Ian McKay

Pressing on alone, he attacked the gun blocking his platoon.

Ian John McKay was born at Wortley, near Sheffield, on 7 May 1953. His father worked in the steel industry. Educated at Roughwood Junior School and Rotherham Grammar School, he joined the army in August 1970 and qualified as a parachutist.

He served with the 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment, including a tour in Northern Ireland in 1971, and later worked as a weapons instructor at Aldershot. He married Marcia in December 1976 and became a father and stepfather. By 1982 he was a sergeant with the 3rd Battalion.

During the Falklands War he sailed south with 3 PARA and landed at San Carlos on 21 May. The battalion advanced on foot across East Falkland before attacking Mount Longdon on the night of 11–12 June. McKay's platoon encountered intense resistance from well-positioned Argentine weapons. When his platoon commander was wounded, he took responsibility for the men around him.

He led a small party against a machine-gun position that was preventing further movement. The other men were hit, but McKay continued alone. He attacked the position at close quarters and silenced it, at the cost of his own life. His intervention relieved pressure on the platoon and helped make the battalion's continued advance possible.

His posthumous Victoria Cross was announced in October 1982. Queen Elizabeth II presented it to his widow the following month. His body was returned to Britain and buried at Aldershot Military Cemetery on 26 November 1982. His campaign medals also recognise his Northern Ireland service and participation in the South Atlantic campaign.