Date/Time: Thursday 6 August 2020, 17:30 - 18:00

The Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest award for bravery in conflict, is revered both as an institution and as an individual artefact. Instituted in 1856 during the Crimean War, there is an enduring tradition that the medals are sourced from the bronze of Russian cannon captured at Sebastopol.

Recent investigations challenge this belief, suggesting that the Sebastopol association is apocryphal and that the medals, variously of bronze, brass or copper, come from multiple and often unprovenanced metals.

The lecture will be followed by a live Q&A with the speaker.