The Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is awarded for conspicuous gallantry, daring, self-sacrifice, or dedication to duty when faced by a military enemy. It is the highest honour a Canadian can earn. 96 Canadians have won the VC from 1854, including the first recipient, Lt Alexander Roberts Dunn, who took part in the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava in the Crimean War in 1854, William Hall, the first black man to win the VC during the siege of Lucknow in the Indian Rebellion in 1857, and Cpl Filip Konowal, who was awarded the VC during the First World War, becoming the first Canadian to receive the award who was not born within the bounds of the British Empire (he was originally from Ukraine).
Other notable recipients are Capt Billy Bishop, who won the VC in World War I in the Royal Flying Corps, Capt Paul Triquet fighting in Italy during World War II, and Lt Robert Hampton Grey, killed during a bombing raid which sank a Japanese warship just before the end of World War II, making him the last Canadian recipient of the VC up to the present day.
