List of Victoria Cross recipients by nationality
This is a list of recipients of the Victoria Cross by nationality. It does not include the Victoria Cross awarded to the American Unknown Soldier of World War I Tomb of the Unknowns, buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He was awarded the VC posthumously in 1921. This gesture reciprocated the award of the Medal of Honor to the British Unknown Warrior.
The Victoria Cross is a military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the British armed forces. A small number of Commonwealth countries still participate in the British honours system and would still be eligible to make Victoria Cross recommendations for their service personnel but none of these countries have ever been awarded the Victoria Cross. The last occasion a Commonwealth country was awarded the Victoria Cross was in 1969 during the Vietnam War and today all Commonwealth countries whose armed forces had been awarded the Victoria Cross under the British honours systems have their own honours systems and their own orders, decorations and medals. The Victoria Cross takes precedence over all other British orders, decorations and medals and may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service and although civilians under military command are eligible for the award none has been awarded since 1879. The Victoria Cross has often been presented to the recipient during an investiture by the British monarch. The last award of the reign of King George VI and all awards of the reign of the present Queen with the exception of the two posthumous awards to the Australian Army during the Vietnam War have been presented by Queen Elizabeth II. The VC has been awarded on 1358 occasions to 1355 individual recipients.
The original Royal Warrant and all warrants to this day contain both expulsion and restoration clauses. Eight recipients between 1861 and 1908 had their awards rescinded and although no award has ever been restored the names of the eight are included in the list. The original warrant did not contain a specific clause regarding posthumous awards, although official policy was to not award the VC posthumously. Between 1857 and 1901, twelve notices were issued in the London Gazette regarding soldiers who would have been awarded the VC had they survived. In a partial reversal of policy for the South African War 1899–1902, the next of kin of three of the soldiers were sent medals by registered post in 1902. In the same gazette the first three posthumous awards were awarded and also sent to the next of kin. In 1907, the posthumous policy was reversed and medals were sent to the next of kin of the six officers and men. The Victoria Cross warrant was not officially amended to explicitly allow posthumous awards until 1920 but one quarter of all awards for the First World War were posthumous.
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.
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.
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 Victoria Cross; the Victoria Cross for Australia, the Victoria Cross 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 or or or or in the case of New Zealand born Captain Alfred John Shout of the Australian Army by both and. 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.
Recipients by nationality
| Name | Nationality | Date of action | Conflict | Unit | Place of action | Notes |
| American | 1918 | First World War | 75th Bn Canadian Expeditionary Force | Drocourt-Quéant Support Line, France | ||
| 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 | ||
| List of 91 Australian recipients | ||||||
| Belgian | 1916 | First World War | 4th Dragoon Guards | La Boiselle, France | ||
| British Virgin Islander | 1866 | Gambia Campaign | 4th West India Regiment | Tubabecelong, Gambia | ||
| List of 96 Canadian recipients | ||||||
| Channel Islander | 1914 | First World War | 59th Scinde Rifles | Givenchy, France | ||
| Channel Islander | 1900 | Boxer Rising | Royal Marine Light Infantry | Peking, China | ||
| Channel Islander | 1857 | Indian Mutiny | Bengal Sappers and Miners | Delhi, India | ||
| Channel Islander | 1855 | Crimean War | Vyborg, Russia | |||
| Channel Islander | 1942 | Second World War | Hampshire Regiment | Tebourba, Tunisia | ||
| Channel Islander | 1889 | British rule in Burma | Royal Army Medical Corps | Voklaak, Burma | ||
