The Queen’s Reception for The Victoria Cross and George Cross Association
Wednesday 16th May
Her Majesty The Queen, Patron, will give a reception for members of The Victoria Cross and George Cross Association at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday 16th May 2018.
The reception is a customary occasion which forms part of the VC and GC Association’s biennial reunion in London. This year, 24 members of the Association will be in attendance, together with widows of past members and parents and families of the fallen.
During the reception, The Queen will be presented with the Association’s new book ‘On Courage: Stories of Victoria Cross and George Cross Holders’ which features moving and inspirational stories of VC and GC recipients, introduced by public figures including Eddie Redmayne, Joanna Lumley and Sir Bobby Charlton.
A new member has been welcomed into The VC and GC Association since the last reunion. Dominic Troulan, a retired British Army officer and former Royal Marine was awarded the George Cross in the 2017 Queen’s Birthday Honours for his actions during the 2013 Westgate shopping mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya.
Mr Troulan was working as a security consultant in the Kenyan capital when the attack happened. He was commended for his actions which took place over the course of several hours – going in and out of the building at least a dozen times to bring many people to safety. He was the first civilian recipient of the award for over 40 years.
Her Majesty has been Patron of The Victoria Cross and George Cross Association since 1957. The Prince of Wales is President of the Association.
The Victoria Cross was instituted by Queen Victoria on 29th January 1856 and made retrospective to 1854 to include actions in the Crimean War. The Victoria Cross is awarded “for most conspicuous bravery or some daring pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy”. The award is bestowed irrespective of rank to those serving in British and Commonwealth Forces who have shown most conspicuous bravery.
The George Cross was instituted by His Majesty King George VI on 24th September 1940, during the height of the Blitz. The George Cross, which may be awarded posthumously, is granted in recognition of “acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger”. The medal is primarily a civilian award; however the George Cross may be awarded to military personnel for gallant conduct which is not in the face of the enemy.
