List of Australian Victoria Cross recipients

The Australian War Memorial which currently holds 66 VCs.

The Victoria Cross (VC) is a military decoration awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy"^[1] to members of the Australia Armed Forces. It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service, and to civilians under military command. Being the highest award in the Australian Honours Order of Wearing, the Victoria Cross takes precedence over all other postnominals and Australian orders and decorations. The Victoria Cross was instituted by Queen Victoria in 1856, initially to reward acts of valour during the Crimean War. Because of its rarity and inherent significance, the VC is highly prized, both as an award and as a collector's item, with one medal being sold for over A$1 million at auction.^[2] Australians have received the Victoria Cross under the Imperial honours system and later under the Australian Honours System, when in 1991 a new but equivalent award was established by letters patent within the Commonwealth of Australia and its Territories, known as the Victoria Cross for Australia. The Victoria Cross for Australia has been awarded four times: twice to Special Air Service Regiment members, once to a member of the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, and a posthumous award to a member of the 2nd Commando Regiment. All four were for actions in the War in Afghanistan.

The Imperial Victoria Cross has been awarded to ninety-six Australians—91 were received for actions whilst serving with Australian forces, and another 5 were received for actions whilst serving with South African and British forces. The majority of the awards were for action in the First World War when a total of 64 medals were awarded. Nine of these awards were for action during the Gallipoli Campaign. 20 medals were awarded for action in the Second World War, 6 in the Second Boer War, 4 in the Vietnam War and 2 in the Russian Civil War.^[1] Twenty-eight Australians have been awarded the medal posthumously.^[3] Notably, one recipient—Captain Alfred Shout VC, MC (who was also Mentioned in Despatches)—was Australia's most decorated soldier of the Gallipoli campaign. His Victoria Cross was posthumously awarded after Shout died of his wounds during the Battle of Lone Pine.^[4] Another nineteen VCs have been awarded to soldiers who were either born in Australia, or died there, but did not serve in Australian units and as such these are not included in this list.^[5]

With the death of Edward Kenna on 8 July 2009, Keith Payne is the only living recipient of the original Victoria Cross; three recipients of the Victoria Cross for Australia are still serving in the Australian Defence Force.

Recipients

  This along with the *, indicates that the Victoria Cross was awarded posthumously
AWM = This denotes that the medal is held at the Australian War Memorial

