Brigadier General Robert O'Hara Livesay (27 June 1876 – 23 March 1946) was a British Army officer and English sportsman who played international rugby union for England and first-class cricket. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and later appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

. Attached to the

New Zealand Division The New Zealand Division was an infantry division of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force raised for service in the First World War. It was formed in Egypt in early 1916 when the New Zealand and Australian Division was renamed after the detachmen ...

during many of the major battles of World War I, he was

mentioned in despatches 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 ...

three times and received the French Legion of Honour in recognition of that unit's successes.

Early life

Livesay was born at Old Brompton, then part of Gillingham in Kent. His father Robert Livesay was a Colonel in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

based in the town. Livesay was educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin *Wellington College, Wellington, New Z ...

, where he played in the rugby XV and the cricket XI, leaving school in 1894 before attending the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. He continued to play both sports at Sandhurst.Lewis P (2013) ''For Kent and Country'', pp.243–245. Brighton: Reveille Press. Carlaw D (2020) ''Kent County Cricketers A to Z. Part One: 1806–1914'' (revised edition), pp.336–338.
Available online
at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 2020-12-21.)Livesay, Brig.-Gen. R O'H DSO
Obituaries in 1946, '' Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', 1947. Retrieved 2020-12-21.

Military career

After graduating from Sandhurst, Livesay was commissioned as a second-lieutenant in the Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment on 5 September 1896, and promoted to lieutenant on 18 May 1898.Haigh B, Polaschek A (1993) ''New Zealand and the Distinguished Service Order'', p. 148. Christchurch: John. D. Wills. He fought in the Second Boer War in South Africa between 1900 and 1902, where he took part in the Relief of Ladysmith, the battles of Colenso, Spion Kop,

Vaal Krantz The Battle of Vaal Krantz (5 February to 7 February 1900) was the third failed attempt by General Redvers Buller's British army to fight its way past Louis Botha's army of Boer irregulars and lift the Siege of Ladysmith. The battle occurred durin ...

, and the Tugela Heights and Pieter's Hill. In the following months he took part in operations in Natal, including the action at Laing's Nek. He was

in 1902 and appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in the South Africa Honours list published on 26 June 1902. He was awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal with five clasps and the King's South Africa Medal as a result of his service during the war. After returning from South Africa, Livesay was 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 January 1903 and appointed as an instructor at Sandhurst, serving at the academy between 1904 and 1908. He retired from active service in January 1914 and joined the Reserve of Officers. At the start of the First World War, Livesay was activated from the Reserve, initially serving as a staff officer with the 48th Infantry Division as part of "Central Force", charged with the defence of the United Kingdom. The division was posted to France in 1915 and Livesay was serving near

Cassel Cassel may refer to: People * Cassel (surname) Places ;France * Cassel, Nord, a town and commune in northern France ** Battle of Cassel (1071) ** Battle of Cassel (1328) ** Battle of Cassel (1677) ;Germany * Cassel, Germany, a city in Hesse renam ...

when he was attached to the

after their service at Armentières. He served with the New Zealanders for 16 months as General Staff Officer 1 (GSO1), the officer responsible to the Divisional Commander Major General Sir

Andrew Hamilton Russell Major General Sir Andrew Hamilton Russell (23 February 1868 – 29 November 1960) was a senior officer of the New Zealand Military Forces who served during the First World War. Born in Napier, New Zealand, Russell spent most of his youth in Engl ...

for planning and directing training and the conduct of operations. The New Zealand Division's success during 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 ...

was due in part to the outstanding work of Livesay and was recognised by the French with the award of the Chevalier of the Legion of Honour by the French Republic in May 1917.Brewer ME (2012) New Zealand and the Legion of Honour: The Great War Part 2, ''The Volunteers: Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society'', vol.37 no.3.Robert O'Hara Livesay
Online Cenotaph,

Auckland Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira (or simply the Auckland Museum) is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its collections concentrate on New Zealand history (and especially the history of the Auckla ...

