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The auction house description included this account of the fighting from the book The Victoria Cross, 1856-1920 by Sir O’Moore Creagh and E.M. Humphries:

“Corporal Barron, a Lewis gunner, had worked round the flank with his weapon, and was knocking out the German crews one after the other with his well-directed fire. Completely exposed, he directed his gun undisturbed by the point-blank shooting of the enemy, until he had silenced two of the opposing batteries. Then without waiting for his comrades, he charged the remaining position with the bayonet, getting in among the gunners and killing four of them before the rest of his platoon could arrive.”

Barron died in 1958. The family sold the medal to a private collector 30 years ago for $25,000.

The museum bought the medal with the help of Leslie Barron Kerr, Barron’s great-granddaughter, who owns a number of karate schools in Toronto, and thanks to donors to the National Collection Fund.

Last week, the museum announced it had purchased the Victoria Cross awarded to Lt.-Col. Harcus Strachan, who was also honoured for his bravery at Passchendaele.

The museum’s latest acquisition comes as the family of Lt.-Col. David Currie push for the museum to intervene to stop Currie’s Victoria Cross from leaving Canada. Currie was awarded his VC during the fighting in Normandy in 1944. He later served as Sergeant at Arms for the House of Commons in Ottawa.

Currie’s VC was bought by a foreign buyer at auction in September for $550,000, but cannot be taken out of Canada without the approval of the Canadian Cultural Property Review Board. The board can delay the export permit for as long as six months to allow time for a Canadian buyer to match the auction price.

bcrawford@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/getBAC

Correction: An earlier version of this story listed an incorrect sale price for Cpl. Colin Fraser Barron’s Victoria Cross.