Kakabeka Legion

Issued: Oct. 21, 2004

In times of war, soldiers are required to take up arms and defend our rights and freedoms. A select few are called upon to perform great acts of valour and self-sacrifice, becoming inspirations to their brothers in arms, and heroes to their country. Two new postage stamps honour the Canadian recipients of the Victoria Cross, the premier military decoration for gallantry. The 49¢ stamps mark the 150th anniversary of the award and its first Canadian recipient. Canada Post unveiled the stamps at a special ceremony at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa on Sunday, October 24, 2004.

The Victoria Cross was instituted by Royal Warrant on January 29, 1856, retroactive to 1854. The VC is awarded in recognition of the most exceptional bravery displayed in the presence of the enemy. In Queen Victoria's words, the medal is for "those officers or men who have served us in the presence of the enemy and shall then have performed some act of valour or devotion to their country." It was the first medal awarded regardless of rank or service.

Each medal is made from the bronze of Russian cannons captured during the Crimean War. The design, chosen by Queen Victoria and described in the Royal Warrants as a Maltese Cross, bears the words "For Valour" in a scroll and has the Royal Crown surmounted by a lion guardant. The reverse is engraved, within a raised circle, with the date of the act for which the award is bestowed. The VC consists of the medal itself with a crimson ribbon. Provision is made for a "bar" to indicate additional awards of the same medal. London-based Hancocks & Co. (Jewellers) Ltd., established in 1849, has made all of the VCs awarded to date.

The first presentation of a Victoria Cross was made in Hyde Park on June 26, 1857, when Queen Victoria decorated 62 officers and men for actions during the Crimean War. To this day, the VC is awarded only by Royal Assent and is presented by the Monarch. Since 1854, the Victoria Cross has been bestowed 1,354 times (1,351 medals and three bars).

Ernest "Smokey" Smith, Canada's only surviving Victoria Cross recipient, received his award for action on the night of October 21-22, 1944 in Italy. Normally seen in Ottawa at the War Memorial on November 11, Smokey's presence at our annual Remembrance Day ceremony has come to symbolize the sacrifice and valour of all veterans. In a video that will be shown at the stamp's unveiling, Smokey told Canada Post receiving the Victoria Cross was "a great honour," and that "I never expected to get a VC. We used to say the VC was a soldier's dream." Mr. Smith added that he is "proud to be a Canadian and I hope that everybody that lives here is proud too." Mr. Smith will attend the Ottawa unveiling of the stamps before heading to Italy as part of the delegation of Canadian Second World War Veterans who are participating in the 60th anniversary remembrances of the Italian Campaign.

The first Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross was Lieutenant Alexander Roberts Dunn, who fought at Balaklava during the Crimean War. Amid the withdrawal on October 25, 1854, Dunn deliberately turned his horse back and attacked the oncoming Russian cavalry, allowing a fellow soldier to escape. The last Canadian soldier to receive the honour was Lieutenant Robert Hampton Gray, a navy pilot who perished while attacking a Japanese destroyer on August 9, 1945, the day the second atomic bomb was dropped. An additional 92 Canadians have received the Victoria Cross, including three (Fred Hall, Les Clarke and Robert Shankland) who all lived on the same street in Winnipeg. The street was later renamed "Valour Road."

The stamps were designed by Pierre-Yves Pelletier, who has over 100 stamps to his credit. One stamp features an actual medal and is based on photographs provided by the Canadian War Museum. All identifying marks were removed from the photos so the recipient would remain anonymous to the stamp's design team. Working with the photos, Pelletier undertook the painstaking task of mapping out the stamp's intricate embossing. As for colour and finish, Pelletier noted that the medal has no gloss at all, a look that was duplicated with the use of a dry varnish. The second stamp depicts an illustration of the Canadian Victoria Cross, approved in 1993 by Queen Elizabeth II. The Canadian VC is similar to the original in every respect save the inscription "Pro Valore," a Latin version of "For Valour." As no Canadian medal has as yet been awarded, none have been created and the stamp reproduces the design approved by the Queen, complete with her signature.

The Victoria Cross stamps were unveiled at a special ceremony in Ottawa on October 24, 2004, where the 94 Canadian recipients of the Victoria Cross received the thanks of a nation. A Canada Post video interview with Canada’s only living recipient of the Victoria Cross, Ernest A. (Smoky) Smith, was shown at the unveiling.