Irish Victoria Cross Winners

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Okay now, lets see how much info we can gather on Irish Victoria Cross Winners

[TallyhoBob]

Richard Kelliher WW2 VC Winner-Check out this link
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Kelliher

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Denis Dempsey

Lucknow, India

12th August 1857

Private Denis Dempsey from Bray, Co. Wicklow served with the 10th Regiment of Foot during the Indian Mutiny.

Dempsey earned his Victoria Cross for three separate acts of bravery

In July 1857 he carried a wounded officer for two miles on the retreat from Arrah

On 12th August 1857 during the attack on the village of Jugdispore near Lucknow Pte Dempsey led the battalion into the village under heavy fire.

On 14th March 1858 during mining operation he carried a bag of gunpowder through a burning village to the mine all the while under enemy fire. The sparks from the burning houses could have caused the gun powder to explode.

Denis Dempsey died in 1886 in Canada.

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Martin O'Meara

Pozieres, France

9th August 1916

Martin O'Meara on right.

Martin O'Meara was born in the parish of Lorrha, Co. Tipperary in 1882. He emigrated to Australia as a young man and worked as a labourer in Western Australia. He joined the army in August 1915 and sailed for Egypt on 22nd December. He was posted to 16th Bn, Australian Imperial Forces.

During the fighting at Pozieres on the Somme in August 1916 the 16th Bn was involved in the advance north from Pozieres to capture Mouquet Farm. Between 9th and 12th August 1916, O'Meara was a stretcher bearer and went out under heavy fire into No Man's Land to rescue wounded comrades. When going forward he carried ammunition and grenades to the men in the firing line.

For his courage under fire, Martin O'Meara received the Victoria Cross from King George V on 21st July 1917. He was promoted to Sergeant in August 1918 and returned to Australia in September having been wounded three times in action. He was demobilised in Perth on November 30th 1918.

As a result of his wartime service Martin O'Meara's mental health deteriorated and he spent his days in psychiatric institutions, dying in Claremont on 20th December 1935. He is buried in Karrakatta Cemetery, Perth, Western Australia.

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John Cunningham

John Cunningham was born in Hall Street in Thurles in Oct 1890. He was part of the 2nd Battilion The Prince of Wales Leinster Reg ( The Royal Canadains)
At the northern of Vimy Ridge, the 24th Div was in position with the 4th Canadian Div to its right. The 2nd Battilion The Prince of Wales Leinster reg and the 9th Royal Sussex both of the 73rd Bridgade, 24th Div were to make the assault, their objective was the Bois -en - Heche to the North east of Souchez and the strongpoint known as The Pimple.Zero hour was 5am on the 12th of April. If the pimple was taken the Allies would overlook the souchez valley from Givenchy to Angeres, the weather was very bad with snow and ice, the men were given hot food and their rum ration before going into their assembly points at 4am.At 5am the attack began , three companies moved off in two waves accompanied by a British barrage. The ground like other parts of Vimy Ridge was full of shell holes and craters. The Leinsters did their best to advance under awful conditions,, with heavy rifle and machine gun fire. About ten minutes into the attack the Leinsters were fighting hand to hand with the enemy.The Lewis gunners including Cpl John Cunningham who was in charge of a section used their guns as clubs and battered the enemy!.John Cunningham although wounded succeeded in reaching his objectives(Long Sap)with his gun which he used despite much opposition.When countered attacked by a party of twenty of the enemy, he used all his ammunition against them, standing in full view he started to throw bombs, again wounded he fell but picked himself up and continued to fight single handed, when his bombs were exausted he managed to make his way back to his lines, but died in hospital on the 16th of April. He is buried in Barlin Communal cemetery France.His posthumous VC was presented to his widowed mother Mrs Johanna Cunningham by the King on the 21st of July 1917, Mrs Cunningham also lost another son Patrick in the Great War.

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Alexander Young

Ruiter's Kraal, South Africa

13th August 1901

Alexander Young was born in Clarinbridge, Co. Galway on 27th January 1873. He joined the 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) in Galway in 1890 and served in India and the Sudan.

On 13th August 1901 during the Second Boer War he was a Sgt-Maj in the Cape Police when he earned his Victoria Cross at Ruiter's Kraal. Along with a few men he rushed a hill being held by Commandt Erasmus and 20 Boers. When the Boers withdrew, Young gave chase alone, shooting one Boer and capturing Erasmus.

Alexander Young was commissioned into the South African Scottish in WW1 and he died on the Somme on October 13th 1916. He is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial and in St. Nicholas Church, Galway.

Gazette Entry for Young's VC

www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/27373/pages/7221

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A very comprehensive listing of VC winners, their burial places and other relevant details can be found at this link:
www.victoriacross.org.uk/aavcloca.htm

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Charles Gough

Khurkowdah, India

14th August 1857

Charles Gough about 1850

On the 14th of August 1857 At Khurkowdah, India, during the Indian Mutiny, Major Charles Gough saved the life of his brother Hugh, who was wounded, killing two of the enemy in the process. On 18th August he led a troop of Cavalry in a charge and sabred two of the enemy. On 27th January 1858, in a charge, he attacked one of the enemy's leaders and pierced him with his sword which was carried out of his hand in the melee. He defended himself with his revolver and shot two of the enemy. On 23rd February at Meangunge he went to the assistance of a major and killed his opponent. For the above actions Charles Gough from Clonmel, Co. Tipperary earned a Victoria Cross.

He went on to serve all his military career in India and commanded a Cavalry Brigade in Afghanistan in 1879. His brother Hugh also earned a VC in the Mutiny and his son John was awarded one in Somaliland in 1903. The Goughs have the unique distinction of having three VC winners in the one family.

Charles Gough died in 1912 and is buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Clonmel. He was also the father of Hubert Gough of Curragh Mutiny fame. Hugh died in the Tower of London, where he was Constable of the Tower in 1909. John Gough was killed in France in 1915. Another famous relation was a great Uncle, another Hugh, who served in the Peninsular War and commanded the armies in China and the Sikh Wars.

www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armyunits/indiancavalry/hodsonscgough.htm

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Michael O'Rourke

Lens, France

15th August 1917

August 15th 1917, Pte Michael O'Rourke earned a Victoria Cross, when, as a stretcher-bearer in 7th Bn, British Columbia Regt, he worked non-stop for three days and nights bringing in wounded, dressing their wounds and getting them food and water. All during this time, the area in which he worked was swept by heavy fire and on several occasions he was knocked down and even buried by enemy shells.

As part of the Canadian Corps Michael was taking part in an offensive in the Lens area designed to capture Hill 70 from the Germans, Which they did at a cost of over 5,800 dead and wounded. The attack was timed to coincide with the attack on Langemarck the following day at Ypres, in order to secure the Allied flank and keep German reinforcements occupied. The Germans counter attacked no less than 21 times in attempts to recapture Hill 70. The Canadians used wireless communications for the first time in battle in this operation while the Germans deployed flamethrowers and recently-developed Mustard gas.

Michael O'Rourke was born in Limerick March 19th 1878 and died in British Columbia December 6th 1957

www.historycooperative.org/journals/llt/47/08dooley.html

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Garland, Donald Edward

Donald Edward Garland was born in Ballincor, Rathdrum County Wicklow on 28th June 1918.

He was 21 years old, and a Flying Officer in No. 12 Squadron, Royal Air Force during the Second World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 12 May 1940, over the Albert Canal, Belgium, two bridges, Veldwezelt and Vroenhoven, were being used by the invading army, with protection from fighter aircraft, anti-aircraft and machine-guns. The RAF was ordered to demolish one of these vital bridges, and five Fairey Battle bombers were despatched with Flying Officer Garland leading the attack. They met an inferno of anti-aircraft fire, and the bridge was hit but not put out of commission. Garland and his navigator, Sergeant Thomas Gray, attacked the bridge at Veldwezelt. They died either crashing in the village of Lanaken, or in the hospital in Maastricht, Netherlands. Only one bomber managed to return to base.

Garland is buried at the Heverlee War Cemetery near Leuven in Belgium.
Both Garland and Gray were awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously. Leading Aircraftman Reynolds, the third member of the crew, did not receive a medal because he was not in a "decision making" position. Garland's Victoria Cross is displayed at the Royal Air Force Museum in Hendon, England.

His brothers, Flt. Lieut. Patrick James Garland, Flt. Lieut. John Cuthbert Garland and Pilot Offr. Desmond William Garland, also died on service.



www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/34870/pages/3516
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Edward_Garland

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The Taku Forts

21st August 1860

The attack on the Taku Forts was part of the Second Opium War between China and a Franco-British Alliance. The British and French were intent on forcing the Chinese to honour trade agreements signed the previous year which essentially allowed them to trade Opium into China. The forts guarded the mouth of the Peiho River and had to be captured to allow an advance on Peking. Of the nine Victoria Crosses awarded for actions during the capture of the forts the following four men of Irish birth or descent received the medal.

