Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

John O'Neill VC MM (also spelt O'Niell) (10 February 1897 − 16 October 1942) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer and a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

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

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

forces. O'Neill was 21 years old, and a

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

in the 2nd Battalion,

Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment The Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 100th (Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot and the 109th Regiment of Foo ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

when in October 1918 near Moorsele,

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, he won the Victoria Cross. The citation reads: O'Neill later served in the RAF as an

armourer Historically, an armourer is a person who makes personal armour, especially plate armour. Historically armourers were often men, but women could also undertake the occupation: for example Alice la Haubergere worked as an armourer in Cheapside i ...

sergeant where he served alongside

T. E. Lawrence Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British Army officer, archaeologist, diplomat and writer known for his role during the Arab Revolt and Sinai and Palestine campaign against the Ottoman Empire in the First W ...

On 1 June 1940 O'Neill was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps. In that year he was an officer on HMT ''Dunera'', taking to Australia "

enemy alien In customary international law, an enemy alien is any alien native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secur ...

s", most of whom were German Jews. Possessions of the internees were rifled through and stolen. He appeared as a witness at a subsequent court martial. The internees used the Russian song "Stenka Rassin" with new ironic German text: John O'Neill died of a heart attack on 16 October 1942. He is buried at

Holy Trinity Church, Hoylake Holy Trinity Church was an Anglican church in the seaside town of Hoylake, Wirral, England, until its demolition in 1976. It was consecrated on 1 November 1833, and in 1860 it became the Parish Church of Hoose, Little Hoose and Great Hoose. Dur ...

, in

The Wirral The Wirral Peninsula (), 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 Dee Estuary to the west, the Mersey Estuary to the east, and Liverpool ...

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(Cheshire)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, John 1897 births 1942 deaths British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment soldiers British Army personnel of World War I People from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire Royal Pioneer Corps officers British Army personnel killed in World War II British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Knights of the Order of Leopold II Recipients of the Médaille militaire (France) Military personnel from North Lanarkshire Burials in Merseyside