68 AWARDED FOR VALOUR
delivered, though. The government would not tolerate nepotism or ‘old
boy’ connections in the granting of the Victoria Cross. As a result of these
incidents provisional conferral of the Cross, which had been the expected
method,^86 became a rare event, with most recommendations instead going
through the War Office/Horse Guards review process.
From the outset the guardians of valour were determined to keep the
Cross an exclusive and honorable decoration and avoid the fate of other
honors, the wide distribution of which had largely diluted their value. The
staff officers who adjudicated the recommendations were aided by the fact
that, Havelocks notwithstanding, there was a strong code of honor in the
officer corps. This attitude also kept the award from being used to lay a
facade of glory over a failed operation or a lackluster campaign at least
for the time being.
Lieutenant Colonel Weber of the 1st Battalion Royal North British Fusiliers
serves as a prime example of this integrity with respect to the award of
the VC. Despite the fact that a brace of VCs would have added greatly
to his regiment’s reputation, he notified the Adjutant General’s office that
something seemed irregular in a pair of recommendations made by his
temporary replacement while he had been on leave. It seemed that Lieutenant
Colonel Pratt had recommended Captain Norton and Lieutenant Russell for
VCs on 10 August 1859 and followed up with an inquiry on 18 January
- Specifically, neither of the official communications had been written
up in the Regimental Letter Book as required, nor had a copy of either
letter been given to him upon his return in late January 1860. The first
he learned that the men had been recommended was in a letter from the
Military Secretary concerning the matter that arrived in February 1860.
Further investigation on his part revealed that the act for which they
claimed the VC, moving an ammunition wagon under fire, was not particu-
larly valorous for a variety of reasons. The troops were not under heavy fire
by any estimation of the term and there was no danger of an explosion. The
location of the wagon did not need to be changed as it was in no danger.
He went on to report that no casualties had been taken by the party that
moved the wagon – as a matter of fact, six companies of the battalion had
crossed that same stretch of open ground only moments before, marching
in formation, and had taken no casualties. Although the colonel made no
direct accusations concerning the honor of the men involved, he clearly
believed someone was trying to get a VC on the cheap.^87 Neither of the
officers concerned received the award.
There were a few cases in which a man might recommend himself and
win through the selection process to receive the Cross. The application for