List of New Zealand Victoria Cross recipients

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
File:HeaphyCharles.jpg
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]

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.[4] Since then there has been one award to a New Zealander serving during the Second Boer War, 11 during the First World War, and nine in the Second World War. There were no awards to New Zealanders for service during the Korean War or the Vietnam War.[5]

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.[6] 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,[5] 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.[7] 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,[5][8] but is not officially included on the list of New Zealanders who received the award in overseas forces.[7]

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[9] – although recipients of the Victoria Cross for New Zealand are not included on this list.

Recipients

  •       This along with the *, indicates that the Victoria Cross was awarded posthumously
Name Date of action Conflict Unit Place of action Notes
Leslie Andrew 1917 First World War Wellington Infantry Regiment La Basse Ville, Belgium [3][5]
Cyril Bassett 1915 First World War New Zealand Divisional Signal Company Gallipoli, Turkey [3][5]
Donald Brown 1916 First World War Otago Infantry Regiment High Wood, France [3][Note 1]
James Crichton 1918 First World War BB500Auckland Infantry Regiment Crèvecœur, France [3][5]
Keith Elliott 1942 Second World War BB02222nd Battalion Ruweisat, Egypt [3][5]
Samuel Forsyth 1918* First World War Royal New Zealand Engineers Grévillers, France [3][5]
Samuel Frickleton 1917 First World War New Zealand Rifle Brigade Messines, Belgium [3][5]
John Grant 1918 First World War Wellington Infantry Regiment Bancourt, France [3][5]
William Hardham 1901 Second Boer War BB0044th New Zealand Contingent Naauwpoort, South Africa [3][5]
Charles Heaphy 1864 New Zealand Wars BB501Auckland Militia Mangapiko River, New Zealand [3][4][11]
John Hinton 1941 Second World War BB02020th Battalion Kalamai, Greece [3][5]
Alfred Hulme 1941 Second World War BB02323rd Battalion Crete, Greece [3][5]
Reginald Judson 1918 First World War BB500Auckland Infantry Regiment Bapaume, France [3][5]
Harry Laurent 1918 First World War New Zealand Rifle Brigade Gouzeaucourt Wood, France [3][5]
Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa Ngarimu 1943* Second World War BB02828th Battalion Tebaga Gap, Tunisia [3][5]
Henry Nicholas 1917 First World War Canterbury Infantry Regiment Polderhoek, Belgium [3][5]
Richard Travis 1918* First World War Otago Infantry Regiment Rossignol Wood, France [3][12]
Leonard Trent 1943 Second World War No. 487 Squadron RNZAF Amsterdam, Netherlands [3][5]
Lloyd Trigg 1943* Second World War No. 200 Squadron RAF Atlantic [3][13]
Charles Upham 1941
1942
Second World War BB02020th Battalion Crete, Greece (1941)
Ruweisat Ridge, Egypt (1942)
[3][Note 2]
James Ward 1941* Second World War No. 75 Squadron RNZAF Munster, Germany [3][5]

References

Footnotes
  1. Brown died in action three weeks after the action that led to his award.[10]
  2. Upham is one of only three people to have received the Victoria Cross twice.[2]
Citations
  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. The London Gazette: no. 24769. p. 5830. 10 October 1879. Retrieved 16 March 2009.
  9. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. The London Gazette: no. 23217. p. 696. 8 February 1867. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  12. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30922. p. 11431. 24 September 1918. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  13. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 36230. p. 4813. 29 October 1943. Retrieved 19 December 2007.

Further reading

  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.