Victoria Cross

Name	Date of action	Conflict	Unit	Place of action	Location of medal
Anderson, CharlesCharles Anderson	1942	Second World War	2/19th Battalion	Muar River, Malaya	AWM[6]
Axford, ThomasThomas Axford	1918	First World War	16th Battalion	Hamel Wood, France	AWM[6]
Badcoe, PeterPeter Badcoe	1967*	Vietnam War	Australian Army Training Team	Huong Tra, Vietnam	AWM[7]
Beatham, RobertRobert Beatham	1918*	First World War	8th Battalion	Rosieres, France	Queensland Museum South Bank[8][9]
Bell, FrederickFrederick Bell	1901	Second Boer War	West Australia Mounted Infantry	Transvaal, South Africa	Western Australian Museum[10]
Birks, FrederickFrederick Birks	1917*	First World War	6th Battalion	Ypres, Belgium	AWM[6]
Bisdee, JohnJohn Bisdee	1900	Second Boer War	Tasmanian Imperial Bushmen	Warm Bad, South Africa	Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery[11]
Blackburn, ArthurArthur Blackburn	1916	First World War	10th Battalion	Pozières, France	AWM[6]
Borella, AlbertAlbert Borella	1918	First World War	26th Battalion	Villers-Bretonneux, France	Privately held
Brown, WalterWalter Brown	1918	First World War	20th Battalion	Villers-Bretonneux, France	AWM[6]
Buckley, AlexanderAlexander Buckley	1918*	First World War	54th Battalion	Péronne, France	AWM[6]
Buckley, MauriceMaurice Buckley	1918	First World War	13th Battalion	Le Verguier, France	AWM[6]
Bugden, PatrickPatrick Bugden	1917*	First World War	31st Battalion	Zonnebeke, Belgium	Queensland Museum South Bank[8]
Burton, AlexanderAlexander Burton	1915*	First World War	7th Battalion	Gallipoli, Turkey	AWM[6]
Carroll, JohnJohn Carroll	1917	First World War	33rd Battalion	St. Yves, Belgium	AWM[6]
Cartwright, GeorgeGeorge Cartwright	1918	First World War	33rd Battalion	Bouchavesnes, France	Imperial War Museum London[12]
Castleton, ClaudClaud Castleton	1916*	First World War	Australian Machine Gun Corps	Pozières, France	AWM[6]
Cherry, PercyPercy Cherry	1917*	First World War	26th Battalion	Lagnicourt, France	AWM[6]
Chowne, AlbertAlbert Chowne	1945*	Second World War	2/2nd Battalion	Dagua, New Guinea	AWM[6]
Cooke, ThomasThomas Cooke	1916*	First World War	8th Battalion	Pozières, France	Army Museum New Zealand[13]
Currey, WilliamWilliam Currey	1918	First World War	53rd Battalion	Péronne, France	AWM[6]
Cutler, RodenRoden Cutler	1941	Second World War	2/5th Field Regiment, RRoAA	Merdjayoun-Damour, Lebanon	AWM[6]
Dalziel, HenryHenry Dalziel	1918	First World War	15th Battalion	Hamel Wood, France	AWM[6]
Dartnell, WilburWilbur Dartnell	1915*	First World War	25th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers	Maktau, Kenya	AWM[6]
Davey, PhillipPhillip Davey	1918	First World War	10th Battalion	Merris, France	AWM[6]
Derrick, TomTom Derrick	1943	Second World War	2/48th Battalion	Sattelberg, New Guinea	AWM[6]
Dunstan, WilliamWilliam Dunstan	1915	First World War	7th Battalion	Gallipoli, Turkey	AWM[6]
Dwyer, JohnJohn Dwyer	1917	First World War	Australian Machine Gun Corps	Zonnebeke, Belgium	AWM[6]
Edmondson, JohnJohn Edmondson	1941*	Second World War	2/17th Battalion	Tobruk, Libya	AWM[6]
Edwards, HughieHughie Edwards	1941	Second World War	No. 105 Squadron RAF	Bremen, Germany	AWM[6]
French, JackJack French	1942*	Second World War	2/9th Battalion	Milne Bay, Papua	Privately held
Gaby, AlfredAlfred Gaby	1918*	First World War	28th Battalion	Villers-Bretonneux, France	Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery[11]
Gordon, BernardBernard Gordon	1918	First World War	41st Battalion	Bray, France	AWM[6]
Gordon, JimJim Gordon	1941	Second World War	2/31st Battalion	Djezzine, Syria	Privately held
Gratwick, PercyPercy Gratwick	1942*	Second World War	2/4th Battalion	El Alamein, Egypt	Army Museum of Western Australia[14]
Grieve, RobertRobert Grieve	1917	First World War	37th Battalion	Messines, Belgium	Shrine of Remembrance Melbourne[15][16]
Gurney, StanStan Gurney	1942*	Second World War	2/48th Battalion	Tel-el-Eisa, Egypt	AWM[6]
Hall, ArthurArthur Hall	1918	First World War	54th Battalion	Péronne, France	AWM[6]
Hamilton, JohnJohn Hamilton	1915	First World War	3rd Battalion	Gallipoli, Turkey	AWM[6]
Howell, GeorgeGeorge Howell	1917	First World War	1st Battalion	Bullecourt, France	AWM[6]
Howse, NevilleNeville Howse	1900	Second Boer War	New South Wales Medical Staff Corps	Vredefort, South Africa	AWM[6]
Ingram, GeorgeGeorge Ingram	1918	First World War	24th Battalion	Montbrehain, France	AWM[6]
Inwood, RoyRoy Inwood	1917	First World War	10th Battalion	Polygon Wood, Belgium	Adelaide Town Hall[17]
Jacka, AlbertAlbert Jacka	1915	First World War	14th Battalion	Gallipoli, Turkey	AWM[6]
Jackson, WilliamWilliam Jackson	1916	First World War	17th Battalion	Armentieres, France	Privately held
Jeffries, ClarenceClarence Jeffries	1917*	First World War	34th Battalion	Passchendaele, Belgium	Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle, N.S.W.[18]
Jensen, JørgenJørgen Jensen	1917	First World War	50th Battalion	Noreuil, France	AWM[6]
