 On 26 March 1917 , the 7th Brigade — of which the 26th Battalion was part — was tasked with the capture of Lagnicourt . It was during this engagement where Cherry was to earn the Victoria Cross . An artillery barrage opened up on the village at 05 : 15 and continued for twenty minutes , allowing the infantry to close in . The plan was that Cherry 's company would storm the village itself while the battalion 's other companies encircled it . For the assault , Cherry split his company into two sections ; he commanded one section himself and placed the other under Lieutenant William Frederick Joseph Hamilton . 
