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 a ...

Vivian Henry Bruce Majendie, (20 April 1886 – 13 January 1960) was a

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 An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

and amateur

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 for

Somerset County Cricket Club Somerset County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Somerset. Founded in 1875, Somerset was initially regarded as a minor ...

Military career

The son of The Reverend

Henry Majendie Henry William Majendie (1754–1830) was an English Bishop of Chester and Bishop of Bangor. Life His grandfather André de Majendie was a Huguenot in exile who settled at Exeter. His father John James Majendie was a canon of Windsor and wa ...

, Vivian Majendie was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

and 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 infantry a ...

. He was commissioned into the

Somerset Light Infantry The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Some ...

in 1905. He developed a career as a

er and played for

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

and

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

.Cricket Archive
/ref> He served with the

West African Frontier Force The West African Frontier Force (WAFF) was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. In 1928, it received royal recognition ...

in Southern

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

from 1908 to 1913 and then in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

from 1913 to 1914. Majendie fought in the

First World War 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 ...

, moving with his battalion to France in 1915. He married the following year, and was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

in 1917. He ended the war in 1918 as

officer commanding The officer commanding (OC), also known as the officer in command or officer in charge (OiC), is the commander of a sub-unit or minor unit (smaller than battalion size), principally used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. In other countries, ...

the 1st Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry, serving in France as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). After the war, Majendie became commander of the

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

Sub Area of France and then, after attending the

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which i ...

from 1920 to 1921, became

brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section direct ...

for the 14th Infantry Brigade in

Curragh The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the ...

in 1922 before becoming a

General Staff Officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. In 1924 he was appointed a Staff Officer to Inspector General of the West African Frontier Force and in 1929 he became commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry. After attending the

Imperial Defence College The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

in 1932, he returned to the Staff College at Camberley as a General Staff Officer (GSO) in 1933 and then was made Director of Military Training at

GHQ India GHQ may refer to: * Garhwa railway station, in Jharkhand, India * General Health Questionnaire * General headquarters, or, specifically: ** General Headquarters (Pakistan Army) ** Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (General Headquarters in ...

in 1936. He was appointed General Officer Commanding (GOC) the

55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division The 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army's Territorial Army (TA) that was formed in 1920 and existed through the Second World War, although it did not see combat. The division had originally be ...

, a Territorial Army (TA) formation, in 1938, and the same year became Colonel of the Somerset Light Infantry. In 1939, with war in Europe deemed likely, the division split to form a second-line duplicate formation, the

59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division The 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was formed during the Second World War and fought in the Battle of Normandy. In March 1939, after Germany re-emerged as a significant military power an ...

. Majendie served from the outbreak of 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 September 1939 until June 1941 as GOC the 55th Division, which in late June 1940 was reorganised as an infantry division and served in the United Kingdom throughout the war. By now believed to be too old for field command, he relinquished command of the 55th Division to Major- eneral William Morgan, became GOC Northern Ireland District in 1941 and served in the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

as President of the War Office Regular Commissions Board from 1943. He retired from the army, after a career spanning well over 40 years, in 1946 and ceased being Colonel of his regiment the following year. He became Deputy Lieutenant for the county of

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

in 1951.

Bibliography

References

External links

British Army Officers 1939–1945
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Majendie, Vivian 1886 births 1960 deaths British Army major generals Somerset Light Infantry officers British Army personnel of World War I British Army generals of World War II Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order English cricketers Devon cricketers Somerset cricketers Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Royal West African Frontier Force officers British expatriates in Nigeria British expatriates in India People of colonial Nigeria Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People educated at Winchester College Deputy Lieutenants of Hertfordshire War Office personnel in World War II Academics of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Academics of the Staff College, Camberley Military personnel from Devon British Army cricketers