this absorbing history of the Victoria Cross, the highest honor awarded to members of the British Armed Forces for valor in the presence of the enemy.
 
Uncommon Valor is both an analytical account of the institution of the Victoria Cross and a fascinating study of the ethics of rewarding bravery. It explores the origin of the award, the rationale behind individual awards, and the ways in which the institution has evolved over its long history. Historian Granville Allen Mawer compares individual actions that led to a Victoria Cross, analyzing the circumstances in which they took place, the character of the individual concerned, and the shifting criteria for giving awards.
 
This unconventional treatment of the Victoria Cross may be controversial, but it should stimulate a deeper understanding of the history of the medal and of the heroism of those to whom it has been awarded.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781526755391
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
Publication date: 11/12/2020
Sold by: OPEN ROAD INTEGRATED - EBKS
Format: eBook
Pages: 312
File size: 51 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Granville Allen Mawer, a former senior public servant in Australia, is a historian who has specialized in military, maritime and exploration history. His previous publications include Most Perfectly Safe: The Convict Shipwreck Disasters of 1833-42; Ahab's Trade: The Saga of South Seas Whaling; South by Northwest: The Magnetic Crusade and the Contest for Antarctica; Diary of a Spitfire Pilot; Incognita: The Invention and Discovery of Terra Australis; A Voyage to New Holland and Round the World and South Sea Argonaut: James Colnett and the Enlargement of the Pacific.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements x

List of Illustrations xi

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 What Price Glory? 4

Chavasse

Umrao Singh

Chapter 2 Set in Bronze 8

Russell

Norman

Palmer

Raby

Chapter 3 The Virtue of Valour 17

Gort

Watson

Ganju Lama

Kenneally

Gibson

Chapter 4 The Vanity of Distinction 26

Chicken

Kavanagh

Mariner

Bishop

Neame

Chapter 5 Trophies of Honour 34

Lindsay

McKechnie

Reynolds

O'Connor

Roberts

Melvill

Coghill

Buller

Roberts

Congreve

Schofield

Phipps-Hornby

F. Maxwell

Dougal

Wheeler

Chapter 6 Duty and Disobedience 42

E. Bell

Hewett

Jones

Shepherd

Horlock

Smyth

Pope

Elstob

Cassidy

Mitchell

Gee

Porteous

Chapter 7 Highly Prized and Eagerly Sought After 53

Maude

Havelock

Hancock

Purcell

Hall

Young

Chapter 8 In the Absence of an Enemy 59

O'Hea

Scott

Chapter 9 Stretching the Statutes 64

Sartorius

Dalton

Chard

Bromhead

Lysons

Fowler

Dick-Cunyngham

Buller

Chapter 10 Brave by Choice 71

Cook

N. Leakey

Knox

Roberts-Smith

Rambahadur Limbu

Chapter 11 England Expects 76

Cornwell

Carless

Nicolson

Payne

Donaldson

Chapter 12 Tally Ho 79

McCudden

Warneford

Robinson

Ball

Hawker

Mannock

Barker

Beauchamp-Proctor

Cheshire

Ward

Linton

Wanklyn

Hulme

Chapter 13 The Politics of Empire 89

English

F. Bell

Hardham

Keysor

K. Wheatley

Chapter 14 Soldiers of the Queen 93

The Unknown American

O'Leary

Kerr

Lloyd

Khudadad Khan

Gaje Gale

Chapter 15 Irrespective of Rank 100

Moore

Malcolmson

Maude

Coffin

Grogan

Campbell

Wilson

Cook

Miller

Chapter 16 Death or Victory 107

Parsons

Jones

McKay

Beharry

J. Leakey

Chapter 17 Fighting Mad 115

Egerton

Cairns

Fazal Din

Abdul Hafiz

Stokes

Wakenshaw

Pollard

Jacka

J. Maxwell

Howse

Upham

Rowlands

MacKay

Chapter 18 Happy Warriors 124

Hore-Ruthven

Borton

Carton de Wiart

Marshall

Chapter 19 Shadows 128

Wooden

Byrne

Shaw

Bambrick

Jefferson

Chapter 20 Instruments of War 131

Ritchie

Sutton

Hawthorne

Findlater

Laidlaw

Richardson

Chapter 21 Comrades in Peril 136

Buckley

Read

Home

Dartnell

Kenny

Sefanaia Sukanaivalu

Davis

Lucas

Lauder

Smith

Hackett

Scott

Coltman

Hall

Chapter 22 Writing It Up 146

F. Wheatley

Arthur

Hale

Pickard

Moor

Foote

Auten

Rutherford

Chapman

Chapter 23 Struck Off 153

Stanlack

Daniel

Bambrick

Collis

Fowler

Ravenhill

Chapter 24 Under the Eye of the Commander 158

Connolly

Percy

Chaplin

Lane

Sellar

Mouat

Wooden

Miller

Oxenham

Walker

Trigg

Chapter 25 One for All 163

Parslow

Smith

Fegan

Carpenter

Bamford

Finch

Ryder

Beattie

Savage

Wilkinson

Chapter 26 A Preference for Victory 170

McBean

Wright

Keyes

Chapter 27 Rules and Exceptions 175

Appendix 1 The 1856 Victoria Cross Warrant 179

Appendix 2 The Who, When, Where, What, Why and How of the Awards 182

Appendix 3 'How I Won the Victoria Cross' 245

Notes 249

Bibliography 260

Index 263

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