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Duty & Valour, Canada's Military History Encyclopedia
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The Victoria Cross, abbreviated as V.C. or VC, is a military award of Canada based on the original British Victoria Cross. Created in 1993, it and the original are the highest honours in the Canadian honours system, taking precedence over all other orders, decorations, and medals, including the Order of Canada.
It is awarded for extraordinary valour and devotion to duty while facing a hostile force, and can be awarded to any member of the Canadian Forces and to allies serving under or with Canadian military command. Whereas in many other Commonwealth countries, the Victoria Cross can only be awarded for actions against the enemy in a wartime setting, the Canadian government has a broader definition of the term enemy, and so the Victoria Cross can be awarded for action against armed mutineers, pirates, or other such hostile forces without war being officially declared.
The Canadian medal is based on the original Victoria Cross instituted in 1856 by the British Empire, although the Canadian version has several small changes in its appearance. It is presented to the recipient by the Monarch (presently Queen Elizabeth II) or the Governor General of Canada. Recipients are entitled to use the post-nominal letters V.C. (whether in English or French), and also to an annuity of $3,000 annually. It can be awarded more than once, but no one has received the award since its inception. Read more…
• View all Rolls of Honour on Duty & Valour •
The Roll of Honour
- Main article: Duty & Valour:Roll of Honour/Afghanistan
Name: Crooks, Tyler
Rank: Corporal
Unit: The Royal Canadian Regiment
Date & place of birth: 20 March 1985; Welland, Ontario
Date & place of death: 20 March 2009; Zhari District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan
- Information: Corporal Tyler Crooks was a soldier in N Coy of the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment, based out of CFB Petawawa. In 2008 he was deployed as a part of the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group which was deployed to Afghanistan as Task Force 3-08. On March 20, 2009 he was killed, along with another Canadian soldier, when an improvised explosive device detonated while he was on a multi-day dismounted mission in the Zhari District, about 40 km west of Kandahar City, as part of a massive operation, named Operation JALEY, whose aim was to attack Taliban command centres and supply routes. Five other Canadian soldiers were wounded in the blast.
• Archive •
Did you know…
- …that Operation NOLAI (pictured) was a Canadian-led offensive in Afghanistan, spearheaded by C Company of the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry?
- …that Exercise SHERLOCK SAPPER II was a week-long training exercise conducted in Gibbons, Alberta?
- …that the The Halifax Rifles are the only regiment within the Canadian military to ever be reactivated off of the Supplementary Order of Battle?
- …that Strongpoint Dog is Canadian fortified forward position located in Kandahar Province?
- …that, for bravery in Afghanistan, Sgt. Michael Denine was among the first recipients of the Medal of Military Valour?
- …that The Royal Canadian Regiment was heavily involved in Operation MEDUSA?
- …that the Battle of Ortona was nicknamed "Little Stalingrad" due to the deadliness of its close-quarters combat?
- …that 1st Canadian Infantry Division was mobilized on September 1, 1939 for service in the Second World War?
Recommended reading:
• See an event missing? Add it to this day! •
On this day, November 14:
- 1778: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — George Washington writes Henry Laurens, president of the Continental Congress, that his French ally, the Marquis de Lafayette, wants to undertake a campaign against the British in Canada, to regain New France.
- 1838: Prescott, Ontario — Col Henry Dundas arrives with four companies of the 83rd Regiment, two eighteen-pounders and a howitzer, to attack Republican Colonel Nils von Schoultz and his 200 Canadian exiles and US sympathizers holed up in a 6-storey stone windmill.
- 1858: Montreal, Quebec — Monument set up in Côte-des-Neiges Cemetery to commemorate the Patriotes of 1837-38.
- 1879: Montreal, Quebec — Formation of the sixth Cavalry Regiment, later the 15th Armored Regiment, Duke of Connaught's Hussars, in Montreal.
- 1972: CFB Lahr, Germany — Canadian Armed Forces installs SAMSON (Strategic Automatic Message Switching Operation Network), for computer-controlled message handling to bases in Europe.
