Brigadier-General Henry Normand MacLaurin (31 October 1878 – 27 April 1915) was an Australian barrister and an

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

who served in 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 ...

. He was shot dead by a Turkish sniper at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

, and was posthumously promoted to brigadier general when all brigade commanders in the Australian Imperial Force were thus promoted.

Early life

MacLaurin was born on 31 October 1878 in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia. He was the son of Sir Henry Normand MacLaurin, the chancellor of the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

. He was educated at Blair Lodge School,

Polmont Polmont () is a village in the Falkirk council area of Central Scotland. It lies towards the east of the town of Falkirk, north of the Union Canal (Scotland), Union Canal, which runs adjacent to the village. Due to its situation in Central Sco ...

, Scotland;

Sydney Grammar School Sydney Grammar School (SGS, colloquially known as Grammar) is an independent, non-denominational day school for boys, located in Sydney, Australia. Incorporated in 1854 by an Act of Parliament and opened in 1857, the school claims to offer "c ...

; and the University of Sydney, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts. MacLaurin was later admitted to the bar in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and became a barrister.

Military career

MacLaurin enlisted in the New South Wales Scottish Rifles while still at university and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1899. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1900,

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 1903 and

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in 1908. On 1 July 1913, he took command of the 26th Infantry Regiment.

First World War

On 15 August 1914, MacLaurin joined the Australian Imperial Force as a full

and given command of the 1st Infantry Brigade. MacLaurin was the youngest of the three original brigade commanders of the 1st Division, and more than ten years younger than any of his four battalion commanders. For a brigade major, he was given a British regular officer, Major Irvine of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

. MacLaurin's brigade was the last to come ashore at Anzac Cove. By this time a crisis was developing and Major General William Bridges was ordering units to fill gaps almost as soon as they arrived ashore. During the afternoon of 27 April 1915, when a Turkish counterattack threatened, Major Irvine collected 200 stray men in Monash Valley and was about to send them forward when the news arrived that the need for them had passed. Irvine went up to Steele's Post, where he observed the positions. He was warned about Turkish snipers, but brushed off the warnings and was quoted as saying "It's my business to be shot at". Soon after he was fatally wounded by a sniper. Less than ten minutes later, MacLaurin was standing on the slopes of the

ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...

that now bears his name. Unaware of Irvine's fate, MacLaurin was in the act of warning soldiers to keep under cover when he too was shot dead, from the same point, possibly by the same Turkish sniper. MacLaurin was buried by his men near where he fell in a grave marked with a simple wooden cross. In 1919, his remains were moved to the 4th Battalion Parade Ground Cemetery, on the slopes of Braund's Hill. For his services at Gallipoli 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 ...

. He was also posthumously awarded the 1914–15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.Henry Normand MacLAURIN
The AIF Project, www.aif.adfa.edu.au Some weeks after his death, brigade commanders were upgraded from colonels to brigadier generals and MacLaurin was posthumously promoted to brigadier general.

Family

His father was

Normand MacLaurin Sir Henry Normand MacLaurin, (known as Normand MacLaurin; 10 December 1835 in Kilconquhar, Scotland – 24 August 1914 in Sydney, Australia), was a Scottish-born physician, company director, Australian politician and university administrator. ...

. His eldest brother – listed as his next of kin and one of the executors of his will – was Dr. Charles MacLaurin (1872–1925), a lecturer in medicine at the University of Sydney and the author of ''Postmortem'' and other books.Charles MACLAURIN
The AIF Project, www.aif.adfa.edu.au His two younger brothers were H.C.H. MacLaurin and J.B. MacLaurin

References

External links