William Cosgrove William Cosgrove VC MSM ( 1 October 1888 – 14 July 1936 ) was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces . Background . William Cosgrove was born at Aghada , County Cork on 1 October 1888 , the son of Michael and Mary Cosgrove . He had four brothers , Dan , Ned , David , Joseph and a sister Mary - Catherine . While they were still young their father emigrated to Australia , but later returned . In the meantime his wife moved with her children to a cottage in nearby Peafield , the children attended school at the National School , Ballinrostig . William began work at an early age as an apprentice butcher at Whitegate , and one of his daily chores was an early morning delivery to Fort Carlisle ( now Fort Davis ) with a consignment of meat for the troops . It was from Fort Carlisle that he joined the army . Army and WWI . He enlisted in the Royal Munster Fusiliers on 24 March 1909 and was given the regimental number 8980 . Life in the army for William up to 1914 would appear to have been very mundane , but the declaration of war in August 1914 drastically changed all that . At the outbreak of war the 1st Battalion of the Munster ’ s was stationed in Rangoon , Burma , as regular battalions were regularly stationed overseas . They left Rangoon on 21 November 1914 and with them came Corporal William Cosgrove and landed in England on 10 January 1915 , still in their Indian issue uniforms and stood on the quays shivering in their khaki drill shorts . The battalion was then assigned to the 86th Brigade of the 29th Division ( United Kingdom ) , in preparation for the landings at the Dardanelles . Gallipoli . The 1st Munsters together with the 1st Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers and Hampshire Regiment were on the converted collier ‘ River Clyde ’ when it ran ashore for the Cape Helles ' V ’ beach landing on 25 April 1915 at 06 . 20 am . On departing from the ship ' s bay they were subject to the most ferocious enfilading machine gun fire from hidden Turkish defences . Some hundred of the Battalion ’ s finest men fell at this stage of the battle , those who managed to get ashore could not advance due to this withering Turkish fire . On the following day it was decided to destroy the wire entanglements facing the men that the naval bombardment had failed to do . It was during this attack that Corporal Cosgrove 1st RMF , performed the action that was to earn him the regiment ’ s first Victoria Cross of the war . The action is best described by Cosgrove himself . Heroic action . " Our job was to dash ahead , face the trenches , bristling with rifle and machine guns and destroy the wire entanglements . Fifty men were entailed for the work , poor Sergeant - Major Bennett led us , but was killed , a bullet through the brain . I then took charge , shouted to the boys to come on , from the village near at hand came terrible fire to swell the murderous hall of bullets from the trenches . Some of us got close to the wire and we started to cut it with a pliers , you might as well try and snip Cloyne round tower with a scissors . ” He then grabbed hold of the stakes holding the barbed wire , " I dashed at the first one , heaved and strained and it came into my arms … I believe there was wild cheering when they saw what I was at , but I only heard the screech of bullets and saw dirt rising all round from where they hit . I could not tell you how many I pulled up . I did my best and the boys around me were every bit as good as myself . " He was also wounded during this action and was promoted to Sergeant and saw no further action due to his wound , which was a contributing factor in his early death later on . VC award . The award of the V . C . was gazetted on 23 August 1915 , it stated that it was awarded “ For most conspicuous bravery leading this section with great dash during our attack from the beach to the east of Cape Helles on the Turkish positions on 26 April 1915 . Cpl Cosgrove on this occasion pulled down the posts of the enemy ’ s high wire entanglements single - handed , notwithstanding a terrible fire from both front and flank , thereby greatly contributing to the successful clearing of the heights . ” On 26 April 1915 , the second day of the disastrous V beach landing at Cape Helles , during the Battle of Gallipoli , Turkey , when just three companies of Munsters had made it to the shelter of some dunes , at daybreak they charged to take the village behind the Sedd el Bahr fort overlooking the bay . Corporal Cosgrove led a company section during the attack on the Turkish positions . Barbed wire held them up and Corporal Cosgrove , described by his command as " an Irish Giant " set himself the task of pulling the stanchion posts of the enemy ' s high wire entanglement single - handed out of the ground , notwithstanding the terrific fire from both front and flanks with officers and men falling all around him . Thanks to his exceptional bravery , his heroic actions contributed greatly to the successful clearing of the heights . Turkish counter - attacks were held off . He was described by Surgeon P . Burrowes - Kelly , RN . , D . S . O . , as an " Irish giant " and by a person from Aghada who remembered him “ As a very shy man who hated to be fussed over . ” Later career . He transferred to the Royal Fusiliers , in 1918 to the Leinster Regiment in 1920 , the Northumberland Fusiliers in 1922 and later went as an Instructor to the Indian Territorial Force in 1928 to become 7042223 Staff Sgt Instructor . He came home in 1935 pending discharge to pension , unfortunately his plans were all to go wrong . He was admitted to Millbank hospital , but took discharge before he was fit . After a short leave in Cork , he returned to London , where he was admitted to Middlesex hospital . He was later transferred to Millbank hospital London , where he died on 21 July 1936 Final salute . On 16 June 1940 , the O . C . A . , of the Royal Munster Fusiliers unveiled a memorial over the grave . Valued medals . In 1972 , Cosgrove ’ s V . C . , was sold for a record price £2 , 300 to a private collector . When questioned about the high price which the medal fetched , the auctioneer replied " When one buys a gallantry medal , it is not just the medal one buys , but the act that won it . William Cosgrove ’ s Victoria Cross together with his other medals was sold at an auction by Dix Noonan Webb held on 22 September 2006 for " The world ' s most valuable auction of orders , decorations and medals " . A total of £1 , 965 , 010 was spent by 305 different buyers , a figure which represents " the highest amount ever realised by any numismatic auction in the UK " . The day ' s highest price , £180 , 000 , was paid by a collector for the Gallipoli landings Victoria Cross group of six , which included the medal awarded to Sgt . William Cosgrove , Royal Munster Fusiliers . He later achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant . References . Listed in order of publication year