Michael John O'Leary | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 29 September 1890 Macroom, County Cork |
| Died | 1 August 1961 (aged 70) Islington, London |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |  Royal Navy  British Army |
| Years of service | 1906 – 1910 (Royal Navy) 1910 – 1913, 1914 – 1921, 1939 – 1945 (British Army) |
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | Irish Guards Connaught Rangers Middlesex Regiment |
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Victoria Cross Mentioned in Despatches Cross of St. George |
Major Michael John O'Leary VC (29 September 1890 – 2 August 1961) was an Irish soldier and police officer who was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth military personnel. O'Leary achieved his award for single-handedly charging and destroying two Imperial German Army barricades defended by machine gun positions near the French village of Cuinchy, in a localised operation on the Western Front during World War I.
At the time of his action, O'Leary was a nine-year veteran of the British Armed Forces and by the time he retired from the British Army in 1921, he had reached the rank of lieutenant. He served in the army again during World War II, although his later service was blighted by periods of ill-health. At his final retirement from the military in 1945, O'Leary was in command of a prisoner-of-war camp at the rank of Major. Between the wars, O'Leary spent many years employed as a police officer in Canada and is sometimes considered to be a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross. Following the end of the Second World War, he worked as a building contractor in London, where he died in 1961.