Timothy O'Hea VC (abt. 1843 - abt. 1874)

Born about 11 Jun 1843 in Schull, County Cork, Ireland

Died about 8 Nov 1874 at about age 31 in Tirari Desert-Sturt Stony Desert, Australia

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Biography

Timothy O'Hea VC is Notable.

Timothy O'Hea VC was baptised on 11 June 1843 at Schull (or Scoil), a small fishing village on Roaringwater Bay, on the south western coast of County Cork, Ireland. The baptism record lists him as Timothy, son of Timothy Heas and Margaret Stanley.^[1]

His family moved shortly thereafter some thirty kilometres to Bheanntraí (Bantry), at the head of Bantry Bay, where Timothy was raised. Bantry was a base for major pilchard fisheries.

The book, "The Victoria Cross Wars, ..." by Brian Best (published 2017) says that he was baptised on 11 June 1843, and his brother John O'Hea was baptised 10 Jan 1846. ^[2] The Australian Dictionary of National Biography and Dictionary of Canadian Biography list his birth as 1846 in Bantry.^[3][4] Wikipedia lists 1843 but does not provide a source for this.^[5]

Canada

Timothy joined the 1st Battalion, Prince Consort’s Own Rifle Brigade on 6th November 1863 as No. 755 Private O'Hea. He was sent to Canada with his regiment in August 1864, initially as part of the Quebec garrison. To the south, The United States-Confederate States Civil War was drawing to its conclusion. The Canadian government were deeply concerned about the prospects of Irish combatants joining the Fenian Brotherhood, then attempting subversion in Canada. ^[3]

O'Hea was one of four battalion members selected to guard a shipment of munitions being transported to Montreal. On 9th June 1866 at Danville, Canada East, between Quebec City and Montreal, a fire broke out in the railway carriage containing 2,000 pounds (910 kg) of ammunition. The carriage was attached to a passenger train carrying 800 German immigrants. The alarm was given and the car disconnected. O'Hea took the keys from his sergeant's hand, rushed to the car, opened it and fought the fire for almost an hour; single-handedly extinguishing the fire. ^[3]

On 1 January 1867, he was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC): the only instance in which the VC has been awarded for service within Canada and the first awarded for an act of valour not performed in the presence of an enemy. The accompanying diploma had the words 'For conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy' struck-out and substituted with 'For conspicuous courage under circumstances of great danger'.^[6] The award was presented to him in person on 25 April 1867 at the parade ground in Quebec.^[2]

In 1881, the special regulations governing the Victoria Cross reverted to an award only available in the presence of the enemy. In later years, the comparably meritorious George Cross was awarded for such acts of bravery as O'Hea had performed. ^[4]

Timothy O'Hea VC

Ireland

Timothy was a police officer in Ireland and New Zealand

Shortly afterwards, O’Hea returned to Britain. He left the British Army on 17th March 1868 and returned to Ireland, whereupon he enlisted in the Irish Police Force.

New Zealand

Timothy O'Hea migrated to New Zealand in 1871. There, he joined the Otago Provincial Police Force and was stationed on the gold diggings of the Otago Province, South Island. He soon moved to the North Island, where he joined the New Zealand Armed Constabulary (Mounted Police) and served in the dying stages of the Maori Wars in the central districts of the island. ^[5]

Australia

Timothy was a member of the search party for the survivor of the Leichhardt Expedition

In June 1874 he arrived Sydney, in the Colony of New South Wales, aboard the Hero and made himself known to Eccleston du Faur of the New South Wales Lands Office, Du Faur was also the organiser of the Hume Expedition to 'look for a reported survivor of the Ludwig Leichhardt expedition lost some twenty years earlier in the interior of the country', O'Hea was soon enlisted in the search party, joining Andrew Hume near Murrurundi and travelling on horse north-west towards the Queensland border. ^[3] They reached the border at the Barwon River in early August, whereupon stockman and ex-soldier Lewis Thompson joined the team; continuing from there to Cunnamulla. The small party made Thargomindah Station in early October and Nockatunga Station by the end of that month, in the inhospitable Tirari Desert-Sturt Stony Desert, on the border of Queensland and South Australia. From Nockatunga, the party mistakenly headed too far to the south west and then, turning west, missed meeting Cooper's Creek and were travelling parallel to it. All extremely weak, Lewis Thompson, being the strongest, went searching for water and returned the following day. O'Hea and Hume were not where Thompson had left them. ^[7]

Thompson made his way back to Nockatunga and to raise the alarm and lead a further search party. It is presumed that both O'Hea and Hume died of thirst, about 8th November 1874; whilst Hume's body was subsequently discovered and buried, O'Hea's dead horse and weapons were located, but no sign of his body has ever been made. A memorial stands on Nockatunga to O'Hea's memory (some biographies state that he is buried on Nockatunga, however his body has never been found). ^[7][8]

(l to r) Timothy O'Hea, Andrew Hume & Lewis Thompson

O'Hea's VC remained for many years in the National Art Gallery in Sydney, ultimately being found stashed in a drawer of a desk, before being presented to the regimental museum in Winchester, England where it remains on display. ^[9] A duplicate medal, albeit with an incorrect date of issue, exists in the United States.^[2][7]

Research Note

The book, "The Victoria Cross Wars, ..." by Brian Best, and published in 2017, claims that the reason for Timothy's discharge from the Army and return to Ireland was that his health had severely deteriorated, and that he was medically discharged on 17 March 1868. Further, that on his death in Ireland, Timothy's identity - and therefore modest pension - was assumed by a younger brother, John O'Hea, born in 1846. John then travelled to the other side of the world. Best argues that evidence for this includes Timothy's poor health, the subsequent confusion in birth dates (1843 or 1846), and small differences in other records and photos.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Baptism record, Timothy Heas, 11 June 1843, Church Records, Schull East Parish, Cork & Ross County, Ireland. CR-RC-BA-335592 Available at irishgenealogy.ie. [Note that the transcript lists 4 June, but the original record is clearly 11 June.]
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} "The Victoria Cross Wars", by Brian Best (Frontline Press, 2017), pages https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Victoria_Cross_Wars/S2HNDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Timothy+O%27Hea+1843+1874&pg=PT105&printsec=frontcover]
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} Chisholm, A H. 'O'Hea, Timothy (1846–1874)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1974; accessed online 20 Mar 2020
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Dictionary of Canadian Biography: Timothy O'Hea; accessed 20 Jun 2019
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Wikipedia profile: Timothy O'Hea; accessed 20 Jun 2019
6. ↑ London Gazette 1 January 1867 Issue: 23204 Page: 22; accessed 20 Jun 2019
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} Perrin, Les. The Mystery of the Leichhardt Survivor: the story of men who sought to solve it. Len Johnston Printers, Sandgate QLD, 1995. ISBN 0 646 02243 1
8. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #7768252 Timothy O'Hea Gravesite, Nockatunga Station, Bulloo Shire, Queensland, Australia - Alleged or in dispute burial location
9. ↑ VC Online The Comprehensive Guide to the Victoria & George Cross: Timothy O'Hea VC; accessed 1 Sep 2023

See also

• Genealogy of the O'Hea Family of South West Cork; accessed 21 Mar 2020. (Provides context, but no direct information.)