Herman Cyril McNeile,
MC (28 September 1888 – 14 August 1937), commonly known as
Cyril McNeile and publishing under the name
H. C. McNeile or the pseudonym
Sapper, 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 corps, the
Royal Engineers.