Medals of a Preston-born war hero James Towers fetch £248,000 at auction

The outstanding Great War 1918 ‘Final Advance to Victory’ V.C. group of five medals awarded to 21-year-old Preston-born, Private James Towers, 2nd Battalion, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) has fetched £248,000 at auction.

Disregarding his safety, Private James Towers carried vital message under fire knowing five of his comrades had already been killed making in their attempts

James, with utter disregard for his own safety, volunteered to carry a vital message, under continuous heavy fire, to a stranded platoon at Mericourt in October 1918 whilst in the knowledge that five of his comrades had already been in killed in turn making their attempts to carry out the same task.

Setting out under heavy enfilading machine-gun fire amid scant cover, Towers movedbetween shell craters and crawled through barbed wire entanglements, before coming across the slumped body of the first volunteer runner - his close friend, Private Frank Dunlop, the Company Messenger.

Victoria Cross awarded to Private James Towers

Undeterred, Towers continued, only to become pinned down beneath a guarded embankment which, opting for surprise, he navigated with a running leap - landingwithin five yards of a fully manned enemy machine-gun post whose fire he avoided in themist by speed of movement and some grace of providence.

The outstanding Great War 1918 ‘Final Advance to Victory’ V.C. group of five awarded to 21-year-old Lancashire man Private James Towers

Finally reaching the trapped platoon intact, he delivered his vital despatch and guided it back to safety after dusk, his display of supreme courage and determination a great inspiration to all ranks.

Following the sale, Christopher Mellor-Hill, Associate Director of Dix, Noonan, Webb, said:

He continued: "It has gone to a good home with a private collector of gallantry awards.”

Later on, Preston-born James Towers, V.C., reflected upon events at Mericourt in TheLancashire Daily Post in 1929:

He continued: "I made a dive and got through. The worst part was that I didn’t know just where our chaps were. I had to find them, and in a run, for about 150 yards I went within five yards of one of Jerry’s machine guns. It was my lucky day.”

Towers was Invested with his V.C. by H.M. King George V in the Quadrangle atBuckingham Palace on 8 May 1919, Towers returned to the Palace to attend the V.C. Garden Party in June of the following year. He was also one of 74 V.C. holders who formed a special Guard of Honour for the burial of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey on 11 November 1920.