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That pathway was trodden by many Canadians during the early stages of the South African War, but only three were lucky enough to win the little bit of gun metal, which means so much to every Brition, the little bronze cross which insignificant in money worth though it be, is yet, in the estimation of the nation and of the world, the most priceless which the British Sovereign can bestow. No wealth can purchase it; no Prince of the most Imperial Purple can, with all his pride of place, procure the privilege of wearing it suspended among the insignia of the orders which blaze upon his breast. It must be worn and won worthily, and it marks the wearer as a king among his fellows though he be only a private in the Army or a bluejacket in the Navy, or the least considered of the non-combatants in the world. “For Valour.” That is it's motto. That is the inspiration of the award. It can only be won by him who is not afraid to look into the face of death, but is willing to dare the King of Terrors and try a fall with him, with the odds in favour of the grim conqueror coming off victorious.

Canada is proud that three of her sons have been found worthy of winning the cross, and the names of Lieutenant H.Z.C. Cockburn, Lieutenant R.E.W. Turner and Sergeant E. J. Holland will live in History.

The Victoria Cross is not yet fifty years old for it was Instituted by Royal Warrant dated January 29th, 1856 at the end of the Crimea War. And its design is understood to have been made by no less a personage than the artist hand of the lamented Prince Consort.

The object was as everyone knows “to place all persons on a perfectly equal footing in relation to eligibility for the decoration, that neither rank or long service nor wounds nor any other circumstances or condition whatever save the merit of conspicuous bravery shall be held to establish a sufficient claim to the honoured qualifications which were on April 23rd 1881, more clearly defined as “conspicuous bravery or devotion to the country in the presence of the enemy” - the condition which makes the youngest private to the equal to the Commander-in-Chief himself and binds them in the brotherhood of blood bravery when the Bronze Cross hangs upon their breast.

Whenever occasion calls for the bestowal of the cross, the War Office sends a written order to Messers Hancock and Co., of New Bond Street, London, silversmiths to the Queen, for the number required. The order invariably states that they are to be made the “same as before.” an' almost superfluous instruction, one would think, for it is hardly within the region of speculative politics that any jeweller would be found bold enough to vary the pattern, least of all the firm which has always made the crosses and preserves all the traditions of the manufacture as carefully and as worthily as they deserve.

With the order for making crosses there is sent a supply of bronze which once formed part of some Russian guns taken in the Crimea.

The process of the manufacture of the Victoria Cross is entirely different from that of all other war medals and decorations. Although, therefore, their intrinsic worth is practically nothing, for the worth of the bronze would not exceed a few pence at the most, yet the cost of production is relatively considerable. Indeed it has often happened that in the auction room. To which necessity or some circumstance of an another character brought the bronze “badge of courage,” the collector has willingly paid for the emblem which he is not privileged to wear, a sum a hundred times greater than it cost to produce.

In the case of ordinary medals, steel dies are made and the articles are stamped up complete with one blow of the press so that they can be by the hundreds and thousands with little or no trouble at all. For the Victoria Cross however, no dies are in existence to produce them by the score, much less in large numbers. Each one is in fact, made separately, and goes through a certain number of manual processes, which calculate in the production of what is really a work of art. This is as it should be to mark on its possessor as different from his companions who, without undervaluing in any way their services of the danger and devotion, have merely shared with all their comrades the brunt of the campaign.

The bronze used is of a very hard quality, and as a record is kept by the Government, of the quantity supplied and the number of crosses which are made, it has all to be accounted for, allowance being naturally made for the waste which is inevitable, but is still reused. For this reason the bronze is weighted out to the workmen with as much care as if it were one of the precious metals like gold or platinum.

The first operation in the connection which the manufacturer takes place in the foundry where the cross is cast. The first cross was modeled in a hard wax from which a metal pattern was cast. This was preserved with great care, and from this pattern, mo;ds are made in specially prepared sand, which is capable of retaining a good impression. These moulds, which, it need hardly be said, and are made in two parts, are allowed to become thoroughly dry and hard, and the surfaces prepared with plumbago to give them additional smoothness.