• Duty & Valour's news archive •
In the news…
- News article: "Cenotaph vandalized days before Nov. 11"
- Date: 10 November 2009
- Snippet: "'The towering stone monument has stood for 86 years in downtown Fredericton, with names added over the decades to honour the dead of Canada's wars. But only days before Remembrance Day, when crowds typically gather around the cenotaph, vandals toppled part of the monument. They vanished into the night late Sunday or early yesterday, leaving behind shattered pieces of granite and a profound sense of unease. "I almost fell to my knees and I said, 'What went wrong?' " said Jean-Guy Perreault, president of the local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. "I was devastated. I don't see the motive. I don't know the motive. It's really hard to explain. What is the cause of that? What are they trying to prove?"…"
- News article: "Remembrance Day observances honour the fallen"
- Date: 11 November 2009
- Snippet: "'Remembrance ceremonies attracted crowds in Canada and around the world on Wednesday to honour those who died while serving their countries. Nov. 11 marks the anniversary of the end of hostilities in the First World War, at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. On a bright, chilly day in Ottawa, Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, attended a ceremony at the National War Memorial with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean and their families. Charles, who is a colonel-in-chief of three Canadian regiments, and Jean, who is the titular commander-in-chief of the Canadian Forces, both wore full military uniforms…"
- News article: "Vets at Toronto legion tackle man they say pulled a gun and wanted poppy cash"
- Date: 12 November 2009
- Snippet: "'A would-be thief brandishing a gun likely wasn't counting on an 84-year-old veteran and a fellow member of his Toronto legion putting up a fight when he tried to make off with their poppy money. But police say that's what happened Thursday when a man walked into a Royal Canadian Legion in the city's east end as members were counting the money from this year's poppy drive. They refused to give up the cash and instead chased the suspect and tackled him.…"
Random video…
Wanted pages (Click a red link to create!)
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November 10, 2009
Morning, all.
It's been a while since I last posted something, so I figured that I would share the following message which was recently distributed to all Canadian Forces members by Peter MacKay, who is the current Minister of National Defence, to mark Remembrance Day 2009. It pretty much sums up (…)
0 comments | Continue reading » -
October 5, 2009
I received a number of emails today that I feel are important enough that I would share it with the community, as well as anyone else who comes across this blog post while visiting Duty & Valour.
These emails revolved around a petition that has been created in order to, hopefully, bring about the (…)
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October 2, 2009
I read a newspaper article today advocating that Canada "return to its roots as peacekeepers and leave the fighting to others." To be honest, I am quite sick of the term "peacekeeping" and have been for many years now, even before I joined the Canadian Forces long ago. Actually, let me rephrase th(…)
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September 24, 2009
I was actually forwarded this via an email at my regiment and thought that it was quite funny; an obvious joke that I thought I'd share here. It's also funny because I'm sure we can all think of someone we've served with at one point or another who would qualify for one, if not more, of these rib(…)
Write to the Troops
(Note that all submissions are reviewed prior to posting)
Canadian Forces Podcasts
Podcasting is a method of publishing audio broadcasts via the Internet, allowing users to subscribe to a feed of new files. These feeds deliver audio broadcasts to your desktop which you can then listen to on your computer or load them on to your MP3 player.
Fight with the Canadian Forces
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• Add a personal experience or another account to the War Journal •
The War Journal
Italy, World War II:
"We went back into action in August for the Gothic Line. And here was a tremendous amount of shellfire in most of the areas a place called Montemaggiore. They just blanketed the valley with mortars coming in by the hundreds. But we survived that until a day or two later when the big railway gun started firing on Montemaggiore and one of our young fellows was badly wounded with it, and subsequently passed away. I've got very tender thoughts for Scott Coyle because when I bent down over him on the stretcher, I said, 'Coyle, just lay still.' And he said, 'I know you, Gordie.' And put his arms around my neck and, well, by the time they put him in the truck to go to an aid post he was gone."
Source: "Memoirs of Gordie Bannerman – World War II"
Featured pictures: (Refresh)
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Wartime propaganda posters were a key part of the Canadian government's campaign to stimulate a wide-range of support for World War II amongst Canadians. Canadian war posters were also used to recruit for the military, to encourage wartime productivity and to raise money through Victory Bonds and other savings programs. Some World War II posters were also produced by private companies to encourage production within the manufacturing sector.
Produced first by the Bureau of Public Information and later in World War II by the Wartime Information Board (WIB), Canadian war posters were fairly cheap to produce, could be created quickly and received wide, sustained exposure among the country's populace. Canadian war posters in World War II were colourful, dramatic, and immediate — meaning that they were designed to stimulate a patriotic urge within Canadians to participate in the war effort via the means depicted on the poster. They were displayed in a variety of sizes just about anywhere you could imagine — on billboards, buildings, buses, in theatres, in the workplace and even on matchbox covers. These simple advertising vehicles give a quick glimpse of wartime life in Canada during World War II. |
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