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Because most of the fighting during the war occurred on French and Russian soil, it may be a surprise that no Frenchmen or Russians are among those listed. Recommendations of names had been sought from both of these countries, but for separate reasons, no awards were issued. In the case of the French, such a tremendous number of persons had served that it was "impossible to do justice to all the Frenchmen who had rendered important service." In the case of the Russians, their exit from the war caused by revolution left conditions " "too unsettled to award any medals to Russian nationals." Footnotes After World War II, similar silver and bronze medals were issued. However, the wording on the World War II versions were not inscribed, but machine stamped to save on costs. 2 Of this total of 391, the following breakdown was given: 107 to families of workers. Of these, 28 died in U.S. 79 died overseas 274 to families of nurses. Of these, 184 died in U.S. 90 died overseas 6 to families of dietitians. 4 to families of nurse’s aides. At least one source states there were "a few more than a hundred (approximately 104)" medals issued to foreigners. This being the case, only a very few names may be missing from the list presented. Bibliography Powers, Shirley. Collector’s Guide. Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1988, page 69. "R.C. Medal Policy Announced," The Red Cross Bulletin, December 22, 1919, page 3. "Red Cross Medals ~¢arded," The Red Cross Bulletin, May 24, 1920, pages i-2. "A Challenge," The Brassard, (no date), page i. "Medals and Badges of the American Red Cross," Red Cross Magazine, April, 1919, page 32. "Awards made for service rendered during World War I," (unpublished manuscript). 3? Acknowledgements I wish to thank the following Red Cross personnel for their assistance in providing reference m~terial and information. Shirley Powers of Albuquerque, New Mexico Jerry Knoll of Washington, D.C. Ralph Holt of Milwaukee, Wisconsin TtIE LO~I~’ST LIVED VICTORIA CROSS RECIPIENT Anthony Staunton, OMSA #3425 It was reported in the July 1989 edition of The Medal Collector that the last living Victoria Cross recipient of the 1914-18 War has died. As well as having the distinction of being the last surviving 1914-18 War recipient, Charles Rutherford also has the distinction of being the second longest lived Victoria Cross recipient. In addition, he holds the records for the recipient who survived the longest after the action in which he won the Victoria Cross and the recipient who survived the longest after his award was gazetted. He was born in Canada on 9 January 1892, was awarded the Victoria Cross for 26 August 1918, the award being gazetted on 15 November 1918 and he died on 11 June 1989. At the time of his death, Charles Rutherford was 97 years, 6 months and 2 days having won the Victoria Cross 70 years and 9 months earlier and the award having been gazetted 70 years and 7 months earlier. The longest livea Victoria Cross recipient is another Canadian, Harcus Strachan who won the Victoria Cross with the Fort Garry Horse at Masnieres, France on 20 November 1917. Harcus Strachan was born on 7 November 1884 and died 1 May 1982 at the age of 97 years, 5 months and 24 days, three weeks older than Charles Rutherford. Donovan Joynt (Australian Imperial Force, France, 1918) who died in 1986 also reached the age of 97 years. At the time of writing, the oldest living Victoria Cross recipients are Lorne Campbell (Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, Tunisia, 1943), aged 87, Henry Foote (Royal Tank Regiment, Libya, 1942) aged 85 and Frederick Tilston (Canadian Infantry, Germany, 1945) aged 83 years. For many years the Victoria Cross recipient who had survived the longest after the action in which he had won the award was Sir Edward Thackeray who had been decorated in 1862 for his bravery at Delhi on 16 September 1857 during the Indian Mutiny. He lived until 1927 when at the age of 95 he died, 69 years after the action. Both Freddie West (RAF, France, 1918) and Harry Laurent (New Zealand Expeditionary Force, France 1918) who both died at the age of 92 also lived 69 years after their VC actions. Because the award to Sir Edward Thackeray was not gazetted for over four years, it is Freddie West and Harry Laurent who are next in seniority after Charles Rutherford for the longest survivors after their awards were gazetted. Incredibly, these awards were gazetted within a week of each other, Freddie West’s award being gazetted 8 November 1918 with both Charles Rutherford and Harry Laurent awards being gazetted a week later on the same day, 15 November 1918. 38 AMERICAN V.C. RECIPIENTS TIMOTHY P. HARRISON, OMSA #4237 While researching the manuscript for a book I hope to publish under the title "For Valour," The Victoria Cross: 1914-1982, I discovered there were several ~erican-born recipients o± this award. Through the kindness of the Whitehall Library in London and the National Archives of Canada I have been able to learn more about these men which I felt others might be interested in learning as well. Before I get into particulars about the recipients, I feel it might be helpful to give some background information about the Victoria Cross itself. The Victoria Cross is Great Britain’s highest decoration for bravery. It is awarded only for "conspicuous bravery or devotion to the country in the presence of the enemy."l It was created by Royal Warrant in 1886, and made to apply retro- actively to the Crimean War. Its design is very simple. It is a bronze2 cross patee3 and measures 1.375 inches across. On the obverse in the center is the Royal Crown surmounted by a lion statant guardant, beneath which, on a scroll, are the words "For Valour". In the center of the reverse is a circle in which the date of the act which gained the award is inscribed. The cross is suspended from a crimson ribbon 1.5 inches in width by means of a loop at the top of the cross, joined by a Roman ~’¥~’ which is part of a straight flat suspender. On the reverse of this suspender is inscribed the name, rank, and unit of the recipient. Since its found±ng, 1,350 individuals have been awarded the Victoria Cross, with three of these winning a second award. The last crosses were won during the Falklands Campaign in 1982, by Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Jones and Sergeant fan McKay. Five men of American birth have been awarded the Victoria Cross since its founding, six if you count the award made to the American Unknown Soldier of the First World War. These men were William Henry Harrison Seeley, Bellenden Seymour Hutcheson, William Henry Metcalf, George Harry Mullin, and Raphael Louis Zengel. The first American to gain the award was William Henry Harrison Seeley. WILL~AM SBBLEY was born in Topsham, Maine, on i May 1840. He is first listed as being in the Royal Navy on 17 July 1860, when he joined the H.M.S. $~p~, flagship on the China coast. At the time he joined it was against the law for American nationals to enlist in the British Services. He transferred to the H.M.S. ~Z~ on 17 November 1862, when that ship relieved the $~p~. Ordinary Seaman Seeley won his Victoria Cross on 6 September 1864 at the attack on the batteries and defenses of Shimonoseki, in Japan. He won the VC "For the intelligence and daring which, according to the testi- mony of Lieutenant Edwards, commanding the 3d company, he exhibited in ascertaining the enemy’s position, and for continu- ing to retain his position in front during the advance, after he had been wounded in the arm.’’4 William Seeley left the navy from the Eu~Zus "on paying off," and went back to the United States. His VC pension and his naval pension, amounting to 22 pounds, 10 shillings a quarter, were paid to him through the British Consul in Boston. William Seeley died of a cerebral hemorrhage on I October 1914 in Dedham, Massachusetts.8 39 .

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