MacLAURIN, Colonel Henry Normand, MiD

Colonel Henry Normand MacLaurin, MiD

1^ST BRIGADE AIF

by Russell Paten

The brigadier, MacLaurin, was a man of lofty ideals, direct, determined, with a certain inherited Scottish dourness rather unusual in a young Australian, but an educated man of action of the finest type that the Australian Universities produce. ¹

Henry Normand MacLaurin was born in Sydney on 31 October 1878 to Henry and Eliza (née Nathan) MacLaurin. His religious denomination is listed as Presbyterian. He was the fifth of six children in the family, having four brothers and one sister.

His father (also Henry Normand MacLaurin) had an amazing and prominent career in public life both in Scotland and Australia. Born in Kilconquhar, Fife, Scotland, he graduated as a Doctor of Medicine and is recorded as being MD at University of Edinburgh in 1857. He then joined the Royal Navy as an Assistant Surgeon and was in Athens on a posting in 1862 when King Otto lost the throne. He then went on to serve on HMS Challenger on the Australian Station. He was obviously impressed with Australia during this posting as he emigrated from Scotland shortly after.

Upon moving to Australia, Henry Normand MacLaurin (snr) propelled himself into prominent public life, taking up many senior Government positions in NSW, including the following:

• President of the Board of Health
• Chairman of the Immigration Board
• Fellow of the Senate and Vice Chancellor of Sydney University
• President of the Bank of NSW
• Director of the Royal Prince Hospital
• Vice President of the Executive Council and representative of the Dibbs Government in the Upper House of the NSW Parliament
• Chancellor of Sydney University

He held the position of Chancellor of Sydney University until his death in 1914.

Colonel Henry Normand MacLaurin, born in Sydney in 1878, certainly came from solid Scottish breeding stock.

He graduated from Sydney University with a Bachelor of Arts and was later admitted to the Bar in NSW and became a Barrister. The University of Sydney Biographical Information website states he received his early education at Blair Lodge School in Scotland, so it is evident that part of his childhood was spent back in the Auld Country. His secondary schooling occurred at Sydney Grammar School. His military career began in the NSW Scottish Regiment, more commonly known as the NSW Scottish Rifles, as a volunteer. His father, Henry Normand MacLaurin (snr) was instrumental in the formation of this unit. In the booklet, Twenty One Years of Volunteering in NSW: The History of the NSW Scottish Rifles, the author, Lt Col G R Campbell provides the following information regarding the formation of the unit.

The original public meeting of Scotchmen, at which it was decided to form a Scottish Corps, was held at the Town Hall, Sydney, on “August ~26th, 1885 the Chairman being Sir Normand McLaurin, a staunch sympathiser, whose son has long been a valued Officer of the Regiment.

These words were written in 1907, by which time MacLaurin was a Captain in the unit. His application to join the AIF shows that he was first commissioned as 2^nd Lieutenant in the 1^st NSW Scottish Rifles on 15 August 1899. He went on to achieve the ranks of 1^st Lieutenant in 1900, Captain in 1903 and Major in 1908. Although 1908 was a successful year for his military career, it was also the year of a very sad event in his life – the death of his mother Eliza on 7 January.

It should be noted that the NSW Scottish Rifles was a volunteer unit so the members were unpaid. In fact, each was required to contribute towards the cost of their uniforms and upkeep within the unit. Following Federation, the Commonwealth Military Forces were reorganised and the Scottish Rifles was formed into two Battalions. MacLaurin held the rank of Major in the 1^st Battalion, comprising six Companies in Sydney and Newcastle.

In 1911, the Government announced that a new Citizens’ Army involving compulsory service was to be formed and all existing Units would be absorbed into the Militia. In 1912 this came into effect and all trainees were drafted into new Battalions, those in Sydney being the 25th and 26th Infantry. Thus the Scottish Rifles ceased to exist. MacLaurin was moved to the 25th Infantry and the nominal roll of the Unit lists him as Major in January 1913. He then graduated as Lt Col on 1 July 1913 and took up the position of CO 26^th Battalion as evidenced in the Staff and Regimental Lists of the Australian Military Forces on 1 January 1914. The First World War then moved his military career ahead significantly.

