Victoria Cross Winners YouTube Series | Portsmouth Highland Road Cemetery
Over recent weeks, we have been featuring stories of Victoria Cross Winners whose graves are situated at Portsmouth Highland Road Cemetery. Portsmouth has a wealth of history and strong military connections, so it is not surprising to find a graveyard with so many interesting stories as Highland Road Cemetery. Amongst those interred are decorated servicemen and women from famous battles, as well as associates of Charles Dickens and royalty.
Buried at the cemetery are eight servicemen who received this highest award during Victoria’s reign. The first three were decorated at the first investiture by the Queen herself in Hyde Park, June 1857. This decoration outranks even the Order of the Garter; it is always awarded individually ‘For Valour’.
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour “in the presence of the enemy” to members of the British Armed Forces. It may be awarded posthumously. It was previously awarded to Commonwealth countries, most of which have established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians under military command although no civilian has received the award since 1879. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857, two-thirds of all awards have been personally presented by the British monarch. These investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace.
We have set up a GoFundMe page for one of the graves situated at the cemetery. All proceeds go to the war graves commission:
Visit our YouTube Channel to watch all episodes of Victoria Cross Winners here.
Read more about Portsmouth Highland Road Cemetery here.