Ian McKay

For other people named Ian McKay, see Ian McKay (disambiguation).

Ian John McKay
Born(1953-05-07)7 May 1953
Wortley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Died12 June 1982(1982-06-12) (aged 29)
Mount Longdon, Falkland Islands
Buried
Aldershot Military Cemetery
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1970–1982
RankSergeant
Unit3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment
Battles/warsThe Troubles
Falklands War
AwardsVictoria Cross

Ian John McKay, VC (7 May 1953 – 12 June 1982) was a British Army soldier and a posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Born in Wortley, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire, McKay was the eldest of the three sons of Kenneth John McKay, a steel worker, and Freda Doreen Hargreaves. He was educated at Rotherham Grammar School.[1]

McKay left school at seventeen and in August 1970 enlisted in the Army, training as a paratrooper.[1] Posted to the 1st Battalion, the Parachute Regiment (1 Para) in early 1971, he served in Northern Ireland, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

On 30 January 1972, McKay was part of a patrol on the streets of Derry involved in the killing of unarmed civilians known as Bloody Sunday. In official reports concerning the massacre he is referred to as Soldier T. An inquiry concluded that McKay was likely responsible for firing the shot which wounded Patrick Brolly. However, the inquiry determined that he was the only soldier present who had not fired indiscriminately, had a valid reason to fire, and had not intended to shoot Brolly. The inquiry found that if he did fire the shots which wounded Brolly, he unintentionally hit him while aiming at another man who was throwing bottles containing acid at him.[2][3]

By April 1982 he was platoon sergeant of 4 Platoon, B Company, 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment,[4] and deployed with his unit for service in the Falklands War. He was killed during the Battle of Mount Longdon, for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

  1. ^ a b Adkin, Mark (2004). "McKay, Ian John". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/71667. Retrieved 21 November 2021. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ Saville, Mark (15 June 2010). "Principal Conclusions and Overall Assessment of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry" (PDF).
  3. ^ Coghlan, Tom (9 June 2012). "New biography of Sergeant Ian McKay". The Times.
  4. ^ "The Living History of the Parachute Regiment". Retrieved 16 January 2013.