John Minns on the four most prestigious medals in the world, who won them and how to set about collecting antique medals
Medals For Gallantry In valour, there is hope Publius Cornelius Tacitus (56-117) The Victoria Cross (VC) If it were not for the involvement of one notable Irish journalist covering the Crimean war (1853-56) it is very unlikely that the VC would ever have existed. William Howard Russell (right) (1820-1907), later Sir William Howard Russell, was a field correspondent for The Times. It was he, while living cheek by jowl with the ordinary soldiers and NCOs, who had observed first hand and on numerous occasions the bravery and heroism of “these fine men” whose exploits in the field of combat had gone relatively unnoticed and therefore unrewarded. Russell’s missives to The Times highlighted the fact that, while senior officers were eligible to receive medals and other awards (brevets promotion) during conflict, battle or other engagement with the enemy, ordinary soldiers were largely not. He continued tirelessly and regularly
