Victoria Cross heroes honoured online

THE biographical details of more than 1,300 people who have received the Victoria Cross over the past 130 years are published online for the first time today.

The information gives details of heroic acts from the first medal in 1857 to the latest in 2007.

The VC is the highest award for bravery and devotion to duty in the face of an enemy, with the first medals awarded during the Crimean War. There are just seven recipients alive today, with the most recent living British recipient, Private Johnson Beharry, awarded the medal in March 2005 for two acts of outstanding courage in Iraq in 2004.

Three men awarded the medal twice for their hermoism – Captain Arthur Martin-Leake, Capt Noel Chavasse and Capt Charles Upham, who earned their medals in the Boer War, First and Second World Wars respectively.

Miriam Silverman, of Ancestry.co.uk, said: “This collection will allow thousands of people around the world to discover for the first time that their ancestor was awarded the military’s most prestigious military honour.

“These records will serve as an everlasting reminder of the courageous deeds of the bravest men throughout history.”