Within a few days of the outbreak of war, the organisation of the First Division, Australian Imperial Force was started.  Government regulations at the time prohibited existing forces from going overseas and existing members of the Army were required to volunteer into one of the new Units of the AIF, if they were to serve overseas. MacLaurin was swift to join, applying for a Commission in the AIF on 15 August 1914. His application states that he was 5 ft 9.5 in, chest measurement 36-38, weight 11st 9 lb, with eyesight of 6/6. The application was accepted by Colonel Ernest Townsend Wallack, Commander 2^nd Military District on 9 September. Sadly, his son, Captain Gordon Wallack, 2^nd Battalion AIF was killed in action at Gallipoli on 19 May 1915.

Between the dates of his application and acceptance however, the MacLaurin family was severely rocked by the death of the patriarch of the family, Henry Normand MacLaurin (snr) who passed away in Sydney on 24 August. He is buried in Waverley Cemetery, Row 512 and Vault 5, Row 13, alongside his wife.

The MacLaurin family was also represented in the war by two of Henry Normand’s brothers, Charles and Hugh.

Charles MacLaurin applied on 13 August 1915 for a Commission in the Medical Corps. He was accepted and attached to the 10^th Army General Hospital as medical practitioner with the rank of Lt Col. The hospital unit departed Australia for the United Kingdom on 22 July 1915 and arrived in the UK on 29 September. He served until 17 January 1917, returning to Australia on the Wiltshire. Hugh MacLaurin joined the Australian Army Veterinary Corps as Veterinary Surgeon on 25 October 1915. He served in the Middle East and resigned his Commission on 13 September 1916, due to persistent insomnia.

MacLaurin was immediately promoted to Colonel, effective 17 September 1914 and given command of the 1^st Brigade, comprising the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th Battalions. He was responsible for the raising of the Battalions and selecting the Battalion Commanders. He also took a close personal interest in their training, in preparation for the Gallipoli landings on 25 April 1915.

MacLaurin embarked on the Euripides in Sydney on 20 October 1914 and sailed to the Middle East with the first ANZAC fleet. A14 Euripides was the largest transport of the ANZAC fleet. She was a triple-screw steamship built by Harland and Wolff at Belfast for the Aberdeen Line. Her maiden voyage to Australia began on 1 July 1914 and on arrival she was one of 28 vessels requisitioned by the Australian government and fitted out as a troop ship. She was equipped to carry 136 officers, 2,204 other ranks and provided stabling for 20 horses and arrived in Alexandria on 3 December. Once in Egypt, MacLaurin and the 1^st Brigade continued their training for the Gallipoli landings.

The 1^st Brigade was the last of the Brigades of the 1^st Division to land at Anzac Cove and upon landing were requested to fill positions in the line caused by fierce fighting. During the operations of 25 and 26 April, MacLaurin’s battalions were used to reinforce other brigades. On 26 April, MacLaurin gave relief to Colonel MacLagan, who, with the 3^rd Bde, was controlling the centre section of the defence.

On 27 April, Major Irvine, who was MacLaurin’s Brigade Major, had collected 200 stray men and was about to send them to the left for this purpose when he was advised that the need for them there had passed. To ensure this was correct, Irvine climbed to Steele’s Post and stood there observing, in a position exposed to the rear to Turkish snipers who, during the day, had crept onto Russell’s Top. Major Brown of the 3^rd Battalion shouted to him that he would be sniped at. In typical British officer style, Irvine replied, “It’s my business to be sniped at”. The next moment he was killed at 3pm by a shot from behind.

