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
British Armed Forces appointed to the position of CDS had been elevated to the most senior rank in their respective service (a 5-star rank). The CDS, along with the Permanent Under Secretary, are the principal advisers to the departmental minister. The three services have their own respective professional chiefs: the First Sea Lord, the Chief of the General Staff and the Chief of the Air Staff. The British Armed Forces are a professional force with a strength of 149,710 UK Regulars and Gurkhas, 36,480 Volunteer Reserves and 7,960 "Other Personnel" . This gives a total strength of 194,140 "UK Service Personnel". As a