Nathaniel Burslem

Burslem was born in Limerick in 1838, the son of Capt George Burslem, 94th Foot and Susan Vokes of Limerick. In 1860 he was a Lieutenant in the 67th Foot. Burslem along with Pte Thomas Lane swam the moat surrounding the North Taku fort and entered it through an embrasure which they widened under fire in order to make an entrance. Both men were wounded in the action.

Burslem sold his commission and moved to New Zealand intending to set up a flax farm. He drowned in the Thames River on July 14th 1865.

Thomas Lane

Thomas Lane was born in Cork in May 1836. In 1860 he was a Private in the 67th Foot. On August 21st he accompanied Lt Burslem in the attack on the North Fort.

Lane had earlier served in the Crimean War with the 67th. Later in his military career he served in the Natal Native Contingent during the Zulu War and in the Basutoland campaign 1881.

Lane's is one of the eight forfeited VCs. He was stripped of the medal on April 7th 1881 after deserting Landrey's Light Horse with his arms and equipment.

Lane died in Kimberley, South Africa on the 13th April 1889 while serving in the Kimberley Police.

Andrew Fitzgibbon

Andrew Fitzgibbon was born on May 13th 1845 in Gujerat, India, the son of William Fitzgibbon, a Corkman serving in the Indian Army. In 1860 he was a Hospital Apprentice in the Indian Army Medical Establishment attached to the 67th Foot which was engaged in the Second China War. On August 21st the 67th was in an assault on the Taku Forts at the mouth of the Pei Ho River.

Fitzgibbon attended the wounded under fire as a result of which he was himself severely wounded. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

At 15 years and 3 months Andrew Fitzgibbon was the same age as Thomas Flinn, another VC winner. However Flinn's actual date of birth is not known so Fitzgibbon is officially the youngest VC winner.

The London Gazette got his name wrong and called him Arthur Fitzgibbon.

Andrew Fitzgibbon died in Delhi in 1883.

Robert Rogers

Robert Rogers was born in Dublin September 4th 1834. In 1860 he was a Lieutenant in the 44th Foot. On August 21st, accompanied by Pte McDougall of the 44th and Lt Lenon of the 67th he swam the moat surrounding the North Fort and entered it through an embrasure being the first troops to enter the fort. Rogers rose to the rank of Maj-General and died in Berkshire on February 5th 1895.

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Maurice Dease

Mons, Belgium

23rd August 1914

Maurice Dease was born on 23rd September 1889 in Co. Westmeath.

He was a Lieutenant in 4th Bn, Royal Fusiliers when he became the first soldier to win a VC in the Great War. Dease was in command of a machine gun section attached to a company of the Royal Fusiliers defending Nimy Bridge at Mons on August 23rd 1914.

The bridge was subjected to a heavy attack by the Germans and the Fusiliers suffered many casualties. Most of Dease's gun crew were killed and he himself was wounded five times. Dease operated one of his machine guns himself until he was hit for the fifth time. He was then brought away for medical treatment but died of his wounds.

Dease is buried in St. Symphorien Cemetery, Mons.

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David Nelson

Nery, France

1st September 1914

David Nelson was born in Co. Monaghan on April 3rd 1886.

On September 1st 1914 he was aSergeant in L Battery, Royal Horse Artillery at Nery, France. The battery was surprised by the Germans and was brought into action under heavy fire. During the battle all of the gun crews were killed or wounded. Eventually Sgt Nelson manned a gun alone until his ammunition was expended. He was hospitalised with injuries received in this action. A few days later the hospital fell into German hands but Nelson escaped and made his way back to British lines. He was awarded a VC and commissioned. He spent most of the war instructing in England but was posted back to France in 1918 as a Major.

Major David Nelson died of wounds at Lillers, France on 8th April 1918. He is buried in Lillers Communal Cemetery, France.

www.chakoten.dk/nery_010914_2.html

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The Battle of Omdurman

2nd September 1898

The Battle of Omdurman was fought as part of the Sudan Campaign. Sudan had been a province of Egypt (itself part of the Turkish Empire) since the early 19th century. In the 1870s a Muslim Cleric named Muhammad Ahmad began preaching fundamentalist doctrine and declared himeslf The Mahdi (a sort of Messiah). The Egyptians sent several unsuccessful expeditions to deal with the trouble maker, the last commanded by British Officers. In 1883 the Egyptians decided to pull out of Sudan and leave it to its own devices. In order to ensure an orderly withdrawal, the British sent one of the country’s most eminent soldiers to oversee the task. His name was Charles Gordon, known to us as Gordon of Khartoum but at the time he was nicknamed Chinese Gordon. Gordon arrived in Egypt in January 1884 and was installed in Khartoum the next month. In Khartoum he quickly became effectively cut off from the outside world and the city itself was besieged by the Mahdists for most of 1884 and into 1885. The Brits meanwhile sent a relief force up the Nile which arrived too late to save Gordon who was killed on 26th January 1885.

