MACLAURIN, Henry Normand
| Service Numbers: | Not yet discovered |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 August 1914, Sydney, New South Wales |
| Last Rank: | Colonel |
| Last Unit: | 1st Infantry Brigade Headquarters |
| Born: | 31 October 1878, place not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Barrister |
| Died: | Killed In Action , Gallipoli, 27 April 1915, aged 36 years |
| Cemetery: |
4th Battalion Parade Ground Cemetery Plot 1, Row A, Grave 8. His name is located at panel 2 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, ACT. |
| Memorials: | Sydney Grammar School WW1 Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Jan 1914: | Embarked AIF WW1, HMAT Euripides A14 | |
|---|---|---|
| 15 Aug 1914: |
Involvement
AIF WW1, Colonel, 1st Infantry Brigade Headquarters, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: '' |
|
| 15 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Sydney, New South Wales | |
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked AIF WW1, Colonel, 1st Infantry Brigade Headquarters, HMAT Euripides, Sydney | |
| 25 Apr 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 27 Apr 1915: |
Involvement
AIF WW1, Colonel, 1st Infantry Brigade Headquarters, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 1st Australian Infantry Brigade awm_rank: Colonel awm_died_date: 1915-04-27 |
Help us honour Henry Normand Maclaurin's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography
Son of Henry Normand MacLaurin (Chancellor of the University of Sydney)
and Mother Eliza Ann MacLaurin.
Three brothers:
Older brother: Dr Charles MacLaurin MB, BS, FRCS, a lecturer in medicine at the
University of Sydney
younger brothers: H.C.H. MacLaurin and J.B. MacLaurin
He was educated at Blair Lodge School, Polmont, Scotland; Sydney Grammar School and
the University of Sydney, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts.
MacLaurin was later admitted to the bar in NSW and became a barrister.
Previous service:
15/8/1899 First commission in NSW Scottish Rifles as a Second Lieutenant.
1900 Promoted to Lieutenant; 1903 Promoted to Captain and 1908 a Major.
1/7/1913 he took command of the 26th Infantry Regiment.
On enlisting he lived with his brother, Dr C MacLaurin at 'Wyoming', 155 MacQuarie Street,
Sydney, New South Wales.
Next of kin in service:
Brother H C H MacLaurin, 1st Vet Section
returned to Australia
Described on enlisting as 35 years 9 months old; single; 5' 9 1/2" tall; 11 stone 9 lbs;
Presbyterian
15/8/1914 Enlisted in Sydney, New South Wales
20/10/1914 Embarked from Sydney on board HMAT Euripides A14
as a Colonel (Commanding Officer) of the 1st Infantry Brigade, Headquarters
MacLaurin was the youngest of the three original brigade Commanders of the 1st Division,
and more than 10 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.
MacLaurin's brigade was the last to come ashore at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915.
By this time a crisis was developing and Major General Bridges was ordering units to fill gaps
almost as soon as they arrived ashore.
Around 4 o'clock in the afternoon of Tuesday 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, 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.
His body was buried by his men, where he fell, in an isolated grave (no.3) at Anzac, 20 feet
East from Bridges Road up a hill, Gallipoli, about half a mile East of Anzac Cove, marked with
a simple wooded cross.
Some weeks after his death, Brigade Commanders were upgraded from Colonels to Brigadier
Generals and MacLaurin was posthumously promoted to Brigadier General.
In 1919 he was reburied in: 4th Battalion Parade Ground Cemetery
Plot 1, Row A, Grave 8
on the slopes of Braund's Hill, East of Anzac Cove, Gallipoli
5/8/1915 London Gazette - Mentioned In Despatches
6/7/1927 AIF advised both parents were deceased
Medals:
1914-15 Star (24830); British War medal (2800); Victory medal (2801);
Memorial Plaque and Memorial Scroll (356277)
Sourced and submitted by Julianne T Ryan. 19/4/2015. Lest we forget.
Click images to start slideshow.