Joynt, WilliamWilliam Joynt	1918	First World War	8th Battalion	Herleville Wood, France	Privately held[19]
Kelliher, RichardRichard Kelliher	1943	Second World War	2/25th Battalion	Nadzab, New Guinea	AWM[6]
Kenna, EdwardEdward Kenna	1945	Second World War	2/4th Battalion	Wewak, New Guinea	unknown[20]
Kenny, BedeBede Kenny	1917	First World War	2nd Battalion	Hermies, France	AWM[6]
Keysor, LeonardLeonard Keysor	1915	First World War	1st Battalion	Gallipoli, Turkey	AWM[6]
Kibby, BillBill Kibby	1942*	Second World War	2/48th Battalion	El Alamein, Egypt	AWM[6]
Kingsbury, BruceBruce Kingsbury	1942*	Second World War	2/14th Battalion	Isurava, Papua	AWM[6]
Leak, JohnJohn Leak	1916	First World War	9th Battalion	Pozières, France	Privately held
Lowerson, AlbyAlby Lowerson	1918	First World War	21st Battalion	Mont St. Quentin, France	AWM[6]
Mackey, JackJack Mackey	1945*	Second World War	2/3rd Pioneer Battalion	Tarakan Island, Borneo	AWM[6]
MacTier, RobertRobert MacTier	1918*	First World War	23rd Battalion	Mont St. Quentin, France	AWM[6]
Maxwell, JosephJoseph Maxwell	1918	First World War	18th Battalion	Estrees, France	AWM[6]
Maygar, LeslieLeslie Maygar	1901	Second Boer War	5th Victorian Mounted Rifles	Geelhoutboom, South Africa	AWM[6]
McCarthy, DominicDominic McCarthy	1918	First World War	16th Battalion	Madam Wood, France	AWM[6]
McDougall, StanleyStanley McDougall	1918	First World War	47th Battalion	Dernancourt, France	AWM[6]
McGee, LewisLewis McGee	1917*	First World War	40th Battalion	Ypres, Belgium	Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston[21]
McNamara, FrankFrank McNamara	1917	First World War	No. 1 Squadron AFC	Tel el Hesi, Palestine	RAF Museum, London[22]
Middleton, RonRon Middleton	1942*	Second World War	RAAF attached No. 149 Squadron RAF	Turin, Italy	AWM[6]
Moon, MickMick Moon	1917	First World War	58th Battalion	Bullecourt, France	AWM[6]
Murray, HarryHarry Murray	1917	First World War	13th Battalion	Gueudecourt, France	AWM
Newland, JamesJames Newland	1917	First World War	12th Battalion	Bapaume, France	AWM[6]
Newton, BillBill Newton	1943*	Second World War	No. 22 Squadron RAAF	New Guinea	AWM[6]
O'Meara, MartinMartin O'Meara	1916	First World War	16th Battalion	Pozières, France	Army Museum of Western Australia[14]
Partridge, FrankFrank Partridge	1945	Second World War	8th (Militia) Battalion	Bougainville, New Guinea	Privately held
Payne, KeithKeith Payne	1969	Vietnam War	Australian Army Training Team	Ben Het, Vietnam	AWM[6]
Pearse, SamuelSamuel Pearse	1919*	North Russia Relief Force	45th Battalion, RF	Emtsa, Russia	AWM[6]
Peeler, WalterWalter Peeler	1917	First World War	3rd Pioneer Battalion	Ypres, Belgium	AWM[6]
Pope, CharlesCharles Pope	1917*	First World War	11th Battalion	Louveral, France	AWM[6]
Rattey, RegReg Rattey	1945	Second World War	25th Battalion	Bougainville, New Guinea	Privately held
Rogers, JamesJames Rogers	1901	Second Boer War	South African Constabulary	Thaba 'Nchu, South Africa	AWM[6]
Ruthven, WilliamWilliam Ruthven	1918	First World War	22nd Battalion	Ville-sur-Ancre, France	AWM[6]
Ryan, JohnJohn Ryan	1918	First World War	55th Battalion	Hindenburg Defences, France	AWM[6]
Sadlier, CliffordClifford Sadlier	1918	First World War	51st Battalion	Villers-Bretonneux, France	St George's Cathedral Perth W.A.[23]
Shout, AlfredAlfred Shout	1915*	First World War	1st Battalion	Gallipoli, Turkey	AWM[6]
Simpson, RayRay Simpson	1969	Vietnam War	Australian Army Training Team	Kontum Province, Vietnam	AWM[6]
Starcevich, LeslieLeslie Starcevich	1945	Second World War	2/43rd Battalion	Beaufort, British North Borneo	Army Museum of Western Australia[14]
Statton, PercyPercy Statton	1918	First World War	40th Battalion	Proyart, France	AWM[6]
Storkey, PercyPercy Storkey	1918	First World War	19th Battalion	Hangard Wood, France	Army Museum New Zealand[13]
Sullivan, ArthurArthur Sullivan	1919	North Russia Relief Force	45th Battalion, RF	Sheika River, Russia	AWM[6]
Symons, WilliamWilliam Symons	1915	First World War	7th Battalion	Gallipoli, Turkey	AWM[6]
Throssell, HugoHugo Throssell	1915	First World War	10th Light Horse	Gallipoli, Turkey	AWM[6]
Towner, EdgarEdgar Towner	1918	First World War	Australian Machine Gun Corps	Mont St. Quentin, France	Privately held
Tubb, FrederickFrederick Tubb	1915	First World War	7th Battalion	Gallipoli, Turkey	AWM[6]
Wark, BlairBlair Wark	1918	First World War	32nd Battalion	Bellicourt, France	Queensland Museum South Bank[8][24]
Weathers, LawrenceLawrence Weathers	1918	First World War	43rd Battalion	Peronne, France	Privately held
Wheatley, KevinKevin Wheatley	1965*	Vietnam War	Australian Army Training Team	Tra Bong, Vietnam	AWM[6]
Whittle, JohnJohn Whittle	1917	First World War	12th Battalion	Boursies, France	AWM[6][25]
Woods, JamesJames Woods	1918	First World War	48th Battalion	Le Verguier, France	AWM[6]
Wylly, GuyGuy Wylly	1900	Second Boer War	Tasmanian Imperial Bushmen	Warm Bad, South Africa	Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery[11]

