Ian John McKay, VC (7 May 1953 – 12 June 1982) 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 ...

soldier and a

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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 award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

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forces. Born in Wortley, near

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

, South Yorkshire, McKay was the eldest of the three sons of Kenneth John McKay, a steel worker, and Freda Doreen Hargreaves. He was educated at Rotherham Grammar School. McKay left school at seventeen and in August 1970 enlisted in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

, training as a paratrooper. Posted to the 1st Battalion, the Parachute Regiment (1 Para) in early 1971, he served in

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, Germany, and the United Kingdom. On 30 January 1972, McKay was part of a patrol on the streets of

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

involved in the killing of unarmed civilians known as Bloody Sunday. In official reports concerning the massacre he is referred to as Soldier T. An inquiry concluded that McKay was likely responsible for firing the shot which wounded Patrick Brolly. However, the inquiry determined that he was the only soldier present who had not fired indiscriminately, had a valid reason to fire, and had not intended to shoot Brolly. The inquiry found that if he did fire the shots which wounded Brolly, he unintentionally hit him while aiming at another man who was throwing bottles containing acid at him. By April 1982 he was platoon sergeant of 4

Platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

, B

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, 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, and deployed with his unit for service in the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

. He was killed during the Battle of Mount Longdon, for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

Citation

After initial burial in the Falklands, McKay was later brought home, and on 26 November 1982 he was re-buried with full military honours at Aldershot Military Cemetery.

The medal

McKay's medals were sold by his wife around the year 1989, and his VC is now on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

, London.

Legacy

The Territorial Army centre in Sgt McKay's home town of

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

is named "McKay VC Barracks", also an accommodation block at the Defence Academy at Shrivenham was named McKay House in his honour. In mid October 2011, the Sergeants and Warrant Officers bar at

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Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

, was renamed as "Ian McKay VC Bar" in his honour. The McKay VC Gymnasium is a gym facility and sports hall located across the football fields at Vimy Barracks,

Catterick Garrison Catterick Garrison is a major garrison and List of modern military towns, military town south of Richmond, North Yorkshire, Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world, with a population of around 14 ...

. A facility that oversees the training of recruits from The Parachute Regiment and other Units. McKay was profiled in the 2006 television

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'' Victoria Cross Heroes'', which included archive footage, dramatisations of his actions and an interview with his mother. The Bloody Sunday Inquiry found that, of the soldiers who fired upon civilians, Private T (McKay) was the only one to do so with plausible cause if he was responsible for shooting Patrick Brolly and injuring him.

References

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(Hampshire)''
Falklands Hero: Ian McKay – Warfare Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Ian 1953 births 1982 deaths People from Wortley, South Yorkshire British Parachute Regiment soldiers British Army personnel of the Falklands War British recipients of the Victoria Cross Burials at Aldershot Military Cemetery British military personnel killed in the Falklands War British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Military personnel from South Yorkshire