James Kirk (VC)

{{short description|Recipient of the Victoria Cross}}

{{Other uses|James Kirk (disambiguation)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}

{{Infobox military person

|name=James Kirk

|honorific_suffix=

|birth_date={{birth date|df=y|1897|1|27}}

|death_date={{death date and age|df=y|1918|11|4|1897|1|27}}

|birth_place=Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire, England

|death_place= Oise Canal, near Ors, France

|placeofburial=Ors Communal Cemetery, France

|image= James Kirk (1897–1918).png

|image_size=

|caption=

|nickname=

|allegiance={{flag|United Kingdom}}

|serviceyears=1915–1918

|servicenumber=

|rank=Second Lieutenant

|branch={{army|United Kingdom}}

|commands=

|unit=Manchester Regiment

|battles=World War I

|awards=Victoria Cross

|laterwork=

}}

Second Lieutenant James Kirk VC (27 January 1897 – 4 November 1918) was a British Army officer and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy.

Kirk was born on 27 January 1897 in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire{{sfn|Buzzell|1997|p=182}} to James and Rachel Kirk.[http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/336410 Kirk, James], Commonwealth War Graves Commission{{sfn|Gliddon|2014|p=256}} He enlisted as a private in the Manchester Regiment in 1915, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in June 1918.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080327115538/http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/celebs/military2.html Manchester Heroes]}} Kirk was a 21-year-old second lieutenant in the 10th Battalion, The Manchester Regiment, British Army, attached to the 2nd Battalion during the First World War when the actions that led to his recognition took place.