For a short time in the middle 1800s, the VC was awarded for actions taken not in the face of the enemy. Six were awarded at this time for actions taken not in the face of the enemy. (Campbell Mellis Douglas was one of these recipients.)
Until 1921 the Victoria Cross could not be awarded to women, and to this day no VC has been awarded to members of that gender. With the approval of Queen Victoria, Elizabeth Webber Harris was awarded a gold VC for her valour in nursing cholera-ridden soldiers in India in 1869.[2]
Most Commonwealth countries have now created their own honours systems. Since 1991, three Commonwealth countries; Australia, Canada and New Zealand have created their own operational gallantry awards. In each case, their highest award for most conspicuous bravery was named in honour of the British (Imperial) Victoria Cross; the Victoria Cross for Australia, the Victoria Cross (Canada) and the Victoria Cross for New Zealand. One Victoria Cross for New Zealand was awarded to Willie Apiata on 26 July 2007; four Victoria Crosses for Australia have been awarded to Mark Donaldson, Ben Roberts-Smith, Daniel Keighran and Cameron Baird. All five awards were for actions in Afghanistan. As these are separate medals, they are not included in this list.
Recipients are described in the following list by nationality (birthplace) or (citizenship) or (country of service) or (uncertain) or in the case of New Zealand born Captain Alfred John Shout of the Australian Army by both (birthplace) and (country of service). The country lists are compiled differently with the Australian list only being members of the Australian forces, the Canadian list being members of the Canadian forces including Danish Thomas Dinesen who served in Canadian Army plus others who are considered by Canadians as Canadian recipients, while the English list only includes a few of the many English born recipients who were decorated as members of Commonwealth and Indian forces. There have been 1355 individual recipients including the American unknown who is not listed but the list has 1356 names including Alfred John Shout and another listed twice.
Name | Nationality | Date of action | Conflict | Unit | Place of action | Notes |
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| American | 1918 | First World War | 75th Bn Canadian Expeditionary Force | Drocourt-Quéant Support Line, France | [3] |
| American | 1918 | First World War | Canadian Expeditionary Force | Arras, France | |
| American | 1917 | First World War | Canadian Expeditionary Force | Passchendaele, Belgium | |
| American | 1864 | Bombardment of Shimonoseki | | Shimonoseki, Japan | |
| American | 1918 | First World War | Canadian Expeditionary Force | Warvillers, France | [4] |
AAA | AustraliaList of 91 Australian recipients | AAA | AAA | AA01 | AAA | |
| Belgian | 1916 | First World War | BB0044th Dragoon Guards | La Boiselle, France | |
| British Virgin Islander | 1866 | Gambia Campaign | BB0044th West India Regiment | Tubabecelong, Gambia | |
AAB | CanadaList of 96 Canadian recipients | AAB | AAB | AA02 | AAB | |
| Channel Islander | 1857 | Indian Mutiny | Bengal Sappers and Miners | Delhi, India | |
| Jersey, Channel Islands | 1855 | Crimean War | | Vyborg, Russia | |
| Guernsey, Channel Islands | 1942 | Second World War | Hampshire Regiment | Tebourba, Tunisia | |
| Jersey, Channel Islands | 1889 | British rule in Burma | Royal Army Medical Corps | Voklaak, Burma | |
| Channel Islander | 1881 | Basuto Gun War | BB0011st Cape Mounted Yeomanry | Tweefontein, South Africa | |
| Channel Islander | 1899 | Second Boer War | Royal Field Artillery | Colenso, South Africa | |
| Channel Islander | 1859 | Second Anglo-Afghan War | BB05959th Regiment of Foot | Shahjui, Afghanistan | |
| Channel Islander | 1874 | First Ashanti Expedition | BB0066th Bengal Cavalry | Obugu, Ashanti | |
| Danish | 1918 | First World War | BB04242nd Bn CEF Canadian Expeditionary Force | Parvillers, France | |
| Danish | 1915 | First World War | BB0066th Lincolnshire Regiment | Gallipoli, Turkey | | -Jensen is listed as an Australian recipient. Though Danish born, he moved to Australia at an early age | | Danish | 1917 | First World War | BB006First Australian Imperial Force | Noreuil, France | --> |
