The first Victoria Cross awarded to a private in the First World War has sold for £276,000 in London.
Private Sidney Frank Godley of the Royal Fusiliers single-handedly held off an assault on a bridge at Mons by six German divisions in August 1914.
Despite a bullet in his skull and severe shrapnel wounds, Pte Godley took over a machinegun from his mortally wounded commander and held his position for two hours, continuing to fire until the battalion was evacuated. He was captured but survived the war and become a school caretaker. He died in 1957.
Medal expert at Spinks auction house, Oliver Pepys, said the Godley VC was hugely important: “Godley set a standard that the British Tommy would aspire to for the rest of the war.”
Spinks’s pre-sale estimate for the VC group of six was £140,000 to £180,000.
