Dominic McCarthy Lawrence Dominic McCarthy VC ( 21 January 1892 – 25 May 1975 ) was an Australian 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 . Early life . Lawrence Dominic McCarthy was born in York , Western Australia , in August 1892 . Having been orphaned at a young age , McCarthy listed no next of kin on his attestation papers when he joined the Australian Imperial Force in October 1914 . He was brought up in Clontarf Orphanage in Perth and educated in Catholic schools . World War I . Private McCarthy was posted to the 16th Battalion where his large build earned him the nickname " Fats " . The battalion landed at Gallipoli on 26 April 1915 and McCarthy remained on the peninsula until illness forced his evacuation in September . By then he had been promoted to sergeant . He returned to duty in November and was among the last in his battalion to leave Gallipoli on 20 December . By June 1916 the 16th Battalion were in France where they took part in the fighting at Pozières and Mouquet Farm in August . McCarthy was promoted to company sergeant major in March 1917 and the following month was commissioned as a second lieutenant . The day after receiving his commission , McCarthy was wounded at Bullecourt and evacuated to England where he spent three months in hospital and convalescing . In November he was promoted to lieutenant and was awarded the French Croix de Guerre . He spent the months between February and August 1918 training troops in England , before rejoining his battalion in time for the offensive that began on 8 August . Victoria Cross action . Just over two weeks later , on 23 August 1918 , McCarthy performed what some regarded as the most effective piece of individual fighting in the history of the AIF next to Albert Jacka ' s Military Cross winning feat at Pozières . Near Madam Wood , east of Vermandovillers , France , the battalion was heavily opposed by well - posted machine - guns . Lieutenant McCarthy , realizing the situation , dashed across the open ground with two men to the nearest post , where , having out - distanced his companions , he put the gun out of action , then continued fighting his way down the trench . Later , having been joined by one of his men , together they bombed their way along the trench until contact was established with an adjoining unit . During this action Lieutenant McCarthy had killed 22 of the enemy , taken 50 prisoners and captured 5 machine - guns . For this McCarthy was awarded the Victoria Cross that , within his battalion and in some quarters of the London press , came to be known as the " super - VC " . Later life . Ten days after the war ended , on 21 November 1918 , McCarthy was evacuated to England with influenza . He returned to Australia in December 1919 , having married Florence Norville the previous January . Their only son , Lawrence , was killed in action on Bougainville in 1945 . McCarthy was demobilised in August 1920 . He returned to Western Australia but moved to Victoria in 1926 . He gained employment with the Sunshine Harvester Works remaining with them until 1934 when the company was forced to lay off staff during the Great Depression . He found new work the following year with the Trustees , Executors & Agency Co . , and remained with that company until his retirement in 1969 . McCarthy died at the Repatriation General Hospital , Heidelberg in Melbourne in May 1975 and was cremated with full military honours . The Lawrence McCarthy ward at the former Repatriation General Hospital , Hollywood has been named in his honour . His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Australian War Memorial " ( Canberra , Australia ) " .