Shane Edward Robert O'Neill, 3rd Baron O'Neill (6 February 1907 – 24 October 1944) was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

peer and

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. He served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

in Italy.

Early life and family

O'Neill was born on 6 February 1907 to The Hon, Arthur O'Neill and his wife Lady Annabel Hungerford Crewe-Milnes. His mother was the eldest daughter of

Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe (12 January 185820 June 1945), known as The Honourable Robert Milnes from 1863 to 1885, The Lord Houghton from 1885 to 1895 and as The Earl of Crewe from 1895 to 1911, was a British Lib ...

. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, an all-boys public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. He did not attend university. His brother

Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a playwright during the Roman Republic. He was the author of six Roman comedy, comedies based on Greek comedy, Greek originals by Menander or Apollodorus of Carystus. A ...

was a politician who became

Prime Minister of Northern Ireland The prime minister of Northern Ireland was the head of the Government of Northern Ireland (1921–1972), Government of Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920; however, the L ...

. He married Ann Charteris, granddaughter of the 11th Lord Wemyss, on 6 October 1932. They had two children, Hon. Raymond Arthur Clanaboy O'Neill (b. 1933; later 4th Baron O'Neill) and Hon. Fionn Frances Bride O'Neill (b. 1936), who married Sir John Albert Leigh Morgan and had issue. After his death, Ann remarried, firstly to the 2nd Lord Rothermere, a press tycoon and former Tory MP, and later to

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...

, the creator of

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

, as well as having affairs with the Labour politicians

Hugh Gaitskell Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell (9 April 1906 – 18 January 1963) was a British politician who was Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition from 1955 until ...

and

Roy Jenkins Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead (11 November 1920 – 5 January 2003) was a British politician and writer who served as the sixth President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981. At various times a Member of Parliamen ...

.Andrew Lycett, ‘Fleming , Ann Geraldine Mary ther married names Ann Geraldine Mary O'Neill, Lady O'Neill; Ann Geraldine Mary Harmsworth, Viscountess Rothermere(1913–1981)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 201
accessed 9 Feb 2017
/ref>

Career

In 1929, O'Neill joined the Gillett Brothers Discount Company as a director.

Military service

On 30 August 1929, he was promoted to

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 ...

in the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars. With the outbreak of

, he was granted an emergency commission on 20 September 1939 as a second lieutenant in the North Irish Horse,

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the armoured arm of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 and the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Ar ...

. In October 1939, he was granted the acting rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. In December 1939, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed the

officer commanding The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually giv ...

. He was killed in action in Italy on 24 October 1944, aged 37, and is buried in the Coriano Ridge War Cemetery near Coriano.

Peerage

His father, Arthur O'Neill, and grandfather, Edward O'Neill, 2nd Baron O'Neill, were Members of Parliament representing Mid Antrim and Antrim respectively in the

House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

. As the 2nd Baron O'Neill's eldest surviving son, Shane's father was heir to the title of Baron O'Neill. At his birth, Shane became second in line to the title of Baron O'Neill. However, his father died in action during

World War I 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 ...

and he, therefore, became his grandfather's heir. He succeeded to the title after his grandfather's death in 1928, becoming the 3rd Baron O'Neill. As a

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

with a Peerage of the United Kingdom, he was able to sit in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. Though he had inherited the title in 1928, he first took his seat in the Lords on 3 April 1930. In 1937 he attended the Coronation of George VI at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

and paid homage to him with the other

Lords Temporal The Lords Temporal are secular members of the House of Lords, the upper house of the British Parliament. These can be either life peers or hereditary peers, although the hereditary right to sit in the House of Lords was abolished for all but n ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:ONeill, Shane ONeill, 3rd Baron 1907 births 1944 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Shane 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars officers North Irish Horse officers People educated at Eton College British Army personnel killed in World War II Royal Armoured Corps officers Burials in Emilia-Romagna