Ten minutes later, MacLaurin was also on a slope and standing in his shirt sleeves behind the southern shoulder of the ridge that now bears his name. He was shot in the head from the same point, probably by the same sniper. He had been in the act of warning soldiers to be certain to keep behind cover. He lingered for only a further half hour before dying. Curiously enough, he had a presentiment that he would be killed and mentioned it to a Light Horse officer just before leaving for the Dardanelles. He was 36 years of age (although most records state he was 37 when he was killed, including the inscription on his grave).

MacLaurin’s body was to remain unburied for a fortnight until Padre W McKenzie was able to get to it on his first night in the firing line and arrange to have it buried at 9pm in an exposed position. For safety, he had to kneel in a crouching position to conduct the burial. The location of this temporary grave was recorded as:

Buried – Isolated Graves Anzac 20 feet east from Bridges Road uphill, Gallipoli, Grave number 3.

Temporary Grave of Colonel Henry Normand MacLaurin

In 1919, his body was moved to the 4^th Battalion Parade Ground Cemetery, the 4^th Battalion being one of the units under MacLaurin’s command. His grave is in Row A, Grave 10. This cemetery is accessible only on foot and lies some 300 metres left from the road along the ridge between Lone Pine Cemetery and Courtney’s Post. It was used by the 4th Battalion AIF from the end of April to the beginning of June 1915 and is the final resting place of thirty-four members of that unit. There are now 116 burials in the cemetery, of which all but nine are Australian.

Permanent grave of Colonel Henry Normand MacLaurin

Several weeks after his death, an order was issued promoting MacLaurin to the temporary rank of Brigadier General.

Back in Sydney, his death was remembered through a special gathering of the Legal fraternity on 5 May. Prior to the war, MacLaurin was a well known member of the Bar and his death was the occasion of a special gathering of judges and the legal profession. His high personal merits and services were spoken of eloquently.

His medals (1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal) were forwarded to his brother Charles who was nominated as his next of kin. His personal belongings however were gathered together and forwarded to his brother James Briarcliffe MacLaurin as two of his other brothers, Charles and Hugh had been commissioned and were on overseas postings at the time.

He was Mentioned in Despatches in the London Gazette on 5 August 1915.

His Victory Medal only, with MiD emblem attached, is on display at the Maryborough Military & Colonial Museum. The whereabouts of the other two medals and his Memorial Plaque are unknown.

Colonel Henry Normand MacLaurin will always be known for his famous speech made to the 1^st Infantry Brigade after it had completed six months training. On the day, the Colonel had a beautiful voice, clear and carrying, and his words were heard by every man on parade when he said,

“Officers, NCOs and men of the 1^st Brigade, you are fit for war.” ²

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

REFERENCES

• Staff Regimental and Graduation Lists of Officers, AIF, Revised to 6^th December 1914
• Service Records of HN MacLaurin, National Archives Australia
• Extract, London Gazette, 9 July 1915
• Reveille, 1 April, 1934
• Brisbane Courier, 6 May, 1915
• Anzac Individual Record Page, Lt Col H Maclaurin, AIF
• Extracts from Diary of Padre W McKenzie
• Commonwealth Gazette No 108 – 11 September 1915
• Hermes, The Magazine of the University of Sydney, May 1916
• Australian Birth Index 1788-1922
• Who’s Who in Australia 1921-1950
• Sydney Australia Cemetery Headstone Transcriptions 1837-2003
• UK and Commonwealth War Graves 1914-1921
• University of Sydney Biographical Information Website
• Scotland Select Births and Baptisms 1564-1950
• Australian Marriage Index 1788-1950
• Twenty One Years Volunteering in New South Wales, 1885-1906, The Story of the NSW Scottish Rifles, Lt Col GR Campbell 1907

ENDNOTES

1. Sydney University Book of Remembrance
2. Reveille, Fit for War, by Capt CK Millar MC, April 1, 1934

ANZAC Biographies

On our website you will find the biographical details of ANZAC (as well as British) servicemen & women whose medals or other memorabilia form part of the collection on display at the Maryborough Military & Colonial Museum, Maryborough, Queensland, Australia.