Major John Mackenzie, VC, DCM (22 November 1871 – 17 May 1915) 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.

Details

Mackenzie was 29 years old, and a sergeant in the 2nd Battalion, The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, Duke of Albany's),

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, employed West African Field Force during the Third Ashanti Expedition when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 6 June 1900 at Dompoassi, Ashanti (now Ghana), Sergeant Mackenzie, after working two

Maxim gun The Maxim gun is a recoil-operated machine gun invented in 1884 by Hiram Stevens Maxim. It was the first fully automatic machine gun in the world. The Maxim gun has been called "the weapon most associated with imperial conquest" by historian ...

s under heavy fire and being wounded while doing so, volunteered to clear the stockade of the enemy. This he did, most gallantly, leading the charge himself and driving the enemy headlong into the bush.

Further information

John Mackenzie was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regime ...

on 29 November 1900 and became a captain in the

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regime ...

on 22 January 1904. During this time he also served on attachment with the

Northern Nigeria Regiment Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

. He was mentioned in dispatches for his work during the

Aro Expedition The Anglo-Aro War (1901–1902) was a conflict between the Aro Confederacy in present-day Eastern Nigeria, and the British Empire. The war began after increasing tension between Aro leaders and the British after years of failed negotiations. Cau ...

(November 1901 to March 1902); also in 1906 when he was staff officer of the Munster Field Force and once more during the Kano-Sokoto Expedition. He was promoted to major during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment, where at

Festubert Festubert is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. The village was on the Western Front during the First World War and was largely destroyed in the May 1915 Battle of Festubert. Geography A farming v ...

on 17 May 1915, when leading his men, he was killed just after he had left the jumping off trench. Major Mackenzie is buried in the Guards Cemetery, Windy Corner,

Cuinchy Cuinchy is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography A farming village some east of Béthune and southwest of Lille, at the junction of the D166 and the D166E3 roads, by the banks of the Ca ...

, in Northern France.CWGC entry
/ref> His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Regimental Museum of Queens Own Highlanders, Fort George, Inverness-shire, Scotland. His pipe banner is located in the Royal Scots Museum at Edinburgh Castle.

References

Monuments to Courage David Charles Harvey (29 July 1946 – 4 March 2004) was a historian and author. He is notable for his seminal work, ''Monuments To Courage'', which documents the graves of almost all recipients of the Victoria Cross, a task that took him over 3 ...

(David Harvey, 1999) *

The Register of the Victoria Cross ''The Register of the Victoria Cross'' is a reference work that provides brief information on every Victoria Cross awarded until the publication date. Each entry provides a summary of the deed, along with a photograph of the recipient and the fo ...

(This England, 1997) *

Scotland's Forgotten Valour ''Scotland's Forgotten Valour'' is a 1995 book by Graham Ross, published by MacLean Press under . (The typography of the title on the book uses capitalisation to contrast emphasis ("SCOTLAND'S FORgotten VALOUR"), to communicate additional meanin ...

(Graham Ross, 1995)

External links

Profile with photograph
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackenzie, John 1871 births 1915 deaths People from Ross and Cromarty British recipients of the Victoria Cross Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal Seaforth Highlanders soldiers Black Watch officers Royal Scots officers Royal West African Frontier Force officers British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I British military personnel of the War of the Golden Stool British military personnel of the Chitral Expedition Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment officers British military personnel of the Kano-Sokoto Expedition British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross British expatriates in Nigeria Scottish military personnel People of colonial Nigeria British Army