First Army Victoria Cross in £252,000 lot sold at auction

Maj John Simpson Knox, of the Scots Fusilier Guards, won the honour for his gallantry while fighting in the Crimean War between 1854 and 1855.

The medal, the highest military award for valour, went under the hammer in London along with a cannonball reputed to have blown the Glasgow soldier's arm off.

Three further medals, two portraits, a cap badge and a belt plate made up the remainder of the lot sold by Spink auctioneers to a telephone bidder for 252,000. A spokeswoman said the seller wished to remain anonymous.

Knox was born in 1828 and enlisted at the age of 14, having run away from home.

He was honoured for his actions as a sergeant in the Battle of Alma and the Battle of Inkermann.

It was while serving as a lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade that he lost his arm during an assault on the city of Sebastopol.

After leaving the Army, he served as a jail governor in Cardiff and Liverpool.

The Victoria Cross (VC) was instituted by Royal warrant in 1856, the first awards backdated for service in the Baltic and the Crimea.

The first recipient of the VC was a Royal Navy officer.

Lit Charles Lucas was given the honour for throwing a live shell overboard in 1854 while serving in the Baltic, according to the auctioneers.

The first awarded to the Army were the six VCs given for the Battle of the Alma – four to the Scots Fusilier Guards and two to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.

Knox was recommended for the VC by his superior Captain Scarlett, who wrote to him in 1856 praising him for his "very cool, gallant, and admirable manner" at Alma.

He wrote: "I was much indebted to you for your assistance. I only hope you will obtain your Cross and I am sure if you do, very few will wear it who can say they have done more to deserve it."