| Danish | 1945* | Second World War | Special Boat Service | Comacchio, Italy | |
AAC | EnglandList of 600+ English recipients (may be incomplete) | AAC | AAC | AA03 | AAC | |
| Fijian | 1944* | Second World War | Fiji Infantry Regiment | Mawaraka, Bougainville Island | |
| German | 1854 | Crimean War | BB01717th Lancers | Balaklava, Crimea | |
| Grenadian | 2004 | Iraq War | | Amarah, Iraq | |
| Hanoverian | 1854 | Crimean War | | Åland, Finland | [5] |
| Indian | 1941 | Second World War | Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners | Gallabat, Abyssinia | |
| Indian | 1944* | Second World War | 5th Mahratta Light Infantry | Upper Tiber Valley, Italy | |
| Indian | 1944* | Second World War | BB0099th Jat Regiment | Imphal, India | |
| Indian | 1945 | Second World War | BB0055th Mahratta Light Infantry | Senio River, Italy | |
| Indian | 1945* | Second World War | BB41515th Punjab Regiment | Meiktila, Burma | |
Lala | Indian | 1916 | First World War | BB04141st Dogras | El Orah, Mesopotamia | |
| Indian | 1914 | First World War | BB03939th Garhwal Rifles | Festubert, France | |
| Indian | 1915* | First World War | BB03939th Garhwal Rifles | Neuve Chapelle, France | |
| Indian | 1944 | Second World War | BB01010th Baluch Regiment | Arakan State, Burma | |
| Indian | 1943* | Second World War | BB0066th Rajputana Rifles | Djebel Garci, Tunisia | |
| Indian | 1944 | Second World War | BB0088th Punjab Regiment | River Gari, Italy | |
| Indian | 1941* | Second World War | BB0066th Rajputana Rifles | Keren, Eritrea | |
| Indian | 1918* | First World War | BB01414th Murray's Jat Lancers | River Jordan, Palestine | |
| Indian | 1916 | First World War | BB0099th Bhopal Infantry | Battle of the Wadi, Mesopotamia | |
| Indian | 1945 | Second World War | BB01515th Punjab Regiment | Myingyan, Burma | |
| Indian | 1917 | First World War | BB02828th Light Cavalry | Pezières, France | [6] |
| Indian | 1921 | Waziristan Campaign | BB02828th Punjabis | Haidari Kach, India | |
| Indian | 1944 | Second World War | BB11111th Sikh Regiment | Maungdaw - Buthidaung Road, Burma | |
| Indian | 1943 | Second World War | BB0088th Punjab Regiment | Donbaik, Burma | |
| Indian | 1945* | Second World War | BB01313th Frontier Force Rifles | Kanlan Ywathit, Burma | |
| Indian | 1944* | Second World War | BB0011st Punjab Regiment | Kennedy Peak, Burma | |
| Indian | 1915 | First World War | BB05555th Coke's Rifles (Frontier Force) | Wieltje, Belgium | |
| Indian | 1945 | Second World War | BB01010th Baluch Regiment | Meiktila, Burma | |
| Indian | 1944 | Second World War | BB0077th Gurkha Rifles | Ningthoukhong, Burma | |
| Pakistani | 1945 | Second World War | BB01313th Frontier Force Rifles | Fusignano, Italy | |
| Pakistani | 1914 | First World War | BB129129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis | Hollebeke, Belgium | |
| Pakistani | 1916 | First World War | BB08989th Punjabis | Beit Ayeesa, Mesopotamia | |
| Pakistani | 1945* | Second World War | BB01616th Punjab Regiment | Kyeyebyin, Burma | |
| Indian | 1944 | Second World War | Royal Indian Artillery | Kaladan Valley, Burma | |
AAD | IrelandList of 195 Irish recipients | AAD | AAD | AA04 | AAD | |
| Jamaican | 1892 | Second Gambian Campaign | West India Regiment | Toniataba, Gambia | |
| Kenyan | 1941* | Second World War | BB012King's African Rifles | Colito, Abyssinia | |
| Manx | 1944 | Second World War | BB0022nd Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment | Arnhem, Netherlands | [7] |
| Nepalese | 1943 | Second World War | BB0055th Royal Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force) | Chin Hills, Burma | |
| Nepalese | 1945 | Second World War | BB0022nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles | Tamandu, Burma | |
| Nepalese | 1945 | Second World War | BB0088th Gurkha Rifles | Taungdaw, Burma | |
| Nepalese | 1944* | Second World War | BB0055th Royal Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force) | Monte San Bartolo, Italy | |
| Nepalese | 1965 | Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation | BB01010th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles | Sarawak, Borneo | |
| Nepalese | 1944 | Second World War | BB0066th Gurkha Rifles | Mogaung, Burma | |
