Brave hero of long gone years (3)

I believe the answer is:

ney

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'brave hero' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'of long gone years' is the wordplay.
'of' indicates a hidden word.
'NEY' can be found hidden inside 'long gone years'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ney that I've seen before include "French marshal sound negitative" , "One of Napoleon's marshals" , "French soldier" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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