GG to Unveil CAN VC This Week

[Harris]

Melted sub hulls?  >

 

[gaspasser]

But here's another question:

Where does the metal for this medal come from?  I somehow suspect the battle of Sebastopol wouldn't seem to be "Canadian" enough.

Last military rumour I heard about that is, the medals were struck from re-forged cannon steel from a ship at the Battle of Trafalgar, at the behest of Queen Victoria. 
Rumour only.
Regards, BYTD

 

[The Bread Guy]

As for what might be the "news" element, from Wikipedia:

(....)
The first Victoria Cross medal was struck in 2007, while Canada was at war in Afghanistan. Preparations to create a physical medal were begun in 2006, and it was confirmed by Deputy Herald Chancellor Emmanuelle Sajous that at least one Victoria Cross had been created.[6]As of August 2007 though, it has not been seen in public.
(....)

Maybe we'll be able to SEE a brand spankin' new VC this week?

If it's any comfort, the original supply of bronze for the Brit VC's is running out, too...

....The barrels of the cannon in question are stationed outside the Officers' Mess at the Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich. The remaining portion of the only remaining cascabel, weighing 358 oz (10 kg), is stored in a vault maintained by 15 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps at Donnington, Telford. It can only be removed under armed guard. It is estimated that approximately 80 to 85 more VCs could be cast from this source. A single company of jewellers, Hancocks of London, has been responsible for the production of every VC awarded since its inception....

(According to the folks that make them, though, "In fact, the metal is of Chinese origin and not Russian as if often stated.")

It'll be interesting to see if any MSM ask re:  where Canada's bronze is coming from....

 

[Teddy Ruxpin]

Maybe we'll be able to SEE a brand spankin' new VC this week?

This is the unveiling of the new medal now that it's been constructed.

Strictly speaking, this is purely a Canadian medal with no connection to the UK version.  It is issued by the Queen of Canada and has been modified slightly to meet Canadian sensibilities, as has been noted.  Having said this, the criteria for award of the Canadian VC remain identical to the UK version.  As it's a different medal, I think that use of Latin is a good compromise.  It's visually identical otherwise.

 

[dapaterson]

Perhaps I'm just a "Westmount Rhodesian", believing that parts of our history are worth conserving.

On that note, why don't we cast the Canadian VC from the remnants of the mailboxes blown up on 17 May 1963?

see http://www.canadiansoldiers.com/history/domesticmissions/flqcrisis.htm

The press conference will be just a day before the 45th anniversary - what could be more appropriate?

 

[rmc_wannabe]

My question is, who the hell cares what the damn thing looks like? Would the medal loose any of its significance if it were a bronze smiley face hanging on the medal rather than the traditional cipher? Does that make what the recipient did less courageous or honourable? Does it cheapen the reasoning behind the medal? does the criteria change?

Hell no. IMHO I think a lot of historians, language Nazis, purists and monarchist need a big refresher in the concept of "Deeds, Not Words"

My 2 cents

 

[Remius]

My question is, who the hell cares what the damn thing looks like? Would the medal loose any of its significance if it were a bronze smiley face hanging on the medal rather than the traditional cipher? Does that make what the recipient did less courageous or honourable? Does it cheapen the reasoning behind the medal? does the criteria change?

Hell no. IMHO I think a lot of historians, language Nazis, purists and monarchist need a big refresher in the concept of "Deeds, Not Words"

My 2 cents

:

While I like tradition I see nothing wrong with the latin inscription, keeps with the traditional aspect while making the medal truly "ours".  But RMC_wannabe, people that like tradition and old style values don't necessarily need a lesson in "deeds not words".  As a matter of fact yes, a smiley face on a medal would not be appropriate for those deeds.  So yeah I care what it looks like.

 

[AJFitzpatrick]

As for what might be the "news" element, from Wikipedia:

Maybe we'll be able to SEE a brand spankin' new VC this week?

Indeed this individual VC medal was the one that probably was going to originally go to The Unknown Soldier. [Not trying to stir that debate up again].

 

[geo]

While I have no way of knowing, the fact that this Canadianized VC is beeing unveiled this week (after being approved in 1993) would suggest to me that there might very well be a recipient waiting in the wings......

