Iven Mackay
Sir 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, when 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. In April 1916, he assumed command of the 4th Infantry Battalion on the Western Front and led it at the Battle of Pozières, Battle of Bullecourt and Battle of Broodseinde. He was promoted to brigadier general in June 1918, and led the 1st Infantry Brigade at the Battle of Hazebrouck, the Battle of Amiens and in the attack on the Hindenburg Line.
After the war, Mackay studied physics at the University of Cambridge under Ernest Rutherford before returning to Australia and his old job as a lecturer at the University of Sydney. From 1933 to 1940 he was headmaster of Cranbrook School, Sydney. He remained in the Militia between the wars, and was a major general by the time the Second World War broke out. He was selected to command the 6th Division in 1940, and led it through the Australian Army's first battles of the war. Any doubts about his ability soon disappeared with the commitment of the division to the Western Desert Campaign. During the Battle of Bardia in January 1941, the 6th Division captured the fortified town along with 36,000 Italian prisoners. In the Battle of Greece, 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. He was recalled to Australia in 1941 to serve as General Officer Commanding Home Forces. On 6 April 1942, he assumed command of the Second Army. 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.
Early life and career
Iven Giffard Mackay was born in Grafton, New South Wales, on 7 April 1882. The eldest of three children, he was the only son of the Reverend Isaac Mackay, a Presbyterian minister from Armadale, Sutherland, Scotland, and his Canadian wife Emily Frances, née King. Iven was educated at Grafton Superior Public School, Newington College, and the University of Sydney, where he opened the batting for the university's cricket team, and won Blues for rugby union football and rowing. He graduated with his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1904.Mackay had served in the Newington College cadet unit, reaching the rank of sergeant and winning a trophy in 1899 for being the school's best rifle shot. In 1911, he became a lieutenant in the Cadet Corps. On 20 March 1913, he transferred to the Militia as a lieutenant. In July he became the adjutant of the 26th Infantry Battalion, which was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Henry MacLaurin. As part of his training, he attended the School of Musketry in Randwick, New South Wales. He was promoted to captain on 1 June 1914. Mackay joined Sydney Church of England Grammar School in 1905, teaching various subjects and coaching the rowing and rugby teams. In 1910 he returned to the University of Sydney to teach physics. From 1913 to 1914, he studied for a Diploma of Military Science course at the University of Sydney.
First World War
Mackay joined the Australian Imperial Force on 27 August 1914 as adjutant of the 4th Infantry Battalion, with the rank of captain. On 4 September 1914, he married his fiancée, Marjorie Eveline Meredith, the daughter of Lieutenant Colonel John Meredith, in a ceremony at St Philip's Church, Sydney. The couple had met while Mackay was on holiday in Paterson, New South Wales, in 1910.In October 1914, Mackay suffered a riding accident and was taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital with a punctured lung and broken ribs. The injury forced him to miss the scheduled embarkation of his battalion. He sailed for Egypt with the 1st Reinforcements of the 13th Infantry Battalion, departing Sydney on the transport on 19 December 1914, arriving at Alexandria on 31 January 1915. He was then posted back to the 4th Infantry Battalion as the Transport Officer. He observed the landing at Gallipoli from the transport SS Lake Michigan, but did not go ashore with the battalion, as his job was to take care of the horses. He re-joined the battalion on shore on 8 May 1915. Heavy casualties in the early fighting had depleted the officer ranks and Mackay was promoted to major on 14 July 1915, and given command of a company in August.
Gallipoli
On 6 August 1915, Mackay was involved in the Battle of Lone Pine. When the attack began, Mackay went over the top at the head of an attack. He ignored the first Turkish trench, taking a direct line to his objective. Firing from the hip, he shot and killed several Turks in the trenches below. Mackay positioned himself at the junction of two trenches, shooting down more enemy troops. When no others appeared, he came to the belief that the trenches were in Australian hands and ran across the junction into a wide bay. The first man who attempted to follow was shot dead, as were the next two after him. The rest decided not to follow. Mackay took up a position on a fire step, a raised part of the trench floor which allows men to fire over the top. Three Turkish soldiers appeared in the trench. Mackay attempted to fire but his magazine was empty. He lunged at the Turks, grazing one and making all three run. Mackay then instructed his party to fortify the position with sandbags. As the barricade was built up, it became possible for the rest of the party to join Mackay. The post became the north eastern corner of the new Australian position at Lone Pine. It was in an exposed position and came under hand grenade attack from Turkish troops. Mackay was slightly injured in one such attack. When Lieutenant Jack Massie was sent to relieve Mackay during the night, Mackay refused to leave the post.By the next day, Mackay realised that the position could not be held. He personally kept the enemy at bay with his rifle while new barricades were constructed. When he was satisfied with the security of the new position he reported to the battalion commander, who sent him to have his wounds dressed. Mackay's injuries were severe enough for him to be evacuated to Malta and then England, and he did not rejoin his battalion until February 1916, by which time it had been withdrawn to Egypt. For his actions at Lone Pine, Mackay was nominated for the Victoria Cross. He was overlooked for the award, although he was later mentioned in despatches.
