Colonel Sir Michael William McCorkell was an Irish born soldier and British public servant, serving as Lord Lieutenant of County Londonderry for 25 years.
Occupation
military personnel
Position held
High Sheriff of County Londonderry, Lord Lieutenant of County Londonderry
Citizenship
United Kingdom
Born
May 3, 1925
Died
November 13, 2006
Overview
Colonel Sir Michael William McCorkell (3 May 1925 – 13 November 2006) was an Irish born soldier and British public servant, serving as Lord Lieutenant of County Londonderry for 25 years.
Early life
McCorkell was the son of Capt. B. F. McCorkell DL, of Templeard, Culmore, County Londonderry. His uncle, Sir Dudley McCorkell, had also been Lord Lieutenant of County Londonderry. He was born in Buncrana, Inishowen, County Donegal in 1925 and was educated at Rockport School in Holywood, County Down, and at Aldenham School. The outbreak of World War II and the subsequent curtailment of travel caused him to finish his education at Campbell College.
Military career
During the war, he joined the Royal Artillery as a gunner before being commissioned into the Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) Officer Cadet Training Unit (OCTU) at Sandhurst. The Royal Military College had closed on the outbreak of war. He served with the 16th/5th Lancers, choosing that regiment because of its Irish heritage; the 5th had been the Royal Irish Lancers until 1922. In December 1944, he joined the regiment in the Apennine mountains where it was serving in an infantry role. As he was only 19 his father had had to sign a certificate to allow him to be posted overseas.
