The Victory Sign (V)… A Historic Journey that Began with the Hundred Years’ War

11th October 2024

2 minutes read

The Victory Sign (V)... A Historic Journey that Began with the Hundred Years' War

The victory sign, raised during triumphs and present during happy occasions, is the “V” gesture. Have you ever raised it? Or seen a leader or an ordinary person wave it?

This gesture, made famous by Winston Churchill, became one of the most iconic symbols of World War II, before spreading across Europe and becoming an emblem for those living under occupation.

Decades after its appearance, this sign has taken on many meanings for those who use it. Some raise it to signify victory, solidarity, or to express a refusal to surrender.

But where did this symbol actually come from?

Some believe that the first to raise their fingers as a sign of victory were archers in the English army during the Hundred Years’ War, specifically at the Battle of Agincourt on October 25, 1415. At that time, French soldiers had announced their intention to cut off the fingers of English archers if they were captured after the battle.

However, the English emerged victorious, and the archers began to proudly display their intact fingers by raising them, according to the History website.

But the true origin of this gesture comes from the 20th century, when Belgian politician Victor de Laveleye suggested that Belgians adopt the letter “V” as a rallying symbol while the country was under German occupation.

For De Laveleye, the letter “V” stood for “victoire” in French, meaning victory, and “vrijheid” in Flemish, meaning freedom, according to the American magazine “Newsweek.”

He urged people in Belgium to write the letter in chalk and make the sign whenever they could as a mark of solidarity and resistance.

Winston Churchill and the Victory Sign

Winston Churchill later adopted this symbol in July 1941, using it throughout the war. It became a common symbol in Europe, representing victory and the end of the war.

American President Richard Nixon also used the sign to signify victory, and it became a distinctive trait associated with him. He even used it when leaving the White House in 1974.

Since then, this symbol has been used in a variety of contexts, most notably by the anti-war movement of the 1960s, when protests against the Vietnam War erupted across the United States and other countries.