| Nepalese | 1944 | Second World War | BB0055th Royal Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force) | Bishenpur, India | |
| Nepalese | 1918 | First World War | BB0033rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles | El Kefr, Egypt | |
| Nepalese | 1915 | First World War | BB0033rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles | Fauquissart, France | |
| Nepalese | 1943 | Second World War | BB0032nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles | Rass-es-Zouai, Tunisia | |
| Nepalese | 1944* | Second World War | BB0055th Royal Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force) | Bishenpur, India | |
| Nepalese | 1944* | Second World War | BB0099th Gurkha Rifles | San Marino, Italy | |
| New Zealander | 1917 | First World War | Wellington Infantry Regiment | La Basse Ville, Belgium | |
| New Zealander | 1915 | First World War | New Zealand Divisional Signal Company | Gallipoli, Turkey | |
| New Zealander | 1916 | First World War | Otago Infantry Regiment | High Wood, France | [8] |
| New Zealander | 1918 | First World War | BB500Auckland Infantry Regiment | Crèvecœur, France | |
| New Zealander | 1879 | Anglo-Zulu War | Frontier Light Horse | Ulundi, South Africa | |
| New Zealander | 1942 | Second World War | BB02222nd, 2nd New Zealand Division | Ruweisat, Egypt | |
| New Zealander | 1918* | First World War | Royal New Zealand Engineers | Grévillers, France | |
| New Zealander | 1916 | First World War | BB06363rd (Royal Naval) Division | Beaucourt sur Ancre, France | |
| New Zealander | 1917 | First World War | New Zealand Rifle Brigade | Messines, Belgium | |
| New Zealander | 1918 | First World War | Wellington Infantry Regiment | Bancourt, France | |
| New Zealander | 1901 | Second Boer War | BB0044th New Zealand Contingent | Naauwpoort, South Africa | |
| New Zealander | 1864 | New Zealand Wars | BB501Auckland Militia | Mangapiko River, New Zealand | |
| New Zealander | 1941 | Second World War | BB02020th, 2nd New Zealand Division | Kalamai, Greece | |
| New Zealander | 1941 | Second World War | BB02323rd, 2nd New Zealand Division | Crete, Greece | |
| New Zealander | 1918 | First World War | BB500Auckland Infantry Regiment | Bapaume, France | |
| New Zealander | 1918 | First World War | New Zealand Rifle Brigade | Gouzeaucourt Wood, France | |
| New Zealander | 1943* | Second World War | BB02828th, 2nd New Zealand Division | Tebaga Gap, Tunisia | |
| New Zealander | 1917 | First World War | Canterbury Infantry Regiment | Polderhoek, Belgium | |
| New Zealander | 1917* | First World War | | Atlantic | |
| New Zealander | 1915* | First World War | First Australian Imperial Force | Gallipoli | |
| New Zealander | 1918* | First World War | Otago Infantry Regiment | Rossignol Wood, France | |
| New Zealander | 1943 | Second World War | No. 487 Squadron RNZAF | Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
| New Zealander | 2004 | Afghanistan War | New Zealand Special Air Service | Afghanistan, Afghanistan | |
| New Zealander | 1943* | Second World War | | Atlantic | |
| New Zealander | 1941 1942 | Second World War | BB02020th, 2nd New Zealand Division | Crete, Greece, (1941), Ruweisat Ridge, Egypt (1942) | [9] |
| New Zealander | 1941* | Second World War | | Munster, Germany | |
| Newfoundlander | 1918* | First World War | BB01313th Battalion, CEF | Amiens, France | [10] |
| Newfoundlander | 1918 | First World War | Royal Newfoundland Regiment | Ledeghem, Belgium | |
| Rhodesian | 1896* | Matabeleland Rebellion | Bulawayo Field Force | Umguza, Rhodesia | |
| South African | 1917 | First World War | British South Africa Police | Johannesburg, German East Africa | .[11] Attached to Rhodesian Native Regiment |
| Rhodesian | 1897 | Matabeleland Rebellion | Bulawayo Field Force | Bulawayo, Rhodesia | |
AAE | ScotlandList of 164 Scottish recipients | AAE | AAE | AA05 | AAE | |
| South African | 1900* | Second Boer War | Imperial Light Horse | Ladysmith, South Africa | |
| South African | 1918 | First World War | No. 84 Squadron RFC | Western Front, France | |
| South African | 1901 | Second Boer War | Rimington's Guides | Strijdenburg, South Africa | |
