On 27 September 1918, Kerr was commanding a support company at Bourlon Wood, during the Battle of the Canal du Nord. The advance of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 1st Brigade was affected by heavy machine-gun fire from a nearby railway embankment. Under his command, Kerr's company dealt with the holdup. He later made a solo foray, ahead of his company, during which four machine-guns were destroyed and 31 prisoners taken. For this, Kerr was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) for his actions. The citation for his VC read: