Lance Sergeant Thomas Patrick Neely, (28 March 1897 – 1 October 1918) was an English recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

(VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces. A soldier with

The King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army. It served under various titles and fought in many wars and conflicts, including both the First and the Second World Wars, from 1680 to 1959. In 1959, the ...

, he was awarded the VC for his actions in late September 1918, during the

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allies of World War I, Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Wester ...

of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was killed in action a few days later.

Early life

Thomas Neely was born on 28 March 1897 in Poulton-cum-Seacombe,

Wallasey Wallasey () is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England; until 1974, it was part of the historic county of Cheshire. It is situated at the mouth of the River Mersey, at the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Pe ...

, in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, one of seven children of James and Agnes Neely. The family surname was often spelt Neeley. His father was a gasfitter but performed labouring work for several years. The family moved to Walton in Liverpool, where Neely attended St. Fancis de Sales School. After finishing his education, Neely worked for a grain mill that produced animal feed.

First World War

In September 1914, Neely enlisted in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. Of small stature, he was posted to the Cheshire Regiment's Bantam Battalion, but later transferred to

, part of 76th Brigade, 3rd Division. In July 1918, Neely's award of a

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

(MM) was gazetted and he was sent on leave shortly afterwards. On his return to his unit, the 8th Battalion, he was promoted to corporal. During the

Battle of the Canal du Nord The Battle of Canal du Nord was part of the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War by the Allies against German positions on the Western Front. The battle took place in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, along an incomplete portion of ...

on 27 September, the 8th Battalion was leading the advance of 76th Brigade. It encountered a series of machinegun posts at the village of

Flesquières Flesquières () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes cooperate ...

, which made casualties of most of the battalion's officers. The advance was held up until Neely and two others assaulted the machinegun posts. Later in the advance, he made additional solo forays to deal with German-held positions that were delaying the battalion. For his actions, he was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC). The VC, instituted in 1856, was the highest award for valour that could be bestowed on a soldier of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

. The citation read as follows: Immediately after his VC-winning action, Neely was promoted in the field to

lance sergeant Lance sergeant (LSgt or L/Sgt) is an appointment in the armies of the Commonwealth and formerly also a rank in the United States Army. Commonwealth Lance-sergeant in the armies of the Commonwealth was an appointment given to a corporal so they ...

. Neely was killed in action just a few days later, on 1 October 1918, at

Rumilly-en-Cambrésis Rumilly-en-Cambrésis is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes coop ...

, just south of

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

. He was buried at Masnieres British Cemetery in

Marcoing Marcoing () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. History During World War I, there was an alleged incident between a British soldier named Henry Tandey and Adolf Hitler in this area. Hitler was unarmed and appeared wounded, so T ...

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

presented Neely's VC to his parents in a ceremony at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

on 27 February 1920. There are several memorials to Neely; a plaque at

the Priory The Priory Hospital, Roehampton, often referred to as The Priory, is a private mental health hospital in South West London. It was founded in 1872 and is now part of the Priory Group, which was acquired in 2011 by an American private equity firm ...

in Lancaster, a memorial board in

Wallasey Town Hall Wallasey Town Hall is a municipal building on Brighton Street in Wallasey, Merseyside, England. The town hall, which is the headquarters of Wirral Council, is a Grade II listed building. History In the early 20th century, Wallasey urban distr ...

, and he is listed, along with the names of 11 other VC winners from

the Wirral Wirral (; ), known locally as The Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide and is bounded by the River Dee, Wales, River Dee to the west (forming the boundary with Wales), the Ri ...

, Ellesmore Port, and Neston districts, on a plaque on the Birkenhead Cenotaph Memorial.

Medals

Neely's family retained his medals, absent the campaign medals to which he was entitled but which was never received, for several decades. In June 2010, it was alleged that the VC and MM was stolen from his grand-nephew's home. However, this was found to be a hoax and the grand-nephew was later charged for wasting police time. The family later put the VC and MM up for auction and it was sold on 25 November 2010 to a private buyer for £110,000.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neely, Thomas People from Wallasey King's Own Royal Regiment soldiers British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I Recipients of the Military Medal British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross 1897 births 1918 deaths Burials at Masnieres British Cemetery Military personnel from Cheshire