1863: During a campaign against the "Hindustani Fanatics" on the North-West Frontier, Brigadier-General Sir Neville Chamberlain led two brigades of the Indian Army in an encircling movement via the Ambela Pass, but in so doing aroused the hostility of the Bunerwal tribe.

One of several bitter actions was fought on 30 October, when tribesmen succeeded in capturing the Crag Piquet, a British post overlooking the Pass, killing 60 soldiers. Lieutenant Pitcher of the 4th Punjab Regiment and Lieutenant Fosbery of the 4th Bengal Regiment led the counterattack up a steep and narrow path.

Fosbery was wounded by a boulder hurled from above, but Pitcher was the first man to reach the top, and succeeded in driving the enemy from their position. Both officers were awarded the Victoria Cross. The Bunerwal were eventually persuaded by their own casualties to help destroy the "Hindustani Fanatics", whose base at Malka was destroyed on 22 December.

1899: During the Boer War, Second Lieutenant Norwood led out a patrol of 5th Dragoon Guards from Ladysmith. Coming under heavy fire, the patrol withdrew, but one man was wounded and fell from his horse. Norwood returned, dismounted and lifted the man on to his back. He then walked back to safety, leading his horse, under heavy fire the whole way. He was awarded the Victoria Cross. Norwood was subsequently killed in one of the first actions of the First World War fifteen years later.

1917: At Passchendaele, Canadian troops won four Victoria Crosses:

A machine-gun pinned down a company of the Canadian Alberta Regiment. Private Kinross single-handedly charged the machine-gun, and killed all six crew members.

Elsewhere in the attack, a US volunteer, Sergeant Mullin, serving with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, showed similar gallantry attacking a pill-box. He first had to eliminate a group of snipers using hand grenades, then was able to attack the pill-box itself, killing two men and capturing another ten. His equipment was riddled with bullets, although he himself avoided serious injury.

Lieutenant Mackenzie of the Canadian Machine Gun Corps was commanding a machine-gun battery providing covering fire during the infantry attack. Learning that the nearest infantry unit had lost all its officers and most of its NCOs attempting to take a strong-point, he handed over his battery to an NCO and went forward to take command of the infantry. He successfully led them in capturing the enemy position, and then led them on to attack a pill-box. It too was captured, but Mackenzie was killed leading the charge.

Major Pearkes of the Canadian Mounted Rifles received the VC for his gallantry in first taking a position, then holding it with a small number of men against overwhelming counter-attacks, despite having suffered a severe leg wound.

1940: Luftwaffe daylight activity was centred around two mass fighter sweeps. The evening saw London once more the focus for night raiders.

1941: RAF Hudson aircraft of Coastal Command conducted a successful night low-level raid on German supply ships moored in the Norwegian port of Aalesund, attacking from heights as low as thirty feet by the light of the moon.

1942: The German submarine U-559 was badly damaged by Royal Navy destroyers and RAF aircraft in the Mediterranean, and forced to surface. Her crew began to scuttle her and abandoned ship. Lieutenant Fasson and Able Seaman Grazier of HMS Petard scrambled aboard the sinking U-boat and managed to find the top secret Enigma cryptographic machine. They succeeded in passing this safely to colleagues, but were unable to escape themselves before the submarine sank. The recovery of the machine and its latest key settings were invaluable to the Allied code-breaking effort. Both men were awarded a posthumous George Cross.