. Retrieved 2020-12-22. He was again conspicuous in his service at Messines and Passchendaele, before leaving the New Zealand Division to serve as GSO 1 at the American Staff School until March 1918 when he was appointed as

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 ...

colonel with the 61st Infantry Division, serving with the division during the German Kaiserschlacht offensive. He was appointed to command 24 Infantry Brigade with the rank of Temporary brigadier general during the last few months of the war. Livesay served in Germany with the Army of Occupation during 1919, commanding 10th battalion, Royal West Surreys at Lindlar. He was made a Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) in the

1919 Birthday Honours The 1919 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 ...

, before returning to the UK in July and taking command of 1 Infantry Brigade at Aldershot. He was awarded the American

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

in recognition of his role training American officers. He retired from the army in September 1921 with the honorary rank of brigadier general.

Sporting life

Livesay played both rugby union and

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 ...

at school. He was a fly-half who played club rugby for

Blackheath F.C. Blackheath Football Club is a rugby union club based in Well Hall, Eltham in south-east London. The club was founded in Blackheath, London, Blackheath in 1858, and is the fourth-oldest rugby club in continuous existence in the world, after Du ...

He played in two Test matches for the England team, both against Wales. They came in the

1898 Home Nations Championship The 1898 Home Nations Championship was the sixteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Five matches were played between 5 February and 2 April. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. For the second year ru ...

and

1899 Home Nations Championship The 1899 Home Nations Championship was the seventeenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 5 January and 18 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The 1899 Championship w ...

.Robert Livesay
ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 2020-12-21. As well as playing regularly for his club, Livesay played for

Barbarian F.C. The Barbarian Football Club, known as the Barbarians is a British-based invitational rugby union club. The Barbarians play in black and white hoops, though players wear socks from their own club strip. Membership is by invitation. As of 2011, p ...

on a number of occasions and for Kent in the Rugby County Championship.Jeater D (2020) ''County Cricket: Sundry Extras'' (second edition), p.103.
Available online
at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 2020-12-21.) A right handed batsman, Livesay played 26 first-class cricket matches for

Kent County Cricket Club Kent County Cricket Club is one of the eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Kent. A club representing the county was first founded in 1842 but Ke ...

, all but one of which came in the County Championship between 1895 and 1904.Robert Livesay
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2020-12-21. The other was a fixture against the touring South Africans, at Canterbury in 1904, when he made a career best 78 in the first innings, before being run out. Livesay, who had been considered a fine batsman at school and scored centuries both for his school and whilst at Sandhurst, made five Championship half-centuries for Kent and was awarded his county cap in 1896. He also scored 69 runs in a match against Yorkshire at Harrogate which was declared void after the umpires ruled that the pitch had been tampered with after the first days play.Kent County Cricket Club - Capped Male Players

. Retrieved 2020-12-21.Dhole P (2016
Yorkshire vs Kent 1904: The match stripped of First-Class status
Cricket Country, 21 July 2016. Retrieved 2020-12-22. His ''Wisden'' obituary described him as an "attractive bat" and that he "fielded admirably". He played club cricket occasionally into the 20th century, including for St Lawrence, Blackheath and Hythe. He also played occasionally for MCC, including against Dorset in 1908.

Family and later life

Livesay married Margaret Pretyman at Torquay in 1917, taking leave from the army to get married. He died at

Magham Down Magham Down is a village between Herstmonceux and Hailsham in the Wealden district of East Sussex. It lies on the A271 road. It has a Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has bee ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

in 1946 aged 69.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Livesay, Robert 1876 births 1946 deaths Blackheath F.C. players British Army brigadiers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I New Zealand military personnel of World War I Knights of the Legion of Honour Cricketers from Gillingham, Kent England international rugby union players English cricketers English rugby union players Academics of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Kent cricketers New Zealand recipients of the Legion of Honour Rugby union players from Gillingham, Kent Military personnel from Kent Kent County RFU players