William Stephen Kenealy

At W Beach, he carried vital messages under relentless fire.

William Stephen Kenealy was born at Wexford, Ireland, on 26 December 1886. His family later moved to Lancashire, where he worked in coal mining before joining the Lancashire Fusiliers in 1909. He served in India before joining the 1st Battalion in the Gallipoli campaign.

On 25 April 1915, the battalion landed at W Beach, near Cape Helles, under severe Ottoman machine-gun fire. Kenealy carried messages during the assault and helped the men force their way through defended wire to gain and hold the position. His comrades selected him for exceptional courage in the collective action. The Victoria Cross citation was published in The London Gazette on 24 August 1915. The landing became known as the story of the Six VCs Before Breakfast. Kenealy was a Private at the time of the action.

He continued fighting on the Gallipoli Peninsula, including the Krithia operations described in regimental histories. Wounded at Gully Ravine on 28 June, he died of his wounds the following day, aged 28. His grave at Lancashire Landing Cemetery records him as a Lance Sergeant. His parents received his posthumous Victoria Cross from King George V in November 1916.