Victoria Cross among Sheffield First World War hero's medals sold at auction

• Video report by Martin Fisher.

A rare set of medals won by a First World War hero who later died in poverty have sold at auction for more than £200,000.

Sgt Arnold Loosemore, from Sheffield, was awarded a Victoria Cross, the highest honour a soldier can receive, for bravery in 1917.

He later won the Distinguished Conduct Medal, making him one of just three soldiers ever to receive that award after a Victoria Cross.

Col George Kilburn, a former commander, told ITV News: "In order to win a VC you have got to be at such danger of loss of life that you're unlikely to survive, so it's very nearly impossible to get."

The two medals sold at an auction in London for £220,000.

Who was Sgt Arnold Loosemore?

Arnold Loosemore was from Sharrow in Sheffield and served with the 8th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's West Riding Regiment.

He was awarded a Victoria Cross after thwarting a counter attack at the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917, when he killed 20 enemy soldiers before returning to his post with a wounded comrade while under heavy fire.

He was later given the Distinguished Conduct Medal for gallantry while serving with the 1st/4th Battalion at Zillebeke during a raid in 1918. This medal is one of only three to exist that have "V.C." inscribed on the side - referencing his earlier Victoria Cross award.

Sgt Loosemore was badly injured later that year and had to have his leg amputated.

His heroic efforts were marked with a civic reception in his home city, but he then faded into obscurity and was left to live in poverty.

Arnold Loosemore died from tuberculosis in 1924 and was given a full military funeral, but his widow was then sent the bill for the costs.

Having been denied a War Widows pension by the government because her husband was no longer a serving soldier at the time of their marriage, she was so poor that she was unable to afford a headstone.

Sgt Loosemore was buried in the grave of one of his friends.

Historian Graham White said: "People come here now and they leave flowers.

"We see children come and they leave sweets and little messages. It's so, so touching."

Sixty years later, Sheffield City Council named a new road Loosemore Drive in his honour.

Sgt Loosemore's medals were originally sold by his son to an Australian collector in 1969.

The buyer's son, Wayne Gardiner, who lives in Perth, said: "I can reassure the family that it's been treated as a very important object to say the least and it's being appreciated by a very wide range of western Australians."

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