June 26 in Victorian History
What the Victorians were up to on this date, year by remarkable year.
1857
The first Victoria Crosses are awarded
In Hyde Park, Queen Victoria -- on horseback -- pins the new Victoria Cross on 62 heroes of the Crimea. The first recipient called forward is a gunner who had smothered a live shell with his body. The plain bronze cross becomes the most coveted decoration in the British Army.