| South African | 1857 | Indian Mutiny | BB07878th Regiment of Foot | Boursekee Chowkee, India | |
| South African | 1879 | Zulu War | Frontier Light Horse | Ulundi, South Africa | --> |
| South African | 1916 | First World War | BB0011st South African Infantry | Delville Wood, France | |
| South African | 1940* | Second World War | Royal Norfolk Regiment | Tournai, Belgium | |
| South African | 1879 | Zulu War | Cape Mounted Riflemen | Morosi's Mountain, South Africa | |
| South African | 1918 | First World War | Wiltshire Regiment | Fremicourt, France | |
| South African | 1917 | First World War | BB0022nd South African Light Infantry | Ypres, Belgium | |
| South African | 1899 | Second Boer War | Protectorate Regiment | Mafeking, South Africa | |
| South African | 1881 | First Boer War | BB0011st Cape Mounted Yeomanry | Tweefontein, South Africa | |
| South African | 1899 | Second Boer War | Imperial Light Horse | Elandslaagte, South Africa | |
| South African | 1896 | Mashona Rebellion | Mashonaland Mounted Police | Salisbury, Rhodesia | |
| South African | 1942 | Second World War | No. 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron RAF | Augsburg, Germany | |
| South African | 1944 | Second World War | Kaffrarian Rifles | Monte Gidolfo, Italy | |
| South African | 1917 | First World War | King's (Liverpool) Regiment | Dialah River, Mesopotamia | |
| South African | 1917 | First World War | Queen's Royal Regiment | Zonnebeke, Belgium | |
| South African | 1917 | First World War | Norfolk Regiment | Marcoing, France | [12] |
| South African | 1942 | Second World War | Natal Carbineers | Alem Hamza, Egypt | |
| South African | 1945 | Second World War | South African Air Force | Pforzheim, Germany | |
| Sri Lankan (Ceylonese) | 1918* | First World War | East Lancashire Regiment | Ablainzevelle, France | |
| Swedish | 1879 | Basuto Gun War | Cape Mounted Riflemen | Morosi's Mountain, South Africa | |
| Swiss | 1879 | Anglo-Zulu War | Natal Native Contingent | Rorke's Drift, South Africa | |
| Ukrainian | 1917 | First World War | BB047 | Lens, France | |
AAE | ScotlandList of 58 uncertain nationality recipients | AAE | AAE | AA05 | AAE | |
| Welsh | 1915 | First World War | Royal Welch Fusiliers | Festubert, France | |
| Welsh | 1942 | Second World War | | Saint-Nazaire, France | |
| Welsh | 1917 | First World War | Welsh Guards | Yser Canal, Belgium | |
| Welsh | 1945 | Second World War | Monmouthshire Regiment | Dortmund-Ems Canal, Germany | |
| Welsh | 1917* | First World War | Royal Welch Fusiliers | Polygon Wood, Belgium | |
| Welsh | 1917 | First World War | Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) | Zonnebeke, Belgium | |
| Welsh | 1917* | First World War | Royal Army Medical Corps | Tel-el-Khuweilfeh, Palestine | |
| Welsh | 1914 | First World War | Welch Regiment | Chivy-sur-Aisne, France | |
| Welsh | 1879 | Zulu War | BB02424th Regiment of Foot | Rorke's Drift, South Africa | |
| Welsh | 1916 | First World War | Welch Regiment | Macukovo, Greece | |
| Welsh | 1943* | Second World War | | At sea | |
| Welsh | 1858 | Indian Mutiny | BB0022nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) | Jamo, India | |
| Welsh | 1917 | First World War | South Wales Borderers | Pilkem, Belgium | |
| Welsh | 1916 | First World War | Royal Flying Corps | Double Crassieurs, France | |
| Welsh | 1854 | Crimean War | BB04141st (Welsh) Regiment of Foot | Battle of Inkerman, Crimea | |
| Welsh | 1855 | Crimean War | BB02323rd Regiment | Sebastopol, Crimea | |
| Welsh | 1857 | Indian Mutiny | Bengal Artillery | Lucknow, India | |
| Welsh | 1917* | First World War | BB499"A" Battalion, Tank Corps | Cambrai/Marcoing, France | |
| Welsh | 1940* | Second World War | British 2nd Destroyer Flotilla | Narvik, Norway | [13] |
| Welsh | 1918* | First World War | Royal Welch Fusiliers | Ronssoy, France | |
| Welsh | 1944 | Second World War | Welch Regiment | Barfour, France | |
| Welsh | 1918 | First World War | Royal Welch Fusiliers | Bazentin-le-Grand, France | |
| Welsh | 1918 | First World War | South Wales Borderers | Villers Outreaux, France | |
| Welsh | 1879 | Zulu War | BB02424th Regiment of Foot | Rorke's Drift, South Africa | |
| Welsh | 1917 | First World War | | Atlantic, near France | [14] | |