VICTORIA CROSS DURHAM LIGHT INFANTRY
The Victoria Cross, cast in bronze and bearing the Royal Crest and the inscription "For Valour", is the highest decoration that that a soldier may receive. This supreme rewardfor valour was created in 1856 by Queen Victoria because, during the Crimean War, there was no one medal that she could award to all ranks for exceptional acts of bravery "in the presence of the enemy". Since its foundation, only 1,351 Victoria Crosses have been awarded, eleven of them to soldiers of The Durham Light Infantry. This is the story of these eleven exceptional men.