Victoria Cross
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The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously awarded by countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, most of which have established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians under military command. No civilian has received the award since 1879. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857, two thirds of all awards have been personally presented by the British monarch. The investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace.
Obverse of the cross; ribbon: 1+1⁄2 inches (38 mm), crimson (blue ribbon for naval awards 1856–1918)
The front and back of Edward Holland's VC
The obverse of William Johnstone's VC showing the dark blue ribbon for pre-1918 awards to naval personnel
Victoria Cross as it appears on Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstones.
Michael Ashcroft
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Michael Anthony Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft, is a British-Belizean businessman, pollster and politician. He is a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. Ashcroft founded Michael A. Ashcroft Associates in 1972 and was the 132nd richest person in the UK, as ranked by the Sunday Times Rich List 2021, with an estimated fortune of £1.257 billion.
Ashcroft's bust In the lobby of the Lord Ashcroft Building at the business school of Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, from where he earned a Higher National Diploma in business studies.
VP-BZE, Ashcroft's private jet, at Birmingham Airport in 2014
Anglia Ruskin University's Lord Ashcroft Building, opened in 2003 in Chelmsford by HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex. It houses the Faculty of Business and Law.