Effectively that ended British interest in the area until 1898 when basically for reasons of national pride the British decided to invade the country once more. The invading army of 8,000 British and 17,000 Egyptian troops was commanded by a Kerryman, Gen Herbert Kitchener. Between March and September 1898 this force advanced on Khartoum fighting a few battles along the way.

The Mahdist capital was at Omdurman, a village on the Nile near Khartoum. The battle of Omdurman was actually fought 11 km north at a village called Kerreri. Kitchener placed his infantry in an arc around the village with his cavalry on the flanks and his rear protected by the River Nile. As support he had a flotilla of gunboats on the river. The Mahdists with 50,000 men outnumbered his by 2 to 1. However Kitchener’s men had the most modern equipment and Maxim Machine guns while many of the Sudanese had swords and spears. The battle began at 6am with a mass charge by 16,000 Mahdists on the British forces. This was quickly driven back with huge losses.

Kitchener then ordered his force to advance on Omdurman in order to capture it before the Mahdists could withdraw there. The 21st Lancers were ordered out in front to clear the route to the village and it was during this advance that three of the four Omdurman VCs were won by the 21st Lancers. As the British forces were advancing their rear was being attacked by the Mahdists. A major attack had to be fought off by a Sudanese Brigade commanded by Brigadier Hector Macdonald. After being reinforced they routed the last of the Mahdists and the advance on Omdurman continued. The battle was effectively over by noon. The Mahdists lost an estimated 10,000 dead, the British 47.

While Omdurman was a decisive battle the war would continue for another 15 months until the final defeat of Mahdist forces in November 1899.

For a detailed account of the Battle of Omdurman;

www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1898churchill-omdurman.asp

Paul Kenna

Battle of Omdurman

2nd September 1898

Paul Kenna was born in Liverpool on August 16th 1862 into a family from Co. Meath. He was commissioned in 1886. On September 2nd 1898 at the Battle of Omdurman, Kenna was a Captain in the 21st Lancers. He rescued Major Crole Wyndham of his regiment and assisted Lieutenant de Montmorency, in recovering the body of Lieutenant R.G. Grenfell. For these actions he was awarded a Victoria Cross.

Kenna rose to the rank of Brigadier-General having served in the Boer War and in East Africa 1902-04. He died of wounds at Gallipoli on August 30th 1915 following the attack on Scimitar Hill and is buried in Lala Baba Cemetery.

Thomas Byrne

Battle of Omdurman

2nd September 1898

Thomas Byrne was born in Dublin in December 1866. He served in the 21st Lancers from 1887 to 1909. At the Battle of Omdurman he rescued Lt Molyneux of the Royal Horse Guards who had been unhorsed and had lost his weapon . Byrne was wounded twice in this act and was awarded a Victoria Cross. He died on March 15th 1944 and is buried in Canterbury, England.

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Martin Doyle

Reincourt, France

3rd September 1918

Martin Doyle was born in New Ross, Co. Wexford on October 25th 1891. He joined the Royal Irish Regiment in Kilkenny in 1909 and was in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers at the outbreak of WW1. He joind the Royal Munster Fusiliers on promotion to Company Sergeant Major.

At Reincourt, France on September 3rd 1918 Martin Doyle took command of his company when all the officers had become casualties, extricated a group of men who had been surrounded by the Germans, rescued a wounded officer as well as the wounded crew of a tank, before which he had to destroy a machine gun firing on it and later drove off an enemy counter attack. CSM Doyle was awarded a Victoria Cross.

Martin Doyle went on to join the IRA in the War of Independence and fought in the Civil War in the National Army, in which he served as a CS until 1937. He died on November 20th 1940 and was interred in Grangegorman military cemetery, Dublin. His headstone looks like those erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission but is in fact a private headstone paid for by his old comrades in the Munster Fusiliers.

www.royalmunsterfusiliers.org/b4doyle2.jpg

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www.royalmunsterfusiliers.org/b4doyle.htm