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John Mackenzie (VC)

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Allegiance
  
Service/branch
  
Place of burial
  

Role
  
Armed force officer

Name
  
John Mackenzie

Awards
  
John Mackenzie (VC)

Born
  
22 November 1871Contin, Ross-shire, Scotland (
1871-11-22
)

Buried at
  
Guards Cemetery, Windy Corner, Cuinchy

Unit
  
Seaforth HighlandersBlack Watch (29 Nov 1900 - 1904)Royal Scots (1904)Northern Nigeria Regiment

Commands held
  
2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment

Battles/wars
  
Chitral ExpeditionThird Ashanti ExpeditionAro ExpeditionKano-Sokoto ExpeditionWorld War I †

Died
  
May 17, 1915, Festubert, France

Battles and wars
  
People also search for
  
Frank Edward Young, John Bruce

Major John Mackenzie VC DCM (22 November 1871 – 17 May 1915) was a Scottish 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

John Mackenzie (VC) Major John Mackenzie VC DCM 22 November 1871 17 May 1915 was a

Details

Mackenzie was 29 years old, and a sergeant in the 2nd Battalion, The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, Duke of Albany's), British Army, employed West African Field Force during the Third Ashanti Expedition when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 6 June 1900 at Dompoassi, Ashanti (now Ghana), Sergeant Mackenzie, after working two Maxim guns under heavy fire and being wounded while doing so, volunteered to clear the stockade of the enemy. This he did, most gallantly, leading the charge himself and driving the enemy headlong into the bush.

Further information

John Mackenzie was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Black Watch on 29 November 1900 and became a captain in the Royal Scots on 22 January 1904. During this time he also served on attachment with the Northern Nigeria Regiment. He was mentioned in dispatches for his work during the Aro Expedition; also in 1906 when he was staff officer of the Munster Field Force and once more during the Kano-Sokoto Expedition. He was promoted to major during World War I and was commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment, where at Festubert on 17 May 1915, when leading his men, he was killed just after he had left the jumping off trench.

Major Mackenzie is buried in the Guards Cemetery, Windy Corner, Cuinchy, in Northern France.

His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Regimental Museum of Queens Own Highlanders, Fort George, Inverness-shire, Scotland. His pipe banner is located in the Royal Scots Museum at Edinburgh Castle.

References

John Mackenzie (VC) Wikipedia


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