Henry Maitland-Makgill-Crichton

Brigadier Henry Coventry Maitland-Makgill-Crichton, CB, CMG, DSO (29 June 1880 – 29 September 1953) was a Scottish senior officer in the British Army. A graduate of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Maitland served as an officer in the Royal Scots Fusiliers during the Second Boer War and the First World War. He was severely wounded in both conflicts and received multiple mentions in despatches.

Henry Maitland-Makgill-Crichton
Born(1880-06-29)29 June 1880
London, England
Died29 September 1953(1953-09-29) (aged 73)
Alton, Hampshire, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1899–1937
1939–1941
RankBrigadier
UnitRoyal Scots Fusiliers
Commands held14th Infantry Brigade (1933–37)
1st Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers (1928–31)
Battles/warsSecond Boer War
First World War
Second World War
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Distinguished Service Order
Mentioned in Despatches (8)

In 1915, Maitland was promoted to the rank of brevet major; subsequent promotions followed and he was gazetted as a colonel in 1931. This coincided with the start of a two-year appointment as Quartermaster-General in Gibraltar. On his return, he was granted the temporary rank of brigadier, commanded an infantry regiment and became an Aide-de-Camp to the King before his retirement in 1937. Despite returning as an area commander for the first two years of the Second World War, Maitland left active service in 1941 and died at the age of 73 in 1953.

Early life and family

Henry Coventry Maitland-Makgill-Crichton was born on 29 June 1880, the second son of Andrew Coventry Maitland-Makgill-Crichton (1845–1925), a director of the Standard and Chartered banking group, and his wife Katherine Charlotte (died 1941), eldest daughter of Sir Edward Hulse, 5th Baronet.[1][2] The Maitland-Makgill-Crichton family descends from Charles Maitland, 6th Earl of Lauderdale.[3]

He married in 1911 Dorothy Margaret (died 1979), daughter of Sir Walter Thornburn, a member of parliament. They had a daughter, Diana Elizabeth Katherine (1916–1999), who earned the Territorial Decoration, and a son, Hamilton Ian (born 1918), who was killed in action in June 1940 while commissioned as a lieutenant in the Royal Scots Fusiliers.[2][4] His nephew was the industrialist Andrew Maitland-Makgill-Crichton.[5]

Military career

Following his Charterhouse education, Maitland attended the Royal Military College Sandhurst before he was commissioned into the Royal Scots Fusiliers as a second lieutenant on 6 December 1899. He served with the regiment in South Africa during the Second Boer War, where he was wounded. While there, he was promoted to lieutenant on 12 November 1900, and for his service he received the Queen's South Africa Medal with four clasps.[6][4] Having returned to the United Kingdom before the end of war in June 1902, he was again sent to South Africa to serve there with the 2nd battalion in November 1902,[7] then served in the United Kingdom until 1906, when he was transferred to the first battalion in India. After leaving there in 1910, he trained at the Staff College, graduated three years later and then served in the First World War.[1] He was promoted to brigade major in April 1915,[8] and to be brevet major that June.[9] He suffered severe injuries at Ypres, was mentioned in despatches eight times,[4] received the Distinguished Service Order in 1916, and was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1919.[1]

Maitland was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1928, and placed in command of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers.[1][10] He was promoted to colonel in 1931, with seniority from 3 June 1922.[11] Between 1931 and 1933, he was assistant adjutant and quartermaster-general in charge of administration in Gibraltar.[4] On 11 July 1933, he was transferred to the command of the 14th Infantry Brigade and granted the temporary rank of brigadier.[12] After four years in that post and three as an aide-de-camp to the king,[1] he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath[1] and retired on 29 June 1937, when he was granted the honorary rank of brigadier.[13] Maitland returned to the army during the Second World War, when he served as an area commander between 1939 and 1941.[1] He died on 29 September 1953 at the age of 73.[4]

References

Citations
  1. "Crichton, Brig. Henry Coventry Maitland-Makgill-", Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online ed., April 2014 . Retrieved 28 February 2016
  2. Mosley, Charles (2003), Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage (Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage and Gentry), vol. 2, p. 2568
  3. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, vol. 1, p. 1223, vol. 2, p. 1996
  4. "Brig. H. C. Maitland Makgill-Crichton", The Times, 2 October 1953, p. 8
  5. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 2, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 1996
  6. Hart′s Army list, 1903
  7. "The Army in South Africa - The War office and reservist". The Times. No. 36920. London. 8 November 1902. p. 10.
  8. Supplement to the London Gazette, 21 May 1915 (issue 29170), p. 4991
  9. Supplement to the London Gazette, 22 June 1915 (issue 29202), p. 6117
  10. London Gazette, 17 February 1928 (issue 33357), p. 1137
  11. London Gazette, 24 April 1931 (issue 33710), p. 2647
  12. London Gazette, 11 July 1933 (issue 33959), p. 4653
  13. London Gazette, 29 June 1937 (issue 34413), p. 4176

Further reading
  • Kemp, J. C. (1963). The History of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, 1919–1959. Glasgow: Grant.
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