When the first actions were gazetted in The London Gazette on February 24th, 1857, the first name to appear was that of Cecil Buckley. The action for his award was performed in May 1855 while he was a lieutenant but he had been promoted Commander soon after and so was the highest ranking naval officer gazetted in that initial list. Dur: 16 mins  File: .mp3

The First Victoria Cross – Charles Davis Lucas, Cecil William Buckley, or Henry James Raby. During the Crimean War (March 1854-February 1856), the movement to recognise the valour of the ordinary fighting man of the various branches of the British armed forces gained immense momentum. The Crimean War was the first conflict where newspaper reporters were with the troops (today we’d use the term ‘embedded’) and wrote back to their publications with the details of the heroism of the rank and file. Dur: 16mins. File: .mp3