Leo Clarke Leo Clarke VC ( 1 December 1892 – 19 October 1916 ) was a Canadian 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 . Clarke was born in Waterdown , Ontario . He spent his early years in England , home of his parents , but later returned and settled in Winnipeg , Manitoba in about 1903 . When World War I started , he was working as a surveyor for the Canadian National Railway in the Canadian north . He returned to Winnipeg to enlist in the 27th Battalion , and after arriving in England in June 1915 , transferred to the 2nd ( Eastern Ontario Regiment ) Battalion , Canadian Expeditionary Force to be with his brother , Charles . Victoria Cross . The main assault of the Battle of Flers - Courcelette was scheduled for September 15 , 1916 . Its objective was to occupy a chain of trenches between Martinpuich and Courcelette . On 1 September 1916 , Clarke ' s battalion was charged with capturing a 50 - yard - long salient between the Canadian position at Mouquet Farm and Courcelette to the north . On 9 September 1916 , near Pozieres , France , the first three companies of Clarke ' s battalion went over the top , leaving the fourth in reserve . Clarke , an Acting Corporal at the time , was assigned to take a section to clear the enemy on the left flank to allow his company sergeant to build a fortified dugout that would secure the Canadian position once the salient was overrun . When his section reached the trench , it was so heavily defended that they had to battle their way through with hand grenade s , bayonet s and their rifle s as clubs . Clarke was the only man left standing ; the rest had either been killed or wounded . At that time , about 20 Germans , including two officers , counter - attacked . Clarke advanced , emptying his revolver into their ranks . He then picked up two enemy rifles and fired those too . One of the officers attacked with a bayonet , wounding Clarke in the leg , but Clarke shot him dead . The Germans retreated , but Clarke pursued , shooting four more and capturing a fifth . In all , Clarke killed 19 of the enemy , capturing one . Death . On 11 October 1916 , Clarke ' s battalion was ordered forward to secure the newly captured Regina Trench which was still under heavy enemy artillery fire . Clarke was crouching in a hole at the rear of a trench when a shell exploded and the back of the trench caved in , burying him . His brother dug him out , but Clarke was paralyzed ; the weight of the earth had crushed his back and injured his spine . Clarke was taken to No . 1 General Hospital , but died on 19 October . He is buried in Plot II , Row C , Grave 3A , in Etretat Churchyard , 16 miles north of Le Havre , France . According to a contemporary newspaper article , shortly before his death he wrote his parents , stating : " I don ' t care so much for the Victoria Cross as getting home for a couple of months . " Legacy . Clarke was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross in the spring of 1917 . It was presented , by the Duke of Devonshire ( Governor General of Canada in 1917 ) , to Leo ' s father before a crowd of 30 , 000 . In 1925 , Pine Street in Winnipeg was renamed " Valour Road " in honour of Clarke and fellow Victoria Cross winners Frederick William Hall and Robert Shankland , all of whom lived on the 700 block . A plaque in his honour was erected by the Ontario Heritage Foundation at the Royal Canadian Legion branch in Waterdown . Clarke ' s story was featured in a Historica vignette , which was run nationally in Canada .