Above: Captain Charles Upham stands before King George VI at Buckingham Palace, London, during a Royal Investiture ceremony, 7th April 1945. His citation is being read out before the King awards him the V.C. for the second time.
Above: A group of 11 NZ VC Holders. From left: Back Row: Col L.W. Andrew, Maj R.S. Judson, Pte J.D. Crichton, Lt H.J. Laurent, Lt C.R.G. Bassett. Front row: Sgt J.D. Hinton, Lt K. Elliott, Capt C.H. Upham, Sgt A.C. Hulme, Capt S. Frickleton, Lt J.G. Grant. From the QEII Army Memorial MuseumThe nine Victoria Crosses were taken from inside locked, reinforced glass cabinets, that were guarded by alarm systems and security cameras, in a theft that's wiped out nearly half of New Zealand's collection.
The most significant medal taken in the heist belonged to Charles Upham. Only three people in history have won the Victoria Cross twice, and Upham is the only one to win them both for combat.
The British Empire's most gallant soldier, New Zealand's Charles Upham
"The military honours bestowed upon me are the property of the men of my unit as well as myself and were obtained at considerable cost of the blood of this country. Under no circumstances could I consent to any material gain for myself for my services." - Captain Charles Upham, Victoria Cross and Bar
All the medals taken belonged to Soldiers working for the NZ Defence force and date back as far as the 1899 Boer War. Two VC's were left untouched in the heist - both belonged to New Zealanders who served with Australia in the Second World War.
Amazing. Looks and smells like an inside job me thinks.
ReplyDelete"Such is the level of courage required for the award that it is estimated the chances of surviving an act worthy of the medal are one in 10."
ReplyDeleteFrom the BBC's news website
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ReplyDeleteHow's in the name of all that is Holy, do they think they can fence such items?
ReplyDeleteChances are a collector organised the heist, the medals go into his collection and are not seen again until he dies and the collection is auctioned off by the bastards spawn.
ReplyDeleteabsolute disrespect to not only fellow new zealanders but our greatest heros that gave their all for our beloved country. Such a shame!!!
ReplyDeleteGovernor-Grey's initial post has been converted into a mission and campaign to have these returned. There is now a permanent link under Polls and Petitions in the right sidebar.
ReplyDeleteDisgusting! I hope they find and string these bastards up! This is a perfect example of how far the world has fallen, and how little respect the general modern population has for those who fought and those who died for the freedoms we now so easily take for granted!
ReplyDeleteA direct ancestor of mine (a midshipman called Arthur Mayo) won a VC in the response to Indian Mutiny, at the age of 17. Sadly it's been missing - sighted at Bombay museum, but unconfirmed, at present - for a long time now. Like a surprising number of them, security/financial/patriotic concerns meant that it was entrusted to institutitions or men that proved incapable, in the long run, of looking after them in the way they should have been. (It's a hard thing, in many ways, to keep doing so over a long, long period of time; and, in this case, India and Bombay today are of course not exactly the same country or city as they used to be).
ReplyDeleteCollectors, like Lord Ashcroft, actually do quite a good job of rounding these older ones up, and putting them on better display than ever. He's written a rather interesting - if hardly world-beating - book about several, too.
When they find whoever stole these ones in NZ, I trust the next assizes shall see a certain righteouseness restored. (If only).