| Channel Islander | 1881 | Basuto Gun War | 1st Cape Mounted Yeomanry | Tweefontein, South Africa | ||
| Channel Islander | 1917 | First World War | Duke of Cambridge's Own | Moeuvres, France | ||
| Channel Islander | 1899 | Second Boer War | Royal Field Artillery | Colenso, South Africa | ||
| Channel Islander | 1859 | Second Afghan War | 59th Regiment of Foot | Shahjui, Afghanistan | ||
| Channel Islander | 1874 | First Ashanti Expedition | 6th Bengal Cavalry | Obugu, Ashanti | ||
| Danish | 1918 | First World War | 42nd Bn CEF Canadian Expeditionary Force | Parvillers, France | ||
| Danish | 1915 | First World War | 6th Lincolnshire Regiment | Gallipoli, Turkey | ||
| Danish | 1945* | Second World War | Special Boat Service | Comacchio, Italy | ||
| List of 600+ English recipients | ||||||
| Fijian | 1944* | Second World War | Fiji Infantry Regiment | Mawaraka, Bougainville Island | ||
| German | 1854 | Crimean War | 17th Lancers | Balaklava, Crimea | ||
| Grenadian | 2004 | Iraq War | Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment | Amarah, Iraq | ||
| Hanoverian | 1854 | Crimean War | , RN | Åland Islands, Finland | ||
| 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 | 9th Jat Regiment | Imphal, India | ||
| Indian | 1945 | Second World War | 5th Mahratta Light Infantry | Senio River, Italy | ||
| Indian | 1945* | Second World War | 15th Punjab Regiment | Meiktila, Burma | ||
| Lala | Indian | 1916 | First World War | 41st Dogras | El Orah, Mesopotamia | |
| Indian | 1914 | First World War | 39th Garhwal Rifles | Festubert, France | ||
| Indian | 1915* | First World War | 39th Garhwal Rifles | Neuve Chapelle, France | ||
| Indian | 1944 | Second World War | 10th Baluch Regiment | Arakan State, Burma | ||
| Indian | 1943* | Second World War | 6th Rajputana Rifles | Djebel Garci, Tunisia | ||
| Indian | 1944 | Second World War | 8th Punjab Regiment | River Gari, Italy | ||
| Indian | 1941* | Second World War | 6th Rajputana Rifles | Keren, Eritrea | ||
| Indian | 1918* | First World War | 14th Murray's Jat Lancers | River Jordan, Palestine | ||
| Indian | 1916 | First World War | 9th Bhopal Infantry | Battle of the Wadi, Mesopotamia | ||
| Indian | 1945 | Second World War | 15th Punjab Regiment | Myingyan, Burma | ||
| Indian | 1917 | First World War | 28th Light Cavalry | Pezières, France | ||
| Indian | 1921 | Waziristan Campaign | 28th Punjabis | Haidari Kach, India | ||
| Indian | 1944 | Second World War | 11th Sikh Regiment | Maungdaw-Buthidaung Road, Burma | ||
| Indian | 1943 | Second World War | 8th Punjab Regiment | Donbaik, Burma | ||
| Indian | 1945* | Second World War | 13th Frontier Force Rifles | Kanlan Ywathit, Burma | ||
| Indian | 1944* | Second World War | 1st Punjab Regiment | Kennedy Peak, Burma | ||
| Indian | 1915 | First World War | 55th Coke's Rifles | Wieltje, Belgium | ||
| Indian | 1945 | Second World War | 10th Baluch Regiment | Meiktila, Burma | ||
| Indian | 1944 | Second World War | 7th Gurkha Rifles | Ningthoukhong, Burma | ||
| Indian | 1945 | Second World War | 13th Frontier Force Rifles | Fusignano, Italy | ||
| Indian | 1914 | First World War | 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis | Hollebeke, Belgium | ||
| Indian | 1916 | First World War | 89th Punjabis | Beit Ayeesa, Mesopotamia | ||
| Indian | 1945* | Second World War | 16th Punjab Regiment | Kyeyebyin, Burma | ||
| Indian | 1944 | Second World War | Royal Indian Artillery | Kaladan Valley, Burma | ||
| List of 195 Irish recipients | ||||||
| Jamaican | 1892 | Second Gambian Campaign | West India Regiment | Toniataba, Gambia | ||
| Kenyan | 1941* | Second World War | King's African Rifles | Colito, Abyssinia | ||
| Manx | 1944 | Second World War | 2nd Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment | Arnhem, Netherlands | ||
| Nepalese | 1943 | Second World War | 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles | Chin Hills, Burma | ||
| Nepalese | 1945 | Second World War | 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles | Tamandu, Burma | ||
| Nepalese | 1945 | Second World War | 8th Gurkha Rifles | Taungdaw, Burma | ||
| Nepalese | 1944* | Second World War | 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles | Monte San Bartolo, Italy | ||
| Nepalese | 1965 | Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation | 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles | Sarawak, Borneo | ||
| Nepalese | 1944 | Second World War | 6th Gurkha Rifles | Mogaung, Burma | ||
