From pit pony boy to Victoria Cross

Born in Murton in 1894, McNally attended Murton Colliery School until he was 14, when he went to work underground as a pit pony boy. In September 1914, he was one of thousands of Durham miners to join the army, enlisting in the Yorkshire Regiment, now known as the Green Howards. A year later, after intensive training, McNally and fellow members of the 8th battalion travelled to France as part of the 23rd Infantry Division. At Contalmaison in July 1916, during the Battle of the Somme, 13820 Private McNally gained the first of his three gallantry awards – the Military Medal – when he dragged a seriously-wounded officer to safety. Then, in early November 1917, he was awarded a bar to his Military Medal after he three-times rescued men wounded or buried by enemy shell fire at Passchendaele, near Ypres. It was his actions in October 1918 that earned him the military’s highest accolade. Despite being wounded three times, McNally returned to work at Murton Colliery after the war. He served in the Home Guard during the Second World War and finally retired in 1958 aged 65. He died in Murton in January 1976 and, two years later, a stone memorial was unveiled on the village green, where the new VC stone will be installed. Coun John Lethbridge, chairman of Durham County Council, said: “This is the final VC memorial stone to be installed in County Durham. “It has been extremely moving to see communities across the county commemorate their heroes over the last four years.”