"The Decoration of the Victoria Cross was instituted in 1856 and the award made retrospective to the commencement of the Crimean War. In shape it takes the form of a Maltese Cross, measures 1 2/5 inch square, weighs about 434 grains, and is of bronze, being cast from cannon taken by our army at Sebastopol. It is attached by a "V" to a bar, upon which is a sprig of laurel. On the obverse the Royal Crown surmounted by a lion occupies the centre, with a scroll underneath bearing the words "For Valour." The reverse is quite plain, with an indented circle in the centre, in which the date or dates of the act of bravery are engraved. At the back of the bar is the name of the recipient, and the whole is suspended by a Riband, blue for the Navy, red for the Army. The Warrant authorizes a Bar to be attached to the Riband for any further act of conspicuous bravery on the part of the owner of the Cross, but no such bar has ever yet been issued, although statements to the contrary have frequently been made."