Private John Doogan VC

Subject: Private John Doogan VC Mon Feb 20, 2012 12:12 pm

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Private John Doogan VC, Shorncliffe Military Cemetery, Folkstone, Kent, England (also known as the Garrison Cemetery). Plot V. Grave 1054
Photos By Admin. Text By 1879 Graves

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Private John Doogan 1st Dragoon Guards
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"(Boer Revolt 1880-81)
For gallant conduct during the action of Laing's Nek on the 28th January, 1881. During the charge of the mounted men Private Doogan, servant to Major Brownlow, 1st Dragoon Guards, seeing that officer (whose horse had been shot) dismounted and among the Boers, rode up and (though himself severely wounded) dismounted and pressed Major Brownlow to take his horse, receiving another wound while trying to induce him to accept it."

"Private John Doogan VC, 1st (The King's) Dragoon Guards died, aged 86, on 24 January 1940 bequeathing his VC medal group to his family. Shortly after the end or WWII the family presented the Victoria Cross to the colonel of Doogan's regiment in Cardiff Castle. Not sure where to display the VC, the colonel gave the medal to the sergeant's mess, where it was placed over the mess bar for a number of years.
In June 1956 a celebration of the centenary of the instigation of the Victoria Cross was organised, which included an exhibition of VCs held in Marlborough House, London, from 15th June to 7th July 1956. Following a request from the exhibition organisers, the VC awarded to John Doogan was despatched by the regiment to London to join the other 198 VCs on display in Marlborough House.

During this period the 1st Dragoon Guards were ordered overseas, to Malaya, to assist in defeating incursions by communist rebels into that country. Following their tour of duty the regiment returned to Wales completely forgetting about the loan of the Doogan VC to the exhibition and some considerable time later assumed the VC had been lost. Several years later it was decided to try and discover the whereabouts of the Doogan VC and one lead led to a US serviceman who claimed to be in possession of the medal, but an attempt to verify this came to nothing. A later search was made following the serviceman's discharge from the military, but this produced no success either.

In 1997 the colonel of the 1st Queen's Dragoon Guards (renamed following amalgamation) received a letter from the manager of a London bank requesting he pick up two parcels addressed to the regiment that had been discovered in the bank's vaults. The colonel travelled to London, signed for the two packages and returned with them to Cardiff. Back in the regimental barracks the two parcels were carefully opened revealing the Victoria Cross medal group of John Doogan and other effects that had been loaned by the regiment to the VC Centenary Exhibition way back in 1956.

Upon the closure of the exhibition on 7th July 1956, and because the regiment couldn't be contacted, being overseas in Malaya, an official placed the Doogan artefacts in a couple of boxes and placed them in the care of a London bank. And that is where they stayed for the next forty one years."

Subject: Re: Private John Doogan VC Mon Feb 20, 2012 1:57 pm

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For those who wish to visit the grave of John Doogan VC.

Walk through the maingate. Turn left pass the hedge and onto the gravel path. follow the path until it comes to the bend. look down on the cemetary and see the view above. Red line indicates John Doogans grave.