Victoria Cross with the recipient's name, rank, number and unit. On the reverse of the medal is a circular panel on which the date of the act for which it was awarded is engraved in the centre. The Original Warrant Clause 1 states that the Victoria Cross "shall consist of a Maltese cross of bronze". Nonetheless, it has always been a cross pattée; the discrepancy with the Warrant has never been corrected. The ribbon is crimson, 1 1/2 " (38 mm) wide. The original (1856) specification for the award stated that the ribbon should be red for army recipients and dark blue
Victoria Cross (Canada) rank, and unit of the recipient. The medal is suspended from a link forming the letter "V" attached to a bar adorned on the front with laurel leaves, and on the reverse with the name, rank, and unit of the medal's recipient, all cast in the same metal as the medal. The ribbon, also wide, is solid crimson in colour. Cathy Bursey-Sabourin, Fraser Herald of the Canadian Heraldic Authority, and Bruce W. Beatty, however, made certain modifications for the Canadian Victoria Cross, the most notable being the inclusion of Canadian flora as decoration and the alteration of the inscription on