His most recognized academic work is "A Dictionary of Scientific Units - Including dimensionless numbers and scales co-authored with H. G. Jerrard whilst a lecturer at Southampton University.

[1] McNeill was educated at Portora Royal School, Enniskillen,[1] where he claimed he was administered corporal punishment by Samuel Beckett, his dormitory prefect.

[b] His career was soon interrupted by enlistment to the army in 1939 at the start of World War II and he returned to Northern Ireland.

His first assignment in Northern Ireland as part of the 53rd Welsh Brigade required him to deploy to the west of Dublin should the Germans invade the south.

[1] After the war,McNeill resumed as a physics lecturer at Southampton, and was actively involved with the University Officers' Training Corps.

As an eccentric touch perhaps typical of the period he kept a pink elephant in his room as an introductory icebreaker when communicating with new students.

[1] A key work he co-authored with co-worker Dr. Jerrard was A Dictionary of Scientific Units - Including dimensionless numbers and scales[6] which ran to six editions between 1962 and 1993 and was translated into four languages.

[3] His later years saw him continue to be involved with rowing with all the Lagan clubs and tutoring upcoming scullers with his megaphone from the shoreline.