United Kingdom; South Africa, Republic. Three Victoria Cross Books

1. "The Story of the Victoria Cross 1856-1963" by Brigadier The Right Honourable Sir John Smyth Bt, VC, MC, MP: hardcover, maroon cloth cover, the text on the spine in gold-coloured ink, with dust jacket, copyrighted by the author in 1963, first published in Great Britain by Frederick Muller Limited of London in 1963, printed by The Camelot Press Limited of London and Southampton, bound by Leighton-Straker Limited, reprinted in 1963. As stated on the dust jacket: "Jack Cornwell, Bill Speakman, Guy Gibson...these are names which will be forever remembered in the annals of war as recipients of the highest award for valour. There are many more holders of the V.C. not so well known, but no less brave, who have risked and sacrificed their lives in the name of their country. In this, the first complete history of the Victoria Cross, Sir John Smyth records every V.C. which has been awarded, beginning with the Crimean War and covering all the relevant campaigns to the present day. He also paints a graphic picture of many of the circumstances under which the award has been gained. A complete record of the awards is given at the end of every campaign. A V.C. himself, Sir John has been chairman of the Victoria Cross Association since its inception in 1956 and is author of many authoritative war books, including "Before the Dawn", "The Only Enemy" and "Sandhurst"." It begins with an Acknowledgements, followed by a Table of Contents, a List of Illustrations, Foreword by Field-Marshal Earl Alexander of Tunis and an Introduction. The book is divided into five parts: One: 1854-1914 (with five chapters: 1. The Crimean War and the Inauguration of the Victoria Cross; 2. The Indian MUtiny (1857-59); 3. The Small Wars in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century; 4. Zululand to the South African War; 5. The South African War (1899-1902), and Small Wars up to August 1st, 1914); Two: The First World War (1914-19) (with five chapters: 6. The First World War - 1914; 7. The First World War - 1915; 8. The First World War - 1916; 9. The First World War - 1917; 10. The First World War - 1918 and 1919); Three: between the Wars (with one chapter: 11. V.C.s and V.C. Reunions); Four: The Second World War (1939-45) (with six chapters: 12. The Second World War - 1939-40; 13. The Second World War - 1941; 14. The Second World War - 1942; 15. The Second World War - 1943; 16. The Second World War - 1944; 17. The Second World War - 1945); Five: The Years After (with two chapters: 18. V.C.s awarded after the Second World War; 19. The V.C. Centenary and the Birth of the V.C. Association). It concludes with four Appendices (I. - V.C.s Awarded by Service and Countries; II. - A Précis of the V.C. Royal Warrants; III. - V.C.s Forfeited under Royal Warrants; IV. - List of V.C.s and Relatives attending the Buckingham Palace Garden Party in 1962), a Bibliography and a twenty page Index. The book contains 496 pages of text, printed in black ink, on an off-white paper stock, with a colour plate at the front illustrating the Victoria Cross, along with multiple black and white pages of photographs inserted at various intervals throughout the book, on a coated white paper stock, measuring 143 mm (w) x 222 (h) x 42 mm (d), with wear and repair evident on the dust jacket, the pages and cover on the book remaining pristine, near extremely fine.