The sand is packed in a little iron case made in the two halves interlocking very closely and accurately, and at the upper part of each half of the case is a semicircular hollow which when the two halves are joined, forms a complete circle. When the mould is got ready a piece of wood is placed in the end, then the two ends are brought together and joined and then the piece of wood is removed, thus leaving a tube connecting directly with the the mould of the medal so that the liquid metal may be poured in.

Thus prepared, the mould is placed in a large iron bath, so that in case any of the metal is split in the pouring it may be readily recovered. The bronze is melted in crucibles of clay or plumbago placed in a powerful draught furnace.

The temperature of this is somewhere about 2000 deg. Fahr. A heat almost intolerable for the ordinary individual even to come near. In spite of this, however the operator watches carefully for the melting of the bronze. When it becomes liquid he withdraws the white hot pot by means of a pair of long tongs, and pours the molten liquid into the moulds with as much dexterity and with, as a rule, as little loss as a lady pours a cup of tea in the afternoon.

Although, to the untrained individual, it may seem quite easy, it nevertheless requires great judgment, to get the metal to exactly the right temperature, and only practice does that. If the bronze is too hot it burns, and the tin and zinc evaporate giving off noxious and dangerous fumes, at the same time altering the composition of the alloy. If, on the other hand, the bronze is not hot enough it does not flow readily and so fails to fill up the interstices of the mould accurately, Even with the employment of workmen who have made the crosses for many years, it often happens that when the metal is cooled and the moulds are broken many of the medals are found to e imperfect, and have to be re-melted and cast a second time over. The same is true with the bar decorated with laurel leaves, to which the letter “V” is attached, and is made exactly the same way as the cross, but separate from it.

On taking the cross from the mould it is quite easy to see a thin rough line along the edges where the two halves of the mold have joined. This is always intensified in places where the metal has run, and gives the medal a distinctly rough appearance at the edges. The design too, is dull and flat, and is anything but sharp, while the colour is like that of a dirty penny. Each of these defects has to be remedied in turn. For this they are sent from the foundry to the factory, where they are examined carefully, and all the faulty pieces repaired.

The First thing is to make the edges true and smooth. This is done by hand and with a fine file, but it is not easy work on account of the hardness of the metal. After the edges are smoothed the workman drills a hole at the top of the cross for the ring which connects it with the bar.

While now perfect as to shape, the surface still remains rough and entirely lacking in the detail of the finished cross. To produce this the medal is sent to the chaser, who embeds it to a ball of pitch on an iron bullet in order to keep it steady. With various shaped punches and a small hammer he goes carefully over the whole surface, back and front, until the detail is brought up and the design appears in bold relief from the matted ground work.

In this process, too, the letters are brought into sharp relief, the tufts of hair on the mane and tail of the lion are engraved, and the effect of the different portions of the crown is heightened. By the time the cross leaves the chasers hands, it looks quite different from what it did when he received it.

This chasing process , insignificant though it may appear, is a matter of several hour's of hard work to a good man, who dare not, even if he would, neglect his task, for each cross when it is finished, has to be submitted to the War Office for its inspection. The same processes are gone through with the making of the bar, and when the chasing of both is entirely satisfactory they are sent to be bronzed with various acids, until the uniformly dark tone so well known, is given to them.

Then the top bar with its steel pins and connecting ring are put together; the ribbon, which is red for the Army and non-combatants and blue for the Navy, is attached, and the cross is ready for delivery to the War Office.

Even then, however, the jewellers work is not finished, for each cross is sent back to Messers Hancock and Co., in order to have the name of the regiment and the date on which he won it, engraved upon it.

The name and rank of the man are cut on one line on the bar and the name of the regiment in another immediately under it, thus;

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and in the semicircular part of the cross at the back are the day, the month, and the year of the deed of conspicuous bravery, set out in three lines. As it hangs on the breast of the hero, it adorns the cross, with ribbon bar, and pin complete, weighs less than 10 oz. about 432 grs., or 9 oz. to be accurate. Of this the cross itself takes as nearly as possible to 240 grs., the bar 72 grs., and the pin and ribbon the remainder.


Note: With the article it states some illustrations but I guess whoever put the article in the scrap book deleted the illustrations otherwise I would have added them here......