Sapper (1888 - 1937)

Cyril McNeile MC (born Herman Cyril McNeile; 28 September 1888 – 14 August 1937) was a British soldier and author. Drawing on his experiences in the trenches during the First World War, he started writing short stories and getting them published in the Daily Mail. As serving officers in the British Army were not permitted to publish under their own names, he was given the pen name "Sapper" by Lord Northcliffe, the owner of the Daily Mail; the nickname was based on that of his regiment, the Royal Engineers.