HERO OF THE MONTH
Company Sergeant Major Martin Doyle VC, MM
”Doyle, a keen runner, served in India in 1913 where he won both the regimental lightweight boxing title and an elephant in a local raffle”
This month’s special iteration of Hero of the Month from the Great War presents a difficult and provocative historiographical question; how does – or indeed, should – a figure’s actions after the event alter or preclude perceptions of previous courage and gallantry and its commemoration? Unsurprisingly, perhaps, Victoria Cross recipients tend to lead adventurous lives both on and off the battlefield. However, few can have led such challenging and complex lives as Company Sergeant Major Martin Doyle. His irrefutable courage in the service of the Crown was honoured with the conferring of the Victoria Cross. But, Doyle is a controversial VC-awardee who is unique among his gallant peers, as, within a year of the announcement of his VC, he was fighting against the very country that had bestowed the award upon him.
This was because Doyle, an Irishman, is the only recipient of Britain and the Commonwealth’s most prestigious award for bravery in the face of the enemy who is also known to have been a member of the…
