Kenneth Mackessack (24 October 1902 – 18 October 1982) was a Scottish first-class cricketer and

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 ...

officer. Mackessack served with the

Seaforth Highlanders The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw servic ...

from 1923 to 1948, during which he served in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

and in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in which he was wounded during the

Battle of El Alamein There were two battles of El Alamein in World War II, both fought in 1942. The Battles occurred in North Africa, in Egypt, in and around an area named after a railway stop called El Alamein. * First Battle of El Alamein: 1–27 July 1942 * Secon ...

. He served the remainder of the war as a military attaché in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, for which he was appointed to the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

. During his military career he also played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

for the British Army cricket team, as well as for teams in British India. Following his retirement from the military, Mackessack served as the deputy lieutenant for

Moray Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Between 1975 ...

in 1954.

Early life and military career

The son of George Ross Mackessack, he was born at Alves in the County of Moray and was educated in England at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

. From Rugby, he attended the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

, from which he graduated into the

as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in February 1923. He was promoted to the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in February 1925. He made his debut in

for the British Army cricket team against the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

in 1926. Later in the same year he was posted to

, where he served in the

North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followi ...

. Shortly after arriving in India, he played in a first-class match for the British India Army cricket team against the touring

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC) at

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

in November 1926. In that same month he played for Northern Punjab against the MCC, before making his final first-class appearance for the Europeans against the

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

in March 1928. He scored 34 runs across his four first-class matches, as well as taking 8 wickets with best figures of 3 for 42. He married Rose Elizabeth Craik, daughter of Sir Henry Duffield Craik in June 1929. He served as an adjutant with the 1st Battalion from 1935 to 1938, during which he was promoted to the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in January 1936. He was appointed as the military secretary to Craik, who the then Governor of Punjab, in November 1938.

World War II and later life

With the start of the

in September 1939, Mackessack was transferred to the Middle East. He was promoted to the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in February 1940. He commanded the 2nd Battalion during the

, in which he was wounded. He was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

for his actions during the battle in January 1944. He served the remainder of the war as a military attaché in

. He was divorced from his wife in 1947, with Mackessack marrying Nora Joyce Edward-Collins in March of the same year. He retired from active service on account of ill health in January 1948, upon which he was granted the honorary rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. He was appointed to the

by the United States in November 1948 for his service during the war. He later served as the Deputy Lieutenant of Moray in 1954, alongside Iain Tennant. He served as the chairman of the Moray Territorial Association from 1953 to 1962, alongside duties as the convenor of Moray County Council. He served as the vice-lieutenant of Moray in 1964. He died at Elgin in October 1982. He was survived by his two children from his first marriage. His brother,

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

, was also a first-class cricketer.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackessack, Kenneth 1902 births 1982 deaths People from Moray People educated at Rugby School Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Seaforth Highlanders officers Scottish cricketers British Army cricketers Indian Army cricketers Northern Punjab cricketers Europeans cricketers British Army personnel of World War II Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Deputy Lieutenants of Moray Scottish military personnel British military attachés