- Matthew Fontaine Maury Meiklejohn
-
Matthew Fontaine Maury Meiklejohn
The battle of ElandslaagteBorn 27 November 1870
Clapham, LondonDied 4 July 1913 (aged 42)
Hyde Park, LondonBuried at Brookwood Cemetery Allegiance United Kingdom Service/branch British Army Years of service 1891 - 1913 Rank Major Unit The Gordon Highlanders Battles/wars Chitral Expedition
Tirah Campaign
Second Boer WarAwards Victoria Cross Major Matthew Fontaine Maury Meiklejohn VC (27 November 1870 - 4 July 1913[1]) was a British recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Contents
Details
Meiklejohn was educated at Fettes College. He was 28 years old, and a Captain in the 2nd Battalion, The Gordon Highlanders, British Army during the Second Boer War when the following deed took place at the Battle of Elandslaagte for which he was awarded the VC.
At the Battle of Elandslaagte on the 21st October, 1899, after the main Boer position had been captured, some men of the Gordon Highlanders, when about to assault a kopje in advance, were exposed to a heavy cross-fire and, having lost their leaders, commenced to waver. Seeing this, Captain Meiklejohn rushed to the front and called on the Gordons to follow him. By his conspicuous bravery and fearless example, he rallied the men and led them against the enemy's position, where he fell, desperately wounded in four places.[2]Further information
His VC action cost him his arm which was amputated. Despite this, he remained in the army and achieved the rank of major and was a staff officer. He died on 4 July 1913 following a fall from his horse in Hyde Park, and was given a hero's funeral in Brookwood Cemetery. He is commemorated by a plaque on the wall of the Hyde Park Barracks, London.
The medal
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Gordon Highlanders Museum in Aberdeen, Scotland.
Notes
- ^ Who's Who 1914, p. xxiii, gives 3 July as the date of death
- ^ London Gazette: no. 27212. p. 4509. 20 July 1900. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
References
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- Victoria Crosses of the Anglo-Boer War (Ian Uys, 2000)
External links
- angloboerwar.com
- Location of grave and VC medal (Brookwood Cemetery)
- The Brookwood Cemetery Society (Known Holders of the Victoria Cross Commemorated in Brookwood Cemetery)
Categories:- Second Boer War recipients of the Victoria Cross
- British recipients of the Victoria Cross
- Gordon Highlanders officers
- Deaths by horse-riding accident
- 1870 births
- 1913 deaths
- Old Fettesians
- British military personnel killed in the Second Boer War
- British military personnel of the Chitral Expedition
- British military personnel of the Tirah Campaign
- British Army personnel of the Second Boer War
- British amputees
- Accidental deaths in England
- Burials at Brookwood Cemetery
- People from Clapham
- Deaths from falls
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.