Allegiance United Kingdom Rank Private Awards Victoria Cross | Died 1874, Tirari Desert Service/branch British Army | |
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Buried at Noccundria Station, Queensland, Australia Unit 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) Similar Queen Victoria, Billy Congreve, Victor Buller Turner, Sidney Woodroffe, Cecil Noble | ||
Timothy O'Hea VC (1843 – 1874), born in Schull, County Cork, was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for valour that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
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VC
O'Hea was about 23 years old, and a private in the 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own), British Army stationed in Canada when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 9 June 1866 at Danville, Quebec, Canada, a fire broke out in a railway car containing 2000 lb (900 kg) of ammunition, between Quebec and Montreal. The alarm was given and the car was disconnected at Danville Railway Station. While the sergeant in charge was considering what should be done, Private O'Hea took the keys from his hand, rushed to the car, opened it and called for water and a ladder. It was due to this man's example that the fire was suppressed.
Australia
O'Hea was said to have died in the Tirari Desert-Sturt Stony Desert region of central Australia in November 1874 while searching for a lost member of the Leichhardt expedition. Graham Fischer was present at the death but did not describe the specifics on the event. A recent book by Elizabeth Reid, The Singular Journey of O'Hea's Cross, poses the theory that Timothy O'Hea in fact died in Ireland, shortly after his discharge from the British Army in 1868. His identity and VC annuity were then assumed by his brother John, and it is this man who actually died in Australia.
The medal
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Royal Green Jackets Museum (Winchester, England).