Iven Mackay
Iven Giffard Mackay was a senior Australian Army officer who served in both world wars. He served with the 4th Infantry Battalion at Gallipoli, where he distinguished himself in hand-to-hand fighting at the Battle of Lone Pine. He was promoted to brigadier general in June 1918, and led the 1st Infantry Brigade in the attack on the Hindenburg Line. In 1940, he was selected to command the 6th Division in the Western Desert Campaign. During 1943, he twice commanded New Guinea Force in the fighting in the New Guinea campaign.
About Iven Mackay in brief
Iven Giffard Mackay was a senior Australian Army officer who served in both world wars. Mackay graduated from the University of Sydney in 1904 and taught physics there from 1910 until 1914. He joined the Australian Imperial Force shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. He served with the 4th Infantry Battalion at Gallipoli, where he distinguished himself in hand-to-hand fighting at the Battle of Lone Pine. He was promoted to brigadier general in June 1918, and led the 1st Infantry Brigade in the attack on the Hindenburg Line. In 1940, he was selected to command the 6th Division in the Western Desert Campaign. During 1943, he twice commanded New Guinea Force in the fighting in the New Guinea campaign. His active service ended with his appointment as High Commissioner to India in November 1943. He died in Sydney, Australia, on 25 November 1974. He is buried at the Royal Prince Alfred Cemetery in Sydney. He had a son and a daughter, both of whom died in childhood. He also had two step-daughters, one of whom he never met and the other who died in a car crash in the 1970s. He has a son, Peter, who was a teacher at Cranbrook School, Sydney, and a step-son, Peter Mackay, who worked at the Sydney Opera House as a director of the National Gallery of Australia. His wife, Marjorie Eveline Meredith, was the daughter of Lieutenant Colonel John Meredith, who had served in the Australian Army during the First and Second World Wars.
She was also a former member of the Royal Australian Air Force and the Australian Defence Force. He married his fiancée in September 1914, and they had two children, Peter and Marjory Mackay. In October 1914, Mackay suffered a punctured lung and broken ribs in a riding accident while on holiday in Paterson, New South Wales. He left his job to take care of horses, but did not go ashore with the battalion, as he did not want to miss the embarkation of his battalion on the transport transport Berrima. In May 1915, he observed the landing of the SS Lake Michigan, and was posted back to Sydney as the Transport Officer. In April 1916, he assumed command of the 4rd Infantry Battalion on the Western Front and led it at theBattle of Pozières, Battle of Bullecourt and Battle of Broodseinde. In June 1914, he became the only Australian general to face the Waffen-SS in battle. He suffered a series of reverses in Greece, but impressed the troops under his command with his courage under fire. In 1941, he served as General Officer Commanding Home Forces. On 6 April 1942, he took charge of the Second Army. He retired from the military in November 1942. He later became the High Commissioner of Australia to India. He passed away in 1974, aged 80. He leaves behind a wife and three children.
You want to know more about Iven Mackay?
This page is based on the article Iven Mackay published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 29, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
