Category talk:Victoria Cross forfeitures
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[edit]Relisting -- There is a conflict between this page, that says no one has ever had their VC reinstated, and the page for James Collis, that says George V relisted him posthumously on the petition of his sister. I found a number of spots that don't mention it being restored, but it seems to me to be logical that if the King felt strongly enough to say even murderers should be able to wear their VCs on the gallows, that he might restore it. His gravestone does have a VC on it. Jtodsen (talk) 19:55, 30 June 2011 (UTC)
Conflicting source
[edit]In Valentine Bambrick's article, one of the sources says this:
The influence of King George V came into play over the forfeiture of the Victoria Cross from eight men who had been convicted of theft, bigamy and desertion. In 1920 the King wrote a letter to his private secretary, Lord Stamfordham, in which he wrote "The King feels so strongly that, no matter the crime committed by anyone on whom the VC has been conferred, the decoration should not be forfeited. Even were a VC to be sentenced to be hanged for murder, he should be allowed to wear the VC on the scaffold". The names of all eight men, including Valentine Bambrick, were eventually added to the Register of Victoria Cross recipients. Following King George V's decision to reinstate the Victoria Cross to those eight men who had had their medal forfeited, it is unclear if the War Office ever presented the VC awarded to Valentine Bambrick to one of his relatives. The Bambrick VC has never been sold or put up for auction and its whereabouts is unknown to this day.
Which is true?
- The King did not write to his private secretary, Lord Stamfordham. In fact, the letter was written by Lord Stamfordham expressing the views of the King. The names of the eight were never deleted from the official alphabetical list of the recipients of the Victoria Cross. However, an appendix was added to the alphabetical list of recipients between 1854 and 1904 which stated the names and the dates of the Royal Warrants that forfeited the awards. The last publication of the War Office list was in 1953 and all eight are still listed as being forfeited.--Anthony Staunton (talk) 06:56, 30 November 2011 (UTC)
- A sovereign's personal wishes are not binding as a matter of law. King George V may have held very strong opinions on this issue. While they may have been given due consideration by his government, they were not obligated to honor those wishes. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.31.203.93 (talk) 21:17, 4 February 2015 (UTC)