Lance Sergeant Thomas Patrick Neely, (28 March 1897 – 1 October 1918) 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 ...

(VC), the highest 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. A soldier with

The King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army. It served under various titles and fought in many wars and conflicts, including both the First and the Second World Wars, from 1680 to 1959. In 1959, the ...

, he was awarded the VC for his actions in late September 1918, during the

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Western Front, the Allies pushed the Imperial Germa ...

of 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 ...

. He was killed in action a few days later.

Early life

Thomas Neely was born on 28 March 1897 in Poulton-cum-Seacombe,

Wallasey Wallasey () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the mouth of the River Mersey, on the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic county bou ...

, then part of

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, one of seven children of James and Agnes Neely. The family surname was often spelt Neeley. His father was a gasfitter but performed labouring work for several years. The family moved to Walton in Liverpool, where Neely attended St. Fancis de Sales School. After finishing his education, Neely worked for a grain mill that produced animal feed.

First World War

In September 1914, Neely enlisted 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 ...

. Of small stature, he was posted 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 ...

's Bantam Battalion, but later transferred to

, part of 76th Brigade, 3rd Division. In July 1918, Neely's award of a

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the British Armed Forces, armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, below commissioned o ...

(MM) was gazetted and he was sent on leave shortly afterwards. On his return to his unit, the 8th Battalion, he was promoted to corporal. During the

Battle of the Canal du Nord The Battle of Canal du Nord was part of the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War by the Allies against German positions on the Western Front. The battle took place in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, along an incomplete porti ...

on 27 September, the 8th Battalion was leading the advance of 76th Brigade. It encountered a series of machinegun posts at the village of

Flesquières Flesquières () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department *Marcel Gaumont Marcel Gaumont was a French sculptor born on 27 January 1880 in Tours. He died in Paris on ...

, which made casualties of most of the battalion's officers. The advance was held up until Neely and two others assaulted the machinegun posts. Later in the advance, he made additional solo forays to deal with German-held positions that were delaying the battalion. For his actions, he was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC). The VC, instituted in 1856, was the highest award for valour that could be bestowed on a soldier of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. The citation read as follows: Immediately after his VC-winning action, Neely was promoted in the field to

lance sergeant Lance sergeant (LSgt or L/Sgt) is a military appointment in the armies of the Commonwealth and formerly also a rank in the United States Army. Commonwealth Lance-sergeant in the armies of the Commonwealth was an appointment given to a corporal ...

. Neely was killed in action just a few days later, on 1 October 1918, at

Rumilly-en-Cambrésis Rumilly-en-Cambrésis is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 647 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes c ...

, just south of

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; ; ), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Escaut river. A sub-pref ...

. He was buried at Masnieres British Cemetery in

Marcoing Marcoing () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. History During World War I, there was an alleged incident between a British soldier named Henry Tandey and Adolf Hitler in this area. Hitler was unarmed and appeared wounded, ...

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

presented Neely's VC to his parents in a ceremony at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

on 27 February 1920. There are several memorials to Neely; a plaque at

the Priory The Priory Hospital, Roehampton, often referred to as The Priory, is a private mental health hospital in South West London. It was founded in 1872 and is part of the Priory Group. The Priory has an international reputation and, because of the ...

in Lancaster, a memorial board in

Wallasey Town Hall Wallasey Town Hall is a municipal building on Brighton Street in Wallasey, Merseyside, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Wirral Council until 2023, is a Grade II* listed building. History In the early 20th century, Wallase ...

, and he is listed, along with the names of 11 other VC winners from

the Wirral The Wirral Peninsula (), known locally as the Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide, and is bounded by the Dee Estuary to the west, the Mersey Estuary to the east, and Liverpool ...

, Ellesmere Port, and Neston districts, on a plaque on the Birkenhead Cenotaph Memorial.

Medals

Neely's family retained his medals, absent the campaign medals to which he was entitled but which was never received, for several decades. In June 2010, it was alleged that the VC and MM was stolen from his grand-nephew's home. However, this was found to be a hoax and the grand-nephew was later charged for wasting police time. The family later put the VC and MM up for auction and it was sold on 25 November 2010 to a private buyer for £110,000.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neely, Thomas 1897 births 1918 deaths Cheshire Regiment soldiers People from Wallasey King's Own Royal Regiment soldiers British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I Recipients of the Military Medal British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Burials at Masnieres British Cemetery Military personnel from Merseyside