Victoria Cross for Australia

Name	Date of action	Conflict	Unit	Place of action	Location of medal
Donaldson, MarkMark Donaldson	2008	War in Afghanistan	Special Air Service Regiment	Urozgan Province, Afghanistan	AWM[6][26]
Roberts-Smith, BenBen Roberts-Smith	2010	War in Afghanistan	Special Air Service Regiment	Kandahar Province, Afghanistan	AWM[6][27]
Keighran, DanielDaniel Keighran	2010	War in Afghanistan	6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment	Urozgan Province, Afghanistan	AWM[6]
Baird, CameronCameron Baird	2013*	War in Afghanistan	2nd Commando Regiment	Khod Valley, Afghanistan	AWM

References

General

• "Victoria Crosses at the Australian War Memorial". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
• "List of Australian recipients of the Victoria Cross". Anzac Day Commemoration Committee. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
• Wigmore, Lionel (1986). They Dared Mightily. Second Edition. Canberra: Australian War Memorial.

Specific

1. "VC for Australia" (PDF). Australian Government. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
2. "Gallipoli VC medal sets auction record". The Age. 2006-07-24. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
3. Wigmore 1986, p. 14.
4. "Bravery awards at Gallipoli". Australian Government, Department of Veterans' Affairs. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
5. Wigmore 1986, pp. 180–187.
6. "Victoria Crosses held at the Memorial". Australian War Memorial.
7. "Major Badcoe's Victoria Cross" (PDF). South Australian Museum. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
   "The Victoria Cross - Major Peter Badcoe" (PDF). South Australian Museum.
8. "Victoria Cross". Queensland Museum South Bank. Government of Queensland. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
9. Robert Beatham's medal, owned by Mr Neil Jenman and Mrs Ruth Jenman, is on loan to the Queensland Museum until 2012.
10. Lieutenant Colonel Frederick William Bell, victoriacross.org.uk
11. VC medals in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, victoriacross.org.uk
12. Anthony Staunton, Cartwright, George (1894 - 1978), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 13, Melbourne University Press, 1993, p. 379. Retrieved on 2009-03-03.
13. VC medals in the Army Museum, New Zealand, victoriacross.org.uk
14. Items of significance, Army Museum of Western Australia, 4 January 2009. Retrieved on 2009-03-03.
15. Wilson, Neil (2003-08-09). "Rise & shrine". Herald Sun. p. 6.
16. Robert Grieve's medal is on loan to the Shrine by its owners, Wesley College
17. "Reginald Roy Inwood's - Victoria Cross Medal". Adelaide City Council. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
18. Capt. Clarence Smith Jeffries Memorial Park (Abermain), Register of War Memorials in New South Wales, 2002. Retrieved on 2009-03-03.
19. William Joynt's VC medal is thought to be held at Melbourne Grammar School.
20. Kenna's VC had been on loan to the AWM since 9 April 2010 - see AWM Media Release 335 - but no longer appears on the War Memorial's list of Victoria Crosses held at the Memorial.
21. Co Sergeant Major Lewis McGee, victoriacross.org.uk
22. VC medals in the RAF Museum, London, victoriacross.org.uk
23. "A History and Detailed Guide to St George's Cathedral", Revised 2007, pp.10&14. Retrieved on 2009-03-03.
24. Blair Wark's medal, owned by the United Service Club Queensland, is on loan to the Queensland Museum until 2012.
25. Whittle's VC has been on loan to the AWM since October 2009 - see AWM Media Release 296.
26. Donaldson's VC has been on loan to the AWM since January 2009 - see AWM Media Release 215.
27. "Australia's latest Victoria Cross recipient Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith VC MG views his newly installed panel and medal display for the first time" (PDF). Media alert. Australian War Memorial. 3 April 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2011.