Irish in the British Armed Forces British Armed Forces. In fact, from the nations which were part of the British Empire, the only country which has more winners is England with 614. Ireland, with 190 awards (not including Irish diaspora born abroad), outranks Scotland who have 158 and Australia who have 97. When awards per number of people in the total population are taken into account, Ireland's awards would be the equivalent of England gaining 2,850 Victoria Crosses. Charles Davis Lucas of the Royal Navy from County Armagh was the man whose actions were the earliest to be rewarded with a Victoria Cross, due to his
Officer (armed forces) Officer (armed forces) An officer is a member of an armed forces or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. In its broadest sense, the term "officer" refers to non-commissioned officers and warrant officers. However, when used without further detail, the term almost always refers to "commissioned officers", the more senior portion of a force who derive their authority from a commission from the head of state. The proportion of officers varies greatly. Commissioned officers typically make up between an eighth and a fifth of modern armed forces personnel. In 2013, officers were the senior 17% of the British