Western Front
Mackay sailed for France on 20 March 1916 on the transport Minnewaska as part of the Advance Party of the 1st Division. On 18 April 1916, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and assumed command of the 4th Infantry Battalion. He led it at the Battle of Pozières in July, where it was involved in the capture of the town. Here, a famous incident occurred:For his part in the battle, Mackay was mentioned in despatches a second time. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his gallantry at Lone Pine, his part in the capture of Pozières, and his role in repelling a German counterattack at Mouquet Farm, near Pozières.
Mackay held the temporary position of commander of the 1st Infantry Brigade in January 1917, for the first of what would be five times totalling 92 days in 1917. He commanded the 4th Infantry Battalion in the advance to the Hindenburg Line, including the capture of the fortified town of Hermies. During the German counter-attack at Lagnicourt in April 1917 his battalion held its positions, repulsing the Germans with heavy casualties.
Acting brigade commander again during the Second Battle of Bullecourt in May, Mackay was mentioned in despatches for the third time, and awarded a bar to his Distinguished Service Order. His citation read:
Along with Brigadier General H. Gordon Bennett and others, Mackay received personal congratulations from Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig. He later received his medals from King George V in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. Mackay led his battalion once more at the Battle of Broodseinde, earning a fourth mention in despatches. In March 1918, the four machine gun companies in each division were grouped into machine gun battalions. Mackay was given command of the 1st Machine Gun Battalion, the 1st Division's new battalion, which he led in the Battle of Hazebrouck. He was given the brevet rank of major in the 26th Infantry Battalion in the AMF back home on 3 June 1918.
On 6 June 1918, Mackay was heading on leave to London to visit his wife, who had managed to reach England after a long battle with wartime travel restrictions, when he was stopped and turned back at Boulogne by British military police. He had been appointed to command the 1st Infantry Brigade and had to return at once. He was immediately promoted to colonel and temporary brigadier general. Mackay commanded the 1st Infantry Brigade in the later stages of the fighting around Hazebrouck. In the operations east of there in June and July, his brigade was exceptionally active in the form of minor operations and patrolling that became known as the peaceful penetration.
In August, the 1st Division moved south to the Somme sector to participate in the Battle of Amiens and later the attack on the Hindenburg Line. Through his "careful preliminary preparations and sound tactical knowledge", Mackay contributed to the successes of his brigade and was once more mentioned in despatches. For his service as a brigade commander, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1919 New Year Honours. He was also awarded the French Croix de guerre for his service on the Western Front.
Between the wars
After the end of the war Mackay took advantage of Brigadier General George Long's education scheme to study physics at Emmanuel College at the University of Cambridge under Ernest Rutherford. His first child, Jean Margaret, was born in Cambridge in 1919. Iven and Marjorie later had two more children – a son, Iven John, born in Sydney in 1920, and another daughter, Alison, born in Sydney in 1930.They returned to Australia aboard the transport Mantua, which reached Sydney on 19 February 1920. With the war over, the AIF was demobilised, and Mackay's appointment to the AIF was terminated on 4 April 1920. Mackay returned to lecturing in physics at the University of Sydney. Between 1922 and 1932 he was student adviser. From 1925 he was also faculty secretary. From 1932 to 1940 Mackay also worked evenings as a Commonwealth Film Appeals Censor.
In 1933, he was appointed headmaster of Cranbrook School, Sydney. The school's constitution was changed to allow Mackay, a Presbyterian, to hold the post. As a result of a case of mistaken identity following the death of Major General Kenneth Mackay in 1935, Mackay got to read his own obituary in The Times, entitled "Athlete, Soldier and Headmaster". He normally avoided publicity, but this incident brought him to national attention.
Mackay remained active in the Militia throughout the inter-war period. He held the rank of honorary brigadier general from 21 January 1920 to late June 1937, when he was promoted to that rank substantively. He commanded the 9th Infantry Brigade from 1 July 1920 to 30 April 1921; the 8th Infantry Brigade from 1 May 1921 to 30 April 1926; and the 5th Infantry Brigade from 1 May 1930 to 31 December 1932. On 24 March 1937 he took command of the 2nd Division. He was promoted to major general on 1 July 1937. Mackay was one of only four Militia officers to be substantively promoted to that rank between 1929 and 1939.
His term of office at Cranbrook ended acrimoniously after Justice Kenneth Street and others blamed Mackay for the school's slow recovery from the Great Depression, and the school council voted to remove him on 25 October 1939. Mackay was given twelve months' notice. When, in December 1939, Mackay's daughter Jean married Lieutenant W. H. Travers, the grandson of Major General William Holmes; the reception was held at Cranbrook.