INSIGHTS Virtual Lectures: The Victoria Cross – Spoiling a Good Story? By Dr Andrew Marriott @INSIGHTSPublicLecturesNCL

Uploaded August 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

Dr Andrew Marriott, Visiting Researcher, Newcastle University

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.

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INSIGHTS Virtual Lectures: The Victoria Cross – Spoiling a Good Story? By Dr Andrew Marriott

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$‘Now we have your attention’: pandemics, protest, and politics from below by Jack Shenker Jack Shenker, Journalist and Author Hosted by Professor Sally Shortall, with introduction from Dr Martin Farr Coronavirus has forced many ongoing social crises into the light, while simultaneously expanding the horizons of political possibility. But who are the communities that are fighting for a different kind of Britain, and how will new forms of grassroots organising transform the country’s already fractious political landscape? Award-winning journalist and author Jack Shenker – who writes about how power functions and how it is contested – explores the struggles playing out far beyond Westminster. Jack Shenkers book, Now We Have Your Attention: The New Politics of the People, is available to buy now from our university bookseller Blackwells: https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Now-We-Have-Your-Attention-by-Jack-Shenker-author/9781784708870 Biography: Jack Shenker is a journalist and author based in London and Cairo. His stories have won several international awards, and been translated into many languages. Formerly Egypt correspondent for the Guardian newspaper, his work has also covered Gaza, Africa, Central Asia, the US and the UK, and been published in a wide range of newspapers and magazines around the world including Granta, the London Review of Books and the New York Times, as well as being adapted into films by the BBC. In 2016 his first book, ‘The Egyptians: A Radical Story’, was published by Allen Lane and Penguin to critical acclaim. In 2018, Jack was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for political journalism. His new book - Now We Have Your Attention - a journey into Britains ongoing political chaos from below - was published by The Bodley Head and Vintage Books in late 2019. Live Q&A: The lecture will be followed by a live Q&A with the speaker. You can submit a question during the event using YouTube Live Chat, via Twitter @InsightsNCL or by sending an email to public.lectures@ncl.ac.uk. Resources: Article on the Death of Emanuel Gomes: https://www.uvwunion.org.uk/en/news/2020/04/two-workers-at-the-ministry-of-justice-die-from-suspected-covid-19/ Thank you for watching. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/INSIGHTSPublicLecturesNCL Follow INSIGHTS Public Lectures on Twitter: https://twitter.com/InsightsNCL Visit the INSIGHTS Public Lectures Website: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/events/public-lectures/$