2. "For Valour: The History of Southern Africa's Victoria Cross Heroes" written and published by Ian S. Uys: hardcover, white cloth cover, the graphic of the Victoria Cross on the front cover and the text on the spine in gold-coloured ink, with dust jacket, first published in 1973 by Ian S. Uys in Johannesburg, printed by Galvin and Sales (Printing) Limited of Cape Town, ISBN 0 620 00822 9. As stated on the dust jacket: "This is the story of the men whose deeds of gallantry will live forever in the annals of Southern Africa's history men such as the surgeon who, having been shot through the chest, plugged the hole with gauze and continued ministering to the needs of others. After 15 years of research the author has collected the biographic details of all the Southern Africa V.C. heroes, not only those serving in Southern African or Rhodesian units, but also those South Africans who served in other Commonwealth forces and who received the supreme award for gallantry. From the massacre which spurred a South African on to win the V.C. during the Indian Mutiny of 1857, to the heroic self-sacrifice of South Africa's "Pathfinder" pilot over Germany in 1945, the story surrounding every Victoria Cross award is told. In addition the campaigns in which the awards were won are described and the later lives of the recipients detailed." It begins with a Table of Contents, followed by a Foreword by Colonel George R. Duxbury, Director of the S.A. National Museum of Military History, a Prologue, a List of Maps, and a List of Illustrations. The book is divided into thirteen sections, containing forty chapters: 1. The History of the Victoria Cross; Indian Mutiny 1857 - 2. Lieutenant J.P.H. Crowe; Frontier War 1877 - 3. Major H.G. Moore; Zulu War 1879 - 4. Corporal C.F. Schiess and Acting Assistant Commissary J.L. Dalton; Moirosi War 1879 - 5. Trooper P. Brown and Sergeant R.G. Scott; 6. Surgeon Major E.B. Hartley; Zulu War 1879 - 7. Captain H.C. D'Arcy and Sergeant E. O'Toole; Basuto War 1880-1 - 8. Surgeon J.F. McCrea; Transvaal War of Independence 1880-1 - 9. Trooper J. Danaher; Matabele Rebellion 1896 - 10. Trooper H.S. Henderson; 11. Trooper F.W. Baxter; Mashonaland Uprising 1896-7 - 12. Captain R.C. Nelson; South African War 1899-1902 - 13. Captain C.H. Mullins and Captain R. Johnston; 14. Sergeant H.R. Martineau and Trooper H.E. Ramsden; 15. Trooper F. Albrecht; 16. Corporal J.J. Clements; 17. Sergeant J. Rogers; 18. Lieutenant W.J. English; 19. Sergeant-Major A. Young; 20. Surgeon Captain T.J. Crean; 21. Surgeon Captain A. Martin-Leake; First World War 1914-18 - 22. Bandsman T.E. Rendle; 23. Captain P.H. Hansen; 24. Temporary Lieutenant W. Dartnell; 25. Private W.F. Faulds; 26. Captain W.A. Bloomfield; 27. Sergeant F.C. Booth; 28. Captain O.A. Reid; 29. Lance-Corporal W.H. Hewitt; 30. Major J. Sherwood-Kelly C.M.G., D.S.O.; 31. Captain AM. M. Lascelles; 32. Lieutenant R.F.J. Hayward M.C. (Bar); 33. Lieutenant R.V. Gorle; 34. Lieutenant A.W. Beauchamp-Proctor D.S.O., M.C. (Bar), D.F.C.; 35.Mahor H. Greenwood D.S.O. (Bar), M.C.; 36. Captain R.A. West D.S.O. (Bar), M.C.: Second World War 1939-45 - 37. Acting Squadron-Leader J.D. Nettleton; 38. Sergeant Q.G.M. Smythe; 39. Lieutenant G.R. Norton N.M.; 40. Captain E. Swales D.F.C.. It concludes with ten Appendices (I - Victoria Cross awards 1856-1972 (Including three Bars); II - South African and Rhodesian recipients of the Victoria Cross; III - South African and Rhodesian units in which recipients were serving at the time they won the Victoria Cross awards; IV - South Africans (by birth or domicile) who were awarded the V.C. while serving in other Commonwealth forces; V - South African and Rhodesian V.C.s - Summary of interesting features; VI - Campaigns in which these men participated; VII - List of decorations awarded to these men (excluding canpaign medals); VIII - Victoria Cross awards won in South Africa, Rhodesia and Basutoland (Lesotho); IX - Victoria Cross awards won in Rhodesia and Basutoland (Lesotho); X - Alphabetical index to recipients of V.C.s in South Africa, Rhodesia and Basutoland (Lesotho) (Numbers correspond to Appendices VIII and IX)). It concludes with an Acknowledgements, a Bibliography and a ten page Index. Included is an insert sheet of Addendum and Corrigendum. The book contains 416 pages of text and photographs, printed in black ink, on a thick white paper stock, measuring 150 mm (w) x 222 mm (h) x 35 mm (d), the previous owner's named stamped on the inside front cover endpaper, pinching evident on the bottom corners on the the front and back covers, light discolouration and wear on the dust jacket, the pages remaining pristine, better than very fine.

3. "The Bronze Cross" by F. Gordon Roe, FSA, FRHistS: hardcover, maroon cloth cover, the text and image on the front cover embossed, the text on the spine in gold-coloured ink, historical text by Roe, with a collection 0f 162 portraits in photogravure, along with 46 other illustrations, published by P.R. Gawthorn Limited of London in 1945. The book begins with a brief history of the Victoria Cross (Bronze Cross), however, the majority of the book is devoted to the recipients of the awards and the actions that they took during the Second World War. The 76 pages of photographs and brief biographical descriptions placed at the back of the book are of British, Australian, Canadian, Indian and other awardees. It concludes with a nine page Index incorporating three sections (I. Historical Text; II. Portrait Section; III. Regiments) and a Bibliography. The book contains 132 pages of text and photographs, the front portion of the book with 51 pages printed in black ink, with two colour photographs at the front of the book, on a semi-coated white paper stock, the back portion of the book with 76 pages printed in brown ink, on a thick cream-coloured paper stock, measuring 187 mm (w) x 252 mm (h) x 13 mm (d), with light soiling on the back cover, edge wear along the top edge of the covers, the pages within remaining pristine, very fine.

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