Born in 1905 in Ireland, Dermot O'Neill received a basic education in hand-to-hand combat in his youth, but his real studies began in his 20s when he signed on as an ocean-going sailor and jumped ship in Shanghai. Like many young men in search of adventure, he answered the call for recruits for the Shanghai Municipal Police. Operating in a notoriously dangerous setting, the SMP became an incubator for innovative close-quarters battle techniques; new hand-to-hand combat training methods synergizing European and Asian techniques, refinements of knife combat techniques, and a whole school of high speed pistol shooting emerged, and many members of the SMP would be tapped by the Western Allies to turn their recruits into high-speed killing machines. O'Neill thrived in this environment, taking to multiple schools of Chinese and Japanese martial arts quickly, rising to the rank of Detective Sergeant, and being tapped for the Reserve Unit, a riot control and special investigation force today recognized as one of the forerunners of the modern Special Weapons and Tactics concept. For the latter role he was hand picked by Assistant Commissioner William Fairbairn, one of the most famous names in 20th century armed and unarmed combat, an association that would come up later. In the late 1930s, O'Neill took a job offer in Japan, running security for the British Legation in Tokyo and continuing his martial studies. Sensing that the rise in anti-Western and pro-imperialist feelings in Japan meant nothing good, he took his leave of Japan; for this reason, he was in Australia when the Pearl Harbor attack happened. Recruited by Fairbairn to join him in training Allied soldiers, O'Neill went to America and then proceeded to Camp X, aka Special Training School 103, a clandestine school where agents for the Special Operations Executive, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Office of Strategic Services were trained in the deadly arts by men like Fairbairn, Eric Sykes, and O'Neill. While at X, O'Neill came onto the radar of Robert T. Frederick, commander of the First Special Service Force, who wanted to borrow him as a trainer. According to legend, O'Neill originally volunteered to just work with the unit for a few months, but in the end requested to formally join the unit in the field. Reportedly, this was done under the polite fiction of him being one of the Canadian contingent assigned as Frederick's personal bodyguard; given that Frederick's leadership style more or less consisted of taking point and making everyone else keep up with him, this was an exceptionally tough and dangerous job. Following the disbandment of the Force, O'Neill went back to the OSS, operated briefly as a Provost Martial, and acted as a liaison in Okinawa. After the war ended, he spent time consulting with the U.S. government and the Canadian Army. With the Americans, he became involved with the International Police Academy, an outfit with deep links to the CIA with a curriculum much rougher than the name would indicate. With the Canadians, he was involved in further refinement and teaching of the combat methods introduced by the Shanghai Police, including working with other former Special Service Force members. After a lifetime of what could be fairly described as death-defying adventure on multiple continents, O'Neill died of pneumonia in 1985. The cap is of olive drab twill construction, with tan rayon lining, a leather sweatband ink stamped "DMO'NEILL" on the left side, and the signature red, white and blue trim of the SSF around the edge. A parachutist badge was secured to the left side with glue, and is now detached but still included. The blouse is of olive drab serge construction, with the Canadian Broad Arrow, 1943 date, maker's marks for the Workman Uniform Company of Montreal, and the initials "DMO" ink stamped in the inside of the left breast pocket. Externally, the blouse is decorated with three wound stripes, three overseas service chevrons, a set of Sergeant's rank patches, a "CANADA" patch on each shoulder, the SSF "USA/CANADA" arrowhead patch on the left arm, the red, white and blue SSF shoulder cord on the left shoulder, and a parachutist badge on the left breast. The dagger is a typical F-S pattern, with a blued steel blade and guard and a darkened ribbed brass grip, 11 1/2 inches overall with a 6 7/8 inch double edged blade, marked "SHEFFIELD/ENGLAND" on the guard. The sheath is a special parachutist's model, designed to be strapped to the sleeve, bearing the Canadian Broad Arrow on the back next to a Sheffield maker's mark and the model nomenclature. This dagger and sheath combination can be seen on page 133 of Angolia's "Heroes in Our Midst"; on this page it is directly attributed to O'Neill. While the Case V-42 was the signature sidearm of the SSF, in the formative days of the unit there was a wide array of knives and daggers, with the F-S being a very popular option.

Very fine overall, with the cloth items showing a few minor spots and stains, including service-appropriate sweat staining in the interiors. The dagger is also very fine, with some mild wear on the high points, and the sheath shows some light scuffs and stains. Overall a highly impressive grouping from one of the men who helped make the OSS and the First Special Service Force the terrors of Europe.