Lance Sergeant John “Jack” Moyney
2nd Battalion, Irish Guards
(1895 – 1980)
Broembeek, Belgium – September 12/13, 1917:
Moyney was in command of the Irish Guard’s outposts in this section of Belgium. He bravely held off German advances through machine gun attacks. While his men were retreating from the larger enemy force, he provided cover for their movements (1).
A copy of the London Gazette describing these actions and announcing his V.C. win can be found here
After the War:
As the last living Irish WWI V.C. winner, Jack was celebrated in his native Ireland for decades.
1946: Invited to attend a dinner in London honoring other V.C. winners from around the British Empire. The entire (international) guest list of V.C. winners can be accessed here.
1962: Jack (far left, wearing his Victoria Cross) meets the Queen in a ceremony in London.
1977: a radio interview with Moyney.
There is limited commemoration of Moyney in Ireland compared with other V.C. winners.
(1). Richard Doherty and David Truesdale, Irish Winners of the Victoria Cross (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2000), 127-128.
Further Reading:
Michael Parson, “Jack Moyney – the Irish first World War hero who joined up ‘for the heck of it’,” The Irish Times, March 25, 2014, accessed December 3, 2016, http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/jack-moyney-the-irish-first-world-war-hero-who-joined-up-for-the-heck-of-it-1.1736586.