prior to the Allied Hundred Days Offensive, planned for August, the 2nd Battalion, Otago Infantry Regiment, was committed to operations around Rossignol Wood, to the north of Hébuterne, where a salient had developed in the German lines. Following the initial attacks, the Germans withdrew from their positions and Travis, with the reconnaissance section, set out to discover their new location. On 24 July the battalion was scheduled to launch its attack. Prior to stepping off, Travis crossed "no man's land" in daylight and destroyed a wire obstacle that threatened to block the path of the battalion's advance. Later, after the attack had been checked by heavy fire from a number of machine gun positions, seeing the danger, Travis approached two weapons pits alone and killed their occupants. He was killed the following day in a German artillery barrage while accompanying an officer on an inspection of the battalion's positions. Well known among the New Zealand Division for his exploits, his death affected its morale. On 26 July 1918, he was interred in a grave near the small village of Couin, which is now the site of the Couin New British Cemetery. For his deeds on 24 July he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) in September 1918. The VC, instituted in 1856, was the highest award for valour that could be bestowed on a soldier of the British Empire. The citation for his VC read: The medal Although Lettie Murray was named as the beneficiary of Travis' will, executed in May 1918, the ownership of Travis' medals was disputed after the war due to the estrangement from his family. Eventually it was settled that the majority of his possessions, including his medals, belonged to Lettie. A close friend of Travis ensured that some personal effects went to the family. Travis' medals which, in addition to the VC, DCM, MM and Croix de Guerre, included the 1914–15 Star, British War Medal and the Victory Medal, were loaned to the Returned Services Association in Rotorua for a display in 1965 for the 50th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign. Lettie donated the medals to the Southland Museum, in Invercargill, in 1974 after her death. The medals were placed on public display from 25 April 2006 to 2 July 2006. Legacy Travis is remembered by a memorial at Ryal Bush, where he was living at the time of his enlistment in the NZEF,