Should Victoria Cross category be subdivided?

Question

The Victoria Cross category includes medal recipients from the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and quite probably other Commonwealth countries.  The Victoria Cross, whilst still current for the UK and possibly other countries, is no longer awarded to Australians, who now receive the Victoria Cross for Australia, which has its own category.  Is it time to create sub-categories to house profiles by their country?  If so, what should the new cats be called?  Bear in mind that a category already exists (Victoria Cross for Australia).  I would propose 'Victoria Cross, country', with the UK continuing to use the straight Victoria Cross.  Use Charles Anderson's profile to access the category profile.

Comments

The only VC I manage is from Newfoundland.  He would look pretty lonely if he had his own category. I like it the way it is.

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The Victoria Cross is a decoration of the United Kingdom.  Australia now has its own Victoria Cross of Australia...  Rhodesia has four Victoria Cross recipients and those shall be categorized as the Victoria Cross under Orders, Decorations, and Medals of the United Kingdom...  The VC was never a Rhodesian decoration, and in my humble opinion to categorize the award as Victoria Cross, Rhodesia would be wrong...  The decoration is announced in the London Gazette... it’s a British entity...

Answer 1

So if an Australian was awarded the Victoria Cross before it became Victoria Cross for Australia will he appear on each or only one category. What about when searching Victoria Cross recipients?

Comments

I was assuming one category only.  The categories would be linked, with 'Victoria Cross' as the key words, so searching should still be easy.

Answer 2

I don't actually think it's necessary, since finding others in the same category is not genealogically relevant. It's certainly a high honor, and so should be marked. However, the fact that recipients from Tasmania, New Brunswick, and Kent are in the same category doesn't make genealogy research more difficult.

Full disclosure: None of my ancestors or (close) family members have ever received the Victoria Cross, but I would say the same thing about a comparable U.S. military award given to members of other countries (or even dividing by state or branch of the military).

Comments

Thanks for your thoughts, Eric.

Answer 3

One award, one gallantry. Keep them all together. The Victoria Cross for Australia is a different thing.

Comments

Thanks for your thoughts, C.