Brigadier General George MacLeay Macarthur-Onslow, (2 May 1875 – 12 September 1931) was an Australian grazier and

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

officer who commanded light horse units during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Early life and career

George MacLeay Macarthur-Onslow was born 2 May 1875 in the town of

Camden, New South Wales Camden is a historic town and suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, located 65 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district. Camden was the administrative centre for the local government area of Camden Council until July 2016 a ...

. He was the great grandson of John Macarthur and

Elizabeth Macarthur Elizabeth Macarthur (14 August 1766 – 9 February 1850) was an English-born landowner and businesswomen who was wife of John Macarthur. Early life Elizabeth Macarthur was born in Bridgerule England, the daughter of provincial farmers, Rich ...

. When his father Arthur Onslow died in 1882, his mother Elizabeth changed her name to Macarthur-Onslow and took George and his five siblings to England in 1887. In England George was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

. There his mother studied dairy farming, and on returning to Camden in 1889 she founded a dairy farming complex, the Camden Vale Milk Co, which eventually merged with the

Dairy Farmers Dairy Farmers may refer to various companies, brand names, co-operatives or trade unions: * Dairy Farmers, Inc - United States * Dairy Farmers Pty Ltd - Australia * Dairy Farmers of America * Dairy Farmers of Britain * Dairy Farmers of Canada ...

' Co-operative Milk Co in 1928. On 5 April 1895, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the New South Wales Mounted Rifles and was promoted to lieutenant the next year. In July 1903 he became a lieutenant in the 2nd Light Horse Regiment. He was promoted to captain in 1911 and major on 16 February 1914, commanding the 9th Light Horse Regiment.

First World War

In August 1914, Macarthur-Onslow was given command of the 1st Light Horse Regiment, part of the Australian Imperial Force. While organising the regiment, he had to relinquish command and undergo an operation for

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...

. On 1 November 1914, he was again appointed to the AIF, this time as second in command of the 7th Light Horse Regiment. The 7th Light Horse Regiment arrived in Egypt in February 1915 where it trained at

Maadi Maadi ( ) is a leafy and once suburban district in the Southern Area of Cairo, Egypt, on the east bank of the Nile about upriver from downtown Cairo. The modern extensions north east and east of Maadi, New Maadi and Zahraa al-Maadi are admini ...

. In May, it received orders to move to

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for dismounted service, arriving on 19 May. Macarthur-Onslow took over command of the 7th Light Horse in October and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 22 November. On 17 December he organised the famous cricket match at Shell Green. At

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on 5 August 1916, the 7th Light Horse, advancing in a single line, came under fire from a party of

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...

some 200 metres in front of them. The Turks were rushed and overwhelmed. Macarthur-Onslow then advanced from the position with three men, 20 metres in front of his troopers; all four were hit by Turks concealed in front of them. Severely wounded, Macarthur-Onslow was evacuated. He was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

and awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

(DSO). Macarthur-Onslow returned to the regiment in time to take part in the Battle of Beersheba, leading the 7th on a night march around

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

. When the order to retire was received, he concentrated the regiment, and returned that way, having ridden around the town. He later led his regiment through the battles for Gaza, the pursuit across the Philistine Plain, and the operations across the

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

. From May to August 1918, Macarthur-Onslow was acting commander of the

2nd Light Horse Brigade The 2nd Light Horse Brigade was a mounted infantry brigade of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) which served in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. The brigade was initially formed as a part-time militia formation in the early 1900s i ...

in the absence of the Brigadier General

Granville Ryrie Major general (Australia), Major General Sir Granville de Laune Ryrie, (1 July 1865 – 2 October 1937) was an Australian soldier, politician, and diplomat. He served in the Second Boer War, Boer War and the First World War, in the latter comma ...

. On 3 September 1918, he took command of the newly formed

5th Light Horse Brigade The 5th Light Horse Brigade was a mounted infantry brigade of the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) that served during World War I. The brigade was initially formed as a part-time Australian Army Reserve, militia formation in the early 1900s ...

, with the temporary rank of brigadier general. In January 1919, Macarthur-Onslow was evacuated with

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...

and returned to Australia four months later. For his services in

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, he was twice more mentioned in despatches, and appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

(CMG).

Later life

After the war, Macarthur-Onslow was elected councillor for Wollondilly Shire, alderman of Camden City Council and mayor of Camden. Like his brother James Macarthur-Onslow, he was aide de camp to the

Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

from 1920 to 1923. He commanded the 1st Cavalry Division from 1927 to 1931. He died on 12 September 1931 and was buried in the family cemetery on the

Camden Park Estate The Camden Park Estate incorporating the Belgenny Farm is a heritage-listed large working historical farm located at Elizabeth Macarthur Avenue, in the outer south-western Sydney suburb of Camden South, New South Wales, Australia. It was design ...

References

*Ross Mallett
George MacLeay MacArthur-Onslow
''General Officers of the First AIF'', adfa.edu.au *G. P. Walsh

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, Volume 10,

Melbourne University Press Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) is the book publishing arm of the University of Melbourne. The press is currently a member of the Association of University Presses. History MUP was founded in 1922 as Melbourne University Press to sell text ...

, 1986, pp 196–198. {{DEFAULTSORT:Macarthur-Onslow, George 1875 births 1931 deaths Military personnel from Sydney Australian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian farmers Australian generals Australian military personnel of World War I People educated at Rugby School

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

Mayors of places in New South Wales Wollondilly Shire Macarthur family (Australia)

Early life and career

First World War

Later life

See also

References