Major Henry Kelly VC, MC & bar (10 July 1887 – 18 July 1960) was an English 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 ...

, the highest and most prestigious 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. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

forces. Kelly was born on 10 July 1887 in

Collyhurst Collyhurst is an inner city area of Manchester, England, northeast of the Manchester city centre, city centre on Rochdale Road (A664) and A62 road, Oldham Road (A62), bounded by Smedley, Manchester, Smedley, Harpurhey and Monsall tram stop, Mo ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. He was a temporary second lieutenant in the 10th Battalion, The Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment 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 ...

at the time of his award of the Victoria Cross in 1916. He was awarded a Military Cross and later a bar to that medal in Italy in 1918. Other military awards include the

Belgian Croix de Guerre The ( French) or ''Oorlogskruis'' ( Dutch) is a military decoration of the Kingdom of Belgium established by royal decree on 25 October 1915. It was primarily awarded for bravery or other military virtue on the battlefield. The award was reesta ...

, the French

Médaille Militaire The ''Médaille militaire'' (, "Military Medal") is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, ...

and the Spanish Grand Laurelled Cross of San Fernando.

Early life

Henry Kelly was born to Charles Kelly of

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and Jane (née McGarry) of

. He was left the oldest of 10 children after his father died in 1904. He was educated at St Patrick's School and

Xaverian College Xaverian College is a Roman Catholic college located in Rusholme, Manchester, England, approximately south of the city centre. Established in 1862, it is recognised as being one of the most oversubscribed sixth form colleges in Greater Manches ...

, both in Manchester. After moving to King Street in Moston, he was employed as a sorting clerk at the Newton Street sorting office and trained with the 'Manchester

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

territorial Regiment'. On 5 September 1914, aged 27, he enlisted into the

Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders or 79th (The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. It amalgamated with the Seaforth Highlanders (the Duke of Albany's) to form ...

as a private. He transferred to the

Manchester Regiment The Manchester Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1958. The regiment was created during the 1881 Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot and the 96th R ...

and became a lance corporal and two weeks later a sergeant major. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 12 May 1915 into the

Duke of Wellington's Regiment The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

(West Riding Regiment), and was posted to France the same month. On 29 October 1916 he was awarded the Victoria Cross, and, after being presented with his VC ribbon by the corps commander on 11 September, he was made a temporary lieutenant.

Award of Victoria Cross

On 4 October 1916, when Kelly was 29 years old, he performed an act of bravery at

Le Sars Le Sars is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France south of Arras. Population See also *Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department References Sars Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS ...

, France, for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Later he was also awarded the

and the French

Award of Military Cross

Kelly was made a temporary captain in September 1917 and in 1918 moved with the 10th Battalion to Italy. In June 1918, Kelly saw action in Italy on the

Asiago Asiago (; Venetian language, Venetian: ''Axiago'', Cimbrian: ''Slege'', German language, German: ''Schlägen'' ) is a minor township (population roughly 6,500) with the title of ciin the surrounding plateau region (the ''Altopiano di Asiago'' o ...

Plateau, where he led a successful raid on Ave, to the south of Asiago, on the night of 21–22 June, after which he was awarded the Military Cross:

Award of Bar to Military Cross

Kelly was involved in later actions on Il Montello above the River Piave. On 27 October 1918 during the Battle of the Piave River he led a successful attack across the Piave, after which he was awarded a bar to his Military Cross: Kelly left the army in 1920, having been promoted to the rank of temporary major.

Between the wars

Kelly spent 1922–1923 in the

Irish National Army The National Army, sometimes unofficially referred to as the Free State Army or the Regulars, was the army of the Irish Free State from January 1922 until October 1924. Its role in this period was defined by its service in the Irish Civil War, ...

during the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

, then later joined the

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

, in 1936, as a foreign volunteer fighting against

Fascists Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social h ...

in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

and was ranked Comandante General. Here he was awarded the Grand Laurelled Cross of San Fernando. After the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, aged 52, he rejoined the British army and served as a lieutenant in the Pioneer Corps from December 1940, transferring to the

Cheshire Regiment The Cheshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The 22nd Regiment of Foot was raised by the Henry Howard, 7th Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence ...

in October 1941. From October 1943 until February 1944, he was in charge of the District Claims office of London District, at Curzon Street. He was at that time court martialled and severely reprimanded for making an allegedly false claim for £2 10s. In November 1944 he resigned his commission and left the army to return to work for the Post Office.

Post 1945

Kelly continued to work for the Post Office and lived in

Wythenshawe Wythenshawe () is an area of Manchester, England. Historically part of Cheshire, in 1931 Wythenshawe was transferred to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a large housing estate there in the 1920s. With an area of approximately , ...

, Manchester. Following a long illness Kelly died, on 18 January 1960, in Prestwich Hospital. He was buried in

Southern Cemetery, Manchester Southern Cemetery is a large municipal cemetery in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, England, south of the Manchester city centre, city centre. It opened in 1879 and is owned and administered by Manchester City Council. It is the largest municipal ...

Medal location

Kelly's Victoria Cross is displayed in The Duke of Wellington's Regimental Museum, located within the

Bankfield Museum Bankfield Museum is a grade II listed building, listed historic house museum, incorporating a regimental museum and textiles gallery in Boothtown, Halifax, West Yorkshire, Halifax, England. It is notable for its past ownership and development ...

Halifax, West Yorkshire Halifax is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. In the 15th century, the town became an economic hub of the old West Riding of Yorkshire, primarily in woo ...

, England.Duke of Wellington's Regimental Website