A plaque has been unveiled in Cookstown in memory of war doctor and soldier

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by Gráinne Connolly

A blue plaque has been unveiled at Lissan Parish Church in Cookstown, honouring Brigadier J A Sinton. 

John Alexander Sinton is the first Irish medic to be awarded the Victoria Cross. 

He's an acclaimed solder for both his medical and military work. 

Sinton has been remembered as a soldier who braved heavy gunfire to aid wounded troops in the Middle East during World War 1. 

In one case he was shot in both arms and his side but refused to go to hospital and continued to attend his duties while under fire. 

Before joining the Medical Service of the Indian Army, he studied medicine at Queen's University in Belfast. 

After years in the army, he retired in Cookstown where he died in his home at Slaghtfreedan Lodge in Cookstown, 1956. 

The Ulster History Circle honoured his memory by unveiling a blue plaque. 

His grandson Nial Watson carried out the unveiling, exactly 61 years after his grandfather's funeral.

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