Lt H K O’Kelly - THE TROPHY GUN
While I was writing ‘The Death of the Dukes’ I often wondered what had become of the pistol taken night by Lt O’Kelly from the dead German General on the night of 31st August, 1914. However, I felt that there was little chance of tracking it down more than a century after those momentous events especially as O’Kelly was wounded and evacuated a few months later when he would have lost touch with most of his kit.
There the matter would have rested, but in November, 2018 I found a letter in my mailbox from the publisher of my book. He was forwarding a letter from Sheelin (Lady De Freyne), the youngest daughter of Lt ‘Harry’ O’Kelly, asking me to contact her. During our subsequent telephone conversation she told me that she was very enthusiastic about my book as, although she knew all the ‘stories’ about her father, she was thrilled to have seen them in print for the first time. It turned out that her father, ‘Harry’, had led an incredibly full and varied life – as a member of the Magic Circle, a member of the Royal Zoological Society, a respected naturalist, an accomplished artist, a champion show jumper and Master of Hounds. With the rank of Lieutenant Colonel he had commanded a Battalion of the Home Guard in WW2 - during which time his troops had actually guarded Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess, for a while after his flight from Germany to the UK. ‘Harry’ O’Kelly died in 1975.
It was during a subsequent conversation with Lady De Freyne that I casually mentioned the ‘trophy gun’ that ‘Harry’ had taken from the dead German General in 1914 and how I had often wondered what had become of it. She surprised me by saying that, as far as she knew, it had been taken to America by one of Harry’s grandsons after Harry’s death in 1975. I asked Lady De Freyne if she thought it would be possible for her nephew in the USA to provide us with a photograph of the weapon which we could upload to this website. Eventually, the astonishing information came back that the ‘trophy gun’ had not been taken to the USA but was in the gun cabinet at a farmhouse in Somerset, England, belonging to Sheelin’s sister. The weapon, a model FN1910, had been manufactured by Fabrique Nationale in Belgium to a Browning design. (Incidentally, a model FN1910 pistol was used to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914 – the event which sparked WWI. The same model had also been the personal ‘weapon of choice’ of Adolph Hitler!)
In brief, the pistol in Somerset had been ‘deactivated’ by ‘Harry’ after he had retired home to Ireland as he had, rightly, worried about it ‘falling into the wrong hands’. Then the gun was brought to the UK with a letter from the Irish Garda regarding its ‘deactivation’. It soon became apparent to my brother Bob and I that the 1970s ‘deactivation’ would probably not meet the new more stringent standards for the deactivation of firearms which had come into force in 2017. The pistol, in its current state, could not be sold, given away or lent to a museum or even inherited by anyone after the death of its owner. It could, however, be ‘gifted’ to a museum which had the requisite license but could only be legally handled by an authorised license holder / dealer. Having ascertained that the current ‘owner’ wished to dispose of the gun rather than allow it be destroyed by the police, I got in touch with Scott Flaving, Hon. Sec. of the Trustees of the Duke of Wellington’s Museum.
Subsequently, on a dark and stormy day in November, 2019, Major (Ret’d) David Harrap, Chairman of the Duke of Wellington’s Museum Trustees, along with the Bankfield Museum armourer, Mr John Spencer, made the long journey by road from Yorkshire to Somerset. There they met members of ‘Harry’ O’Kelly’s family and the ‘trophy gun’ was duly accessioned by The ‘Dukes’ Museum.
The handover in Dorset –
Mr John Spencer, Mrs Sherry Keith-Welsh (‘Harry’ O’Kelly’s granddaughter) & Major (Ret’d) David Harrap.
(Photo courtesy of the Keith-Welsh family)
The Trustees of the Museum wish to convey their sincere thanks to the descendants of ‘Harry’ O’Kelly, particularly to his youngest daughter Sheelin, granddaughter Sherry and grandson Jesse, for the kind donation of the ‘trophy gun’. Jesse was also able to supply the museum / archive with an audio recording of ‘Harry’ O’Kelly speaking about his experiences in WWI as well as copies of some interesting documents and photographs, all of which will form an important addition to the collection.
In December, 2019, my brother Bob and I drove up to Yorkshire to view the ‘trophy gun’, where it is now safely held in The Duke of Wellington’s Regt Museum at Bankfield, Halifax and where the following photographs were taken.
The pistol, a model FN1910, was made by Fabrique Nationale in
Belgium, to a Browning design.
(Photo - Richard Harvey)
The pistol and magazine, which is engraved with the legend - ‘Taken near Crecy from General Commanding Headquarters Staff 1st German Cavalry Division of the Death’s Head
Hussar Regt’.* (Photo - Richard Harvey)
(*This is incorrect. It was actually taken near ‘Crépy-en-Valois’ and the General was possibly – ‘late Death’s Head Hussar Regiment, now Commanding 1st German Cavalry Division’).
The ‘Trophy Gun’ ‘Team’ at Bankfield Museum, Halifax, December, 2019.
Left to right – Bob Sargeant; John Spencer; Graham Sargeant & David Harrap.
(Photo - Richard Harvey).
