Meredith Magniac (27 June 1880 – 25 April 1917) was an English first-class

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er and British Army officer. The son of Major-General Francis Lane Magniac, he was born at

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce peopl ...

in June 1880. He was educated at Clifton College, where he played for the cricket XI. After completing his education, he decided to follow in his fathers footsteps by choosing a career in the British Army. He attended the Royal Military College, Sandhurst in 1898 and graduated 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 ...

into the 4th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers in 1899. He was then transferred to the 3rd Battalion, then in South Africa, with Magniac seeing action during the Second Boer War. He was promoted to lieutenant during the course of the war in May 1900, before being promoted to

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 February 1904. He remained in South Africa following the end of the conflict and later played in a first-class cricket match for the South Africa Army cricket team against Pelham Warner's touring Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) side at Pretoria in January 1906. He batted twice in the match, being run out for 1 run in the Army first innings, while in their second innings he was dismissed for 14 runs by

Frederick Fane Frederick Luther Fane, (27 April 1875 – 27 November 1960) played cricket for the England cricket team in 14 Test matches. He also played for Essex, Oxford University and London County. Fane was born at Curragh Camp in County Kildare, Irela ...

. As a bowler he took 2 wickets in the MCC first innings, dismissing

Jack Board John Henry Board (23 February 1867 – 15 April 1924) was an English cricketer who played in six Tests from 1899 to 1906. Jack Board was a wicketkeeper and a right-handed batsman who started out as a tail-ender but developed into a useful playe ...

and Schofield Haigh. When the 3rd Battalion was disbanded, he was transferred to the 1st Battalion, where he served in British Malta and British India. He was appointed an

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

of the 1st Battalion and upon the expiration of his term, Magniac passed a course at the Staff College, Quetta which allowed him to be appointed a brigade major at Fermoy in Ireland. When the First World War began, Meredith returned to England with his battalion. He opted to leave a staff appointment to return to the Lancashire Fusiliers in February 1915. His first action in the war came in April 1915, when he landed with the Lancashire Fusiliers at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

. He remained with his battalion throughout the campaign, commanding the 1st Battalion at Cape Helles. During the campaign he was promoted to

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 September 1915, and 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 efforts in aiding with the allied evacuation in December 1915. He was made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order in the

1916 Birthday Honours The 1916 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were ...

. Following this he was promoted to

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 ...

.Lieutenant Colonel Meredith Magniac. '' The Times''. 12 May 1917. Magniac went with the 1st Battalion to the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

in 1916, where he was wounded in action during the first day of the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

when the 1st Battalion attempted to capture Beaumont-Hamel. He was killed by a shell on 25 April 1917 near Monchy-le-Preux, while recessing with two other officers in a communications trench. He is buried in Beaurains Road British Cemetery, near Arras.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Magniac, Meredith 1880 births 1917 deaths People from Hitchin People educated at Clifton College Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Lancashire Fusiliers officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War English cricketers South Africa Army cricketers British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British military personnel killed in World War I Cricketers from Hertfordshire Graduates of the Staff College, Quetta Military personnel from Hertfordshire