Denis Kilcommons
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Henry Kelly VC

11/8/2013

7 Comments

 
PictureHenry Kelly VC
UNCLE Henry was not in his right mind when he went to live with my wife Maria's family. He wandered round the house with a large set of rosary beads around his neck, always looking to escape.
My wife was only a little girl but she remembers him well. He was with them for several months until they realised they couldn't cope with his behaviour and he was taken into care. He died in a Manchester mental hospital in 1960.
It was sad end for a genuine war hero.
Henry Kelly enlisted as private at the outbreak of the First World War, was promoted from the ranks to become an officer in the Duke of Wellington's Regiment, fought at the Somme, Ypres and the Menin Road, and in the Italian campaign, and won the Victoria Cross, the Military Cross and Bar, the Belgian Croix de Guerre and the French Medaille Militaire.
He ended the war Major Kelly and in the 1920s went to Ireland to help train the new Irish National Army. In 1936 he joined the International Brigade to fight fascism in the Spanish Civil War. His rank was
Commandente Generale and he was awarded the Grand Laurelled Cross of San Fernando.
The citation for his VC in part reads: "For most conspicuous bravery in an attack …he then carried his Company Sergeant Major, who had been wounded, back to our trenches, a distance of 70 yards, and subsequently three other soldiers. He set a fine example of gallantry and endurance."
His VC is displayed in The Duke of Wellington's Regimental Museum in Halifax.
Uncle Henry's bravery is well recorded but no less a hero was my Uncle Ernie. He served in the Second World War and was on the beaches at Dunkirk. Because he was a big fit man he stayed in the water for hours helping smaller men into the armada of little boats who rescued the British Expeditionary Force from the beaches under the bombardment of the Germans.
Uncle Ernie escaped, returned to Europe to fight again, but got no medals – he got cancer. I remember him, cheerful as ever although bed-ridden, as he slowly succumbed to the one battle he couldn't survive.
Every family will have someone who was involved in those world wars and subsequent conflicts around the globe. Ordinary men and women who served their country with pride and honour and comradeship. They did not ask to fight; they could not debate the morality of issues: they served, they died, they came home wounded and, sometimes, traumatised.
The wars have come and gone since then, big and small. Korea, Vietnam, Falklands, the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan Sometimes the reasons have been valid, sometimes dubious. But in each case one element has been constant: the bravery, professionalism and commitment of our servicemen and women. Which is why I wear a poppy with pride, not for the death and awfulness of war, but for the sacrifice and humanity of our troops.
On Remembrance Sunday, I shall remember them: Uncle Henry and Uncle Ernie and all the young men and women now serving at home and in foreign fields.





7 Comments
Richard Donkin link
11/7/2013 08:40:16 pm

Thank you for this Denis. It says it all, doesn't it.

Reply
Jason Evans
4/22/2014 02:49:03 am

Hello,
Henry Kelly was my Grandfathers uncle, I'm just getting round to doing some research and found your blog. Hoping to visit his grave this year and also the museum in Halifax where his medal is. It would be nice to know more about the family if you feel like emailing......?
Best regards
Jason

Reply
Aidan Collins
5/2/2014 06:30:12 pm

I found a copy of an order for Henry Kelly's gravestone on the street in Dublin in 1996. I found it again this AM in a copy of Tom Johnstone's "Orange, Green and Khaki". I remember being delighted at the time because I had been aware of the man from a conversation I had with the Spanish Civil War veteran Mick O'Riordan.

Reply
kristen den hartog link
10/6/2015 08:37:05 am

Hello Denis. How lovely to come across this sad story about your uncle. I am a volunteer with the Imperial War Museum's Lives of the First World War site, currently adding photos and stories to pages about VCs. I would love to include the photograph here, with your permission, and would invite you to "remember" your uncle on the site and perhaps even upload your own story. Do let me know about the photo.

Reply
Bernard Flynn
1/19/2016 03:39:18 pm

Hello Denis, I am a member of the Wythenshawe History group and came across Major Henry Kelly's story while helping the Northenden social club research for their centenary celebrations. It was founded as the Comrades of the Great war club and Henry was their first honary life member.

Reply
Dan Hill
9/20/2016 04:36:50 am

Hi Denis,

I am currently searching for relatives of Henry Kelly VC on behalf of Manchester City Council and ask that you might be able to drop me a quick email when you see this?

Many thanks,

Dan

Reply
Adam Pode
10/2/2021 10:51:04 am

Henry sounds like an amazing man. I first heard about him when visiting the Duke of Wellington Museum. Interestingly they believe he fought for Franco not the International Brigade and his award seem to reinforce this. Do you have any more information?

Reply



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