Medal of hero killed in last week of WW1 sells for £130k

**Hero’s medal from final week of WW1 sells for £130k**

Second lieutenant James Kirk was killed in the last week of World War One

A Victoria Cross given to a soldier who was killed in the final week of World War One has been sold for £130,000.

James Kirk, from Cheadle Hulme, died under heavy machine gun fire while protecting soldiers who were building a bridge in France in November 1918.

The 21-year-old second lieutenant kept fighting even after being shot in the face, after paddling across a canal to confront German gunners on his own.

London auctioneers Noonans sold the medal on 7 October. It had been estimated to make between £100,000 and £160,000.

Noonans said Kirk made "the ultimate sacrifice" as he tried to defend the Royal Engineers who were trying to bridge the Oise Canal during the Battle of Sambre on 4 November 1918.

Kirk took a Lewis machine gun and four magazines and paddled across the waterway on a raft made from petrol tins and cork floats "under a most intense machine gun barrage", Noonans said.

James Kirk was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery

The auctioneers added: "The bank bristled with machine guns.

"He set up his Lewis gun at 10 yards range and fired off the whole of his ammunition.

"Further ammunition was paddled across to him on the raft and he continued firing, covering the Royal Engineers in their task.

"He was wounded in the arm and the face but still fired continuously from a most exposed position until he was shot through the head and fell dead over his gun."

After the sale, Christopher Mellor-Hill, head of client liaison at Noonans, said: "I am very happy to see it find a home in a new collection of British Gallantry awards."

Kirk's Victoria Cross, which was awarded posthumously, was sold together with his three other war service medals.

He was killed in the same action as celebrated war poet Wilfred Owen

17 million soldiers and civilians were killed during WW1