5 Pounds - Elizabeth II Victoria Cross - Robert Henry Cain

Robert Cain was the only surviving recipient of the Victoria Cross awarded for Arnhem — the September 1944 operation that became a byword for Allied overreach. A major in the South Staffordshire Regiment, he spent nine days in almost continuous close-quarters combat against German tanks and self-propelled guns, at one point continuing to fight after a mortar round partially deafened him and blew him off his feet. His citation notes that he personally stalked and destroyed multiple armored vehicles with a PIAT, often at ranges under thirty yards.

Guernsey issued this piece as part of a broader VC commemorative series. Cain was born in the Isle of Man but had strong Channel Island connections through his family.