Thomas Kenny

For more than an hour, he carried his officer through enemy fire.

Thomas Kenny VC, a County Durham miner serving with the 13th (Service) Battalion, Durham Light Infantry, refused to abandon a wounded officer during one of the First World War's extraordinary battlefield rescues.

Born at South Wingate on 4 April 1882, Kenny worked in the local coalfields before enlisting in 1914. He arrived in France on 26 August 1915 with the battalion, part of the 68th Infantry Brigade, 23rd Division.

On 4 November 1915, Private Kenny accompanied Lieutenant Philip Brown on patrol near La Houssoie. Thick fog obscured their surroundings when Brown was shot through both thighs. Kenny lifted him onto his back and crawled for more than an hour under enemy fire. Exhausted and struggling to find the British lines, he refused Brown's repeated instructions to leave him and save himself.

Recognising a ditch, Kenny placed Brown under cover, found assistance and returned with a rescue party. Brown reached British lines but died from his wounds. Kenny's Victoria Cross citation recognised his sustained courage and devotion in refusing to abandon his officer. The award was announced in The London Gazette on 7 December 1915. King George V presented the VC at Buckingham Palace on 4 March 1916.

His courage did not end with the Victoria Cross. During the Battle of the Somme on 17 July 1916, Kenny carried the seriously wounded Frank Moody to safety. Moody survived but lost a leg. Kenny later served in Italy and returned to France before his discharge in 1919.

Back in County Durham, he resumed mining at Wheatley Hill and South Wingate. During the Second World War, he served with the 22nd Battalion, Durham Home Guard, contributing to Britain's domestic defence. This was home service rather than another overseas combat deployment.

Thomas Kenny died on 29 November 1948 and was buried at Wheatley Hill Cemetery. His story joins the courage of a frontline infantryman with the working life of the Durham coalfields, remembered above all for his determination to bring wounded comrades home.