| Nepalese | 1944 | Second World War | 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles | Bishenpur, India | ||
| Nepalese | 1918 | First World War | 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles | El Kefr, Egypt | ||
| Nepalese | 1915 | First World War | 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles | Fauquissart, France | ||
| Nepalese | 1943 | Second World War | 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles | Rass-es-Zouai, Tunisia | ||
| Nepalese | 1944* | Second World War | 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles | Bishenpur, India | ||
| Nepalese | 1944* | Second World War | 9th 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 | ||
| New Zealander | 1918 | First World War | Auckland Infantry Regiment | Crèvecœur, France | ||
| New Zealander | 1879 | Anglo-Zulu War | Frontier Light Horse | Ulundi, South Africa | ||
| New Zealander | 1942 | Second World War | 22nd, 2nd New Zealand Division | Ruweisat, Egypt | ||
| New Zealander | 1918* | First World War | Royal New Zealand Engineers | Grévillers, France | ||
| New Zealander | 1916 | First World War | 63rd 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 | 4th New Zealand Contingent | Naauwpoort, South Africa | ||
| New Zealander | 1864 | New Zealand Wars | Auckland Militia | Mangapiko River, New Zealand | ||
| New Zealander | 1941 | Second World War | 20th, 2nd New Zealand Division | Kalamai, Greece | ||
| New Zealander | 1941 | Second World War | 23rd, 2nd New Zealand Division | Crete, Greece | ||
| New Zealander | 1918 | First World War | Auckland Infantry Regiment | Bapaume, France | ||
| New Zealander | 1918 | First World War | New Zealand Rifle Brigade | Gouzeaucourt Wood, France | ||
| New Zealander | 1943* | Second World War | 28th, 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 | No. 200 Squadron RAF | Atlantic | ||
| New Zealander | 1941 1942 | Second World War | 20th, 2nd New Zealand Division | Crete, Greece,, Ruweisat Ridge, Egypt | ||
| New Zealander | 1941* | Second World War | No. 75 Squadron RNZAF | Munster, Germany | ||
| Newfoundlander | 1918* | First World War | 13th Battalion, CEF | Amiens, France | ||
| Newfoundlander | 1918 | First World War | Royal Newfoundland Regiment | Ledeghem, Belgium | ||
| Rhodesian | 1896* | Matabeleland Rebellion | Bulawayo Field Force | Umguza, Rhodesia | ||
| Rhodesian | 1917 | First World War | British South Africa Police | Johannesburg, German East Africa | ||
| Rhodesian | 1897 | Matabeleland Rebellion | Bulawayo Field Force | Bulawayo, Rhodesia | ||
| List of 164 Scottish recipients | ||||||
| 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 | 78th Regiment of Foot | Boursekee Chowkee, India | ||
| South African | 1879 | Zulu War | Frontier Light Horse | Ulundi, South Africa | ||
| South African | 1916 | First World War | 1st 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 | 2nd South African Light Infantry | Ypres, Belgium | ||
| South African | 1899 | Second Boer War | Protectorate Regiment | Mafeking, South Africa | ||
| South African | 1881 | First Boer War | 1st 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 Squadron RAF | Augsburg, Germany | ||
| South African | 1944 | Second World War | Kaffrarian Rifles | Monte Gidolfo, Italy | ||
| South African | 1917 | First World War | King's 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 | ||
| 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 | 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 | 47th | Lens, France | ||
| List of 58 uncertain nationality recipients | ||||||
| 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 | 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 | 24th 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 | 2nd Dragoon Guards | 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 | 41st Regiment of Foot | Battle of Inkerman, Crimea | ||
| Welsh | 1855 | Crimean War | 23rd Regiment | Sebastopol, Crimea | ||
| Welsh | 1857 | Indian Mutiny | Bengal Artillery | Lucknow, India | ||
| Welsh | 1917* | First World War | "A" Battalion, Tank Corps | Cambrai/Marcoing, France | ||
| Welsh | 1940* | Second World War | British 2nd Destroyer Flotilla | Narvik, Norway | ||
| 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 | 24th Regiment of Foot | Rorke's Drift, South Africa | ||
| Welsh | 1917 | First World War | Atlantic, near France |