Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Donald Macintyre (12 September 1831 – 15 April 1903) was a Scottish recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and Commonwealth forces.

Early life

Macintyre was born in

Kincraig Kincraig ( gd, Ceann na Creige) is a village located north of Kingussie and south of Aviemore in Highland, Scotland. Its original name was Boat of Inch, reflecting the ferry boat crossing of the Spey River that once operated here. The name was ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, in 1831, being the second son of Donald Macintyre of Calcutta and his wife, Margaret Mackenzie. Of his sisters, one married the army surgeon

William Brydon William Brydon CB (10 October 1811 – 20 March 1873) was an assistant surgeon in the British East India Company Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War, famous for reportedly being the only member of an army of 4,500 men, plus 12,000 accomp ...

, the sole European survivor of the

1842 retreat from Kabul The 1842 retreat from Kabul, also called the Massacre of Elphinstone's army, during the First Anglo-Afghan War, was the retreat of the British and East India Company forces from Kabul. An uprising in Kabul forced the then commander, Major-Genera ...

, and another

James Travers General James Travers (6 October 1820 – 1 April 1884) was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Milita ...

, who won the VC in the Indian Mutiny. Macintyre was educated at Addiscombe Military Seminary from 1848 to 1850.

Career

Macintyre obtained a commission in the Bengal Army of the British Indian Army in June 1850. Joining the 66th Gurkha Regiment, he served in a number of small campaigns on the North West Frontier. During the 1857–8 Indian Mutiny, he helped raise an extra Gurkha regiment (later the

4th Gurkha Rifles The 4th Gorkha Rifles or the Fourth Gorkha Rifles, abbreviated as 4 GR, is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army comprising Gurkha soldiers of Nepalese nationality, especially Magars and Gurungs hill tribes of Nepal. The Fourth Gorkha Rifles h ...

), and to protect the hill passes on the Kali Kumaon frontier from Rohilkhand rebels. He was promoted to captain in June 1862. Becoming a major in June 1870, Macintyre served with the

Lushai Expedition The British Indian Army Lushai Expedition of 1871 to 1872 was a punitive incursion under the command of Generals Brownlow and Bourchier. The objectives of the expedition were to rescue British subjects who had been captured by the Lushais in ...

of 1871–2 as second in command of the

2nd Gurkha Rifles The 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army before being transferred to the British Army on India's independence in 1947. The 4th Battalion joined the Indian Army as the 5th Ba ...

. It was here that Macintyre, a 40 year old major in the

Bengal Staff Corps Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

, was awarded the VC for the following deed: He was also mentioned in dispatches and, in September 1872, promoted to

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

lieutenant-colonel. Macintyre was appointed lieutenant-colonel on 14 January 1876. He commanded the 2nd Prince of Wales's Own Gurkhas at the occupation of Cyprus (1878) and in the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...

(1878–9). In October 1887, Macintyre was appointed brevet colonel. He was granted the honorary rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

upon retirement in December 1880.

Later life

Macintyre was an extensive traveller and fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He published an account of his experiences in ''Hindu Koh: Wanderings and Wild Sports on and beyond the Himalayas'' (1889). He subsequently lived in

Fortrose Fortrose (; gd, A' Chananaich, sco, Chainry) is a town and former royal burgh in Highland, Scotland, United Kingdom. It is on the Moray Firth, about north-east of Inverness. The burgh is a popular location for trying to spot bottlenose dolp ...

, Ross-shire where he died on 15 April 1903, aged 71, and was buried in

Rosemarkie Rosemarkie ( sco, Rossmartnie, from gd, Ros Mhaircnidh meaning "promontory of the horse stream") is a village on the south coast of the Black Isle peninsula in Ross-shire ( Ross and Cromarty), northern Scotland. Geography Rosemarkie lies a qu ...

churchyard.

The medal

His Victoria Cross is displayed at

The Gurkha Museum The Gurkha Museum commemorates the service of Gurkha soldiers to the British Crown, a relationship that has endured since 1815. It is located in Winchester in Hampshire, England and is part of Winchester's Military Museums. History The Gurkha ...

in Winchester, Hampshire, England.

References

External links