 

[rmc_wannabe]

:

While I like tradition I see nothing wrong with the latin inscription, keeps with the traditional aspect while making the medal truly "ours".  But RMC_wannabe, people that like tradition and old style values don't necessarily need a lesson in "deeds not words".  As a matter of fact yes, a smiley face on a medal would not be appropriate for those deeds.  So yeah I care what it looks like.

Crantor,

The smiley was meant to be a bit tongue and cheek, I know full well that a smiley is completely inappropriate for a medal of valour. What i was trying to get at is, semantics over what the thing looks like should not have as much energy expended on it as it already has. Did people make this big of a stink when the RVO and other British decorations were replaced by the CV, SMV,MMV, and the like? 3 medals replaced and yet we're haggling over switching two words.... it just.... baffles my mind at times. What do i know, i'm just a no hook.

 

[TCBF]

...   where Canada's bronze is coming from....

- i suppose we could use copper from the cone liners of captured RPG warheads.

 

[Old Sweat]

At the risk of being really naive, I wonder if the date of the unveiling had anything to do with this being eve of the Victoria Day weekend? You know, the reverse conspiracy theory.

 

[The Bread Guy]

At the risk of being really naive, I wonder if the date of the unveiling had anything to do with this being eve of the Victoria Day weekend? You know, the reverse conspiracy theory.

Sometimes the simplest explanation is the right one - even in gov't 

And it appears both "bosses" (GG/CiC and PM) will be there tomorrow @ 1100.  It'll actually give MSM a decent "timely" story (in keeping with Old Sweat's theme) to run over the weekend.

 

[LCIS-Tech]

I remember when the VC was returned to the List of Canadian Honors and Awards. At that time, it was stated quite prominently that a "quantity" of Bronze had been acquired from the British for the casting of the Medals. It would be interesting to know where exactly the supply is located, but rest assured that the bronze of the Canadian VC is from the SAME source as ALL of those that went before it. There are some things that simply can NOT be done on the cheap, and the VC is one of them. To quote Gen Hillier, it is not a question of if, but WHEN will Canada have a VC recipient from the Afghanistan conflict. Its interesting that they have cast one. I wonder if we will be seeing a VC awarded sometime sooner, rather than later.....

 

[40below]

I don't see any problem using Latin on a military decoration. Not only does it sidestep the problem of having to forge a bilingual medal (anyone care to speculate on how the French press would react to a Quebec soldier being awarded an English-only medal?) but Latin is already widely used in unit mottos, far more prevalent than either English or French.

 

[Remius]

I remember when the VC was returned to the List of Canadian Honors and Awards. At that time, it was stated quite prominently that a "quantity" of Bronze had been acquired from the British for the casting of the Medals. It would be interesting to know where exactly the supply is located, but rest assured that the bronze of the Canadian VC is from the SAME source as ALL of those that went before it. There are some things that simply can NOT be done on the cheap, and the VC is one of them. To quote Gen Hillier, it is not a question of if, but WHEN will Canada have a VC recipient from the Afghanistan conflict. Its interesting that they have cast one. I wonder if we will be seeing a VC awarded sometime sooner, rather than later.....

Apparently the Canadian VC is not made from the same gunmetal.  The Australian and New Zealand ones are though...

 

[dapaterson]

I suspect all wil be revealed later today.  Whether or not it's revealed by the media is another set of questions entirely...

 

[George Wallace]

Apparently the Canadian VC is not made from the same gunmetal.  The Australian and New Zealand ones are though...

Would that have been the decision of some scivil servant who was not of the "Monarchist" ilk?

 

[Iron Oxide]

Some internal communication on the subject of the VC at Natural Resources Canada. This is not confidential information and is contributed because people seem interested in the subject.

***********************************************************************************************

At 11:00 today the Governor General will unveil the Canadian Victoria Cross at Rideau Hall. The Victoria Cross is the highest among Canada's Military Valour Decorations, and takes precedence over all other orders, decorations, and medals in the Canadian Honours System.

Natural Resources Canada, the Royal Canadian Mint, and other government departments worked closely with the Chancellery of Honours at the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General to produce the Canadian Victoria Cross.

CANMET-MTL played a key role in the production by casting all of the Victoria Crosses, thanks to the direct or indirect participation of 19 MTL employees. A photo display of MTL's involvement and contributions can be viewed in the front lobby.

