Major-General Sir Luke O'Connor, (20 January 1831 – 1 February 1915) was an Irish-born soldier who served in the

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 ...

. He was the first soldier to receive 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 ...

, Britain's highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy.

Background

Luke O'Connor was born in Kilcroy, Hillstreet, in the parish of Aughrim, Co Roscommon in Ireland. He was born to James O'Connor (born 1800) and Mary Gannon. He and his family were evicted from their farm because they were unable to pay the rent and decided to move to North America in 1839 in search of opportunity. His father James died at sea en route and his mother and a baby brother died at

Grosse Isle, Quebec Grosse Isle (, , "big island") is an island located in the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada. It is one of the islands of the 21-island Isle-aux-Grues archipelago. It is part of the municipality of Saint-Antoine-de-l'Isle-aux-Grues, locate ...

on arrival of cholera. Although Luke returned to Ireland as a boy, some of his other siblings remained in North America and fought in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Military

He enlisted in the British Army as a young man. At the age of 23, he was 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

23rd Regiment of Foot Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

(later The Royal Welch Fusiliers). During the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

, the 23rd Foot were part of the British force sent to the Crimea. On 20 September 1854, at the

Battle of the Alma The Battle of the Alma (short for Battle of the Alma River) took place during the Crimean War between an allied expeditionary force (made up of French, British, and Ottoman forces) and Russian forces defending the Crimean Peninsula on 20Sept ...

, Sergeant O'Connor was advancing between two officers, carrying the Colour, when one of them was mortally wounded. Sergeant O'Connor was also shot at the same time, but recovering himself, he snatched up the Colour from the ground and continued to carry it until the end of the action, although urged to retire to the rear on account of his wounds. He also acted with great gallantry at the assault on the Redan (8 September 1855) where he was shot through both thighs. The Victoria Cross did not exist at that time, but when it was created in 1856 O'Connor was one of the 62 Crimean veterans invested by Queen Victoria at Hyde Park on 26 June 1857. In June 1906 he was made a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

(CB) in the

1906 Birthday Honours The 1906 Birthday Honours for the British Empire were announced on 29 June, to celebrate the birthday of Edward VII on 9 November. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged by honour, w ...

. He later achieved the rank of major general and was appointed colonel of his old regiment on 3 June 1914. His VC is displayed at the

Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum The Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum is a museum dedicated to the history of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, a historic regiment of the British Army. The museum is located within Caernarfon Castle in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, North Wales. Admission is included ...

Caernarfon Castle Caernarfon Castle (; ) is a medieval fortress in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. The first fortification on the site was a motte-and-bailey castle built in the late 11th century, which King Edward I of England began to replace with the current st ...

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

, Wales.

Death

He died in Clarges Street, London, on 1 February 1915.''The Times'', 4 February 1915, page 1 He is buried at

St Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Kensal Green St Mary's Catholic Cemetery is located on Harrow Road, Kensal Green in London, England. It has its own Catholic chapel. The cemetery, founded in 1858, is the resting place of over 165,000 Roman Catholics. The 29-acre cemetery has memorials fo ...

, London.

References

The Register of the Victoria Cross ''The Register of the Victoria Cross'' is a reference work that provides brief information on every Victoria Cross awarded until the publication date. Each entry provides a summary of the deed, along with a photograph of the recipient and the f ...

(1981, 1988 and 1997) *Clarke, Brian (1986). ''The Irish Sword'' * *

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(W. London)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Luke 1831 births 1915 deaths Military personnel from County Roscommon 19th-century Irish people Irish officers in the British Army People from Elphin, County Roscommon Royal Welch Fusiliers soldiers British Army major generals Crimean War recipients of the Victoria Cross Irish recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of the Crimean War British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Ashanti War Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Royal Welch Fusiliers officers British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Burials at St Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Kensal Green

Background

Military

Death

See also

References

External links