Personally, I am very proud of the achievements of the MTL staff who contributed to this very historic event. The Victoria Cross (VC) was a technically challenging, detailed investment casting with multiple process steps. In particular, Peter Newcombe, Laurence Whiting, Luc Millette, and others spent many hours resolving technical challenges. Numerous employees contributed innovative suggestions and ideas. We are planning to have a detailed presentation on the VC production at an upcoming all-staff meeting, using photographs and video footage taken by David Ashe (who also took the official photograph to be used in the unveiling).

More information on MTL’s involvement (and the involvement of the Mining and Mineral Sciences Laboratories) will be available after the ceremony on the NRCan internet (www.nrcan.gc.ca). For broader information on today’s ceremony, see the Media section of the Governor General’s Web site: http://www.gg.ca/media/index_e.asp.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

À 11h00 aujourd’hui la gouvernure générale a dévoilé la Croix de Victoria canadienne à Rideau Hall. La Croix de Victoria est la plus haute distniction parmi les Décorations de la vaillance militaire au Canada. Par ailleurs, la Croix de Victoria a préséance sur tout autre ordre, décoration, ou médaille dans le régime canadien des distinctions honorifiques.

Ressources naturelles Canada, la Monnaie royale canadienne, et d’autres ministères, ont collaborés prochement avec La Chancellerie des distinctions honorifiques, au Bureau du secrétaire du gouverneur général à fabriquer la Croix de Victoria canadienne.

LTM-CANMET joué un rôle clé dans la production de moulage par toutes les Croix de Victoria, grâce à la participation directe ou indirecte de 19 MTL employés. Un affichage des photos de MTL la participation et les contributions peuvent être consultées dans le hall d'entrée avant.

Personnellement, je suis très fier des réalisations du personnel LTM qui ont contribué à cette événement historique. La Croix de Victoria (CV) est une technique difficile, d'investissement détaillé de coulée avec de multiples étapes du processus. En particulier, Peter Newcombe, Laurence Whiting, Luc Millette, et d'autres passé de nombreuses heures à résoudre les défis techniques. De nombreux employés ont contribués des suggestions et des idées innovantes. Nous prévoyons d'avoir une présentation détaillée sur la production à une réunion de tout le personnel, en utilisant des photographies et des images vidéo prises par David Ashe (qui a également pris la photographie officielle à être utilisée dans la présentation).

Plus d'informations sur la participation de LTM (et la participation de Laboratoires des mines et des sciences minérales de CANMET) seront disponibles après la cérémonie sur l'Internet de RNCan (www.nrcan.gc.ca). Pour plus large des informations sur la cérémonie d'aujourd'hui, consultez la section des médias du Gouverneur général du site Web: http://www.gg.ca/media/index_f.asp.

Dr. Jennifer Jackman,
Director General / Directrice générale
CANMET Materials Technology Laboratory / Laboratoire de la technologie des matériaux
Natural Resources Canada / Ressources naturelles Canada
568 Booth Street / 568 rue booth
Ottawa, Canada
K1A 0G1
613-***-****
******@NRCan.gc.ca
www.nrcan.gc.ca/mms/canmet-mtb/mtl/

*****************************************************************************************

Note: I am not Dr. Jennifer Jackman nor do I claim to speak for her or for CANMET or Natural Resources Canada.

 

[George Wallace]

If you visit the Governor General's Victoria Cross site, you can read about the history and the process of manufacturing/molding the Canadian Victoria Cross.  You will note in your readings that Canada does indeed have portions of the Bronze guns, which are mixed with Canadian metals.

In December 2006, after months of planning and preparation, the first stage in the casting process began at the Materials Technology Laboratory of Natural Resources Canada. The goal was to produce ingots or bars of the desired alloy. The piece of gunmetal from the original Victoria Cross source, the Confederation Medal and the various Canadian metals were melted in an induction furnace. The mixture was then carried in a crucible (a heat-resistant container used to melt metals and other materials) and was slowly poured into moulds shaped somewhat like loaf pans. Wood shavings were placed on top of each pan to help prevent oxidization.  Seven ingots of the alloy were produced to ensure that a sufficient quantity of the “metal mixture” would be available for future generations.