Major-General Sir Henry Macandrew (7 August 1866 – 16 July 1919) was a British Indian Army officer. Predominantly serving in the cavalry and also as an intelligence officer, Macandrew fought through the Tirah and Mohmand campaigns in India in 1897 and 1898, and then served as a staff officer during the Boer War, for which service he received the Distinguished Service Order.
After serving again on the staff Macandrew was given command of his regiment, the 5th Bengal Cavalry, in 1914, and upon the outbreak of the First World War travelled to France as GSO1 of the 1st Indian Cavalry Division. Soon afterwards he was promoted to become Brigadier-General General Staff for the Indian Cavalry Corps. He served at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle before in 1916 he assumed command of the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division, leading it during the Battle of the Somme and Battle of Cambrai. In 1918 he was given command of the newly created 5th Cavalry Division for the Sinai and Palestine campaign. He commanded the division throughout the campaign, including at the Capture of Damascus and Battle of Aleppo. Staying with his division after the war, Macandrew died of wounds received in an accidental explosion of petrol fumes in Aleppo.
Military career
Early service
Henry John Milnes Macandrew was born on 7 August 1866, the son of Sir Henry Macandrew of Aisthorpe, Inverness. Macandrew was educated at The Inverness College before he joined the British Army on 6 August 1884 as a lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion, Cameron Highlanders. Two years later he transferred to the Lincolnshire Regiment on 10 November 1886.
Macandrew began an eighteen-month period of probationary service in the Bengal Staff Corps on 30 March 1888, serving as an officiating squadron officer in the 5th Bengal Cavalry of the British Indian Army. On 22 November 1889 he was admitted to the Bengal Staff Corps, having completed his probationary period, as a lieutenant and continued with the 5th Bengal Cavalry.
Macandrew served as brigade transport officer to the 2nd Brigade involved in the Tirah campaign of 1897, and was promoted to captain on 10 November that year. He continued his role as a transport officer into the following year, this time as part of the Mohmand campaign in the Khyber Pass. For his service in these campaigns, Macandrew was subsequently awarded the India Medal with two clasps and mentioned in dispatches.
Boer War
Macandrew continued in India until 1900 when he moved to fight in the Boer War. Serving in Kitchener's Horse, from February he operated in the Orange Free State. He was present at the Battle of Paardeberg between 17 and 26 February, the Battle of Poplar Grove on 7 March, and the Battle of Driefontein on 10 March. After several other skirmishes, Macandrew moved to serve in the Transvaal in May, seeing action at the Battle of Doornkop on 29 May and being present at the occupation of Pretoria on 4 June.
Macandrew was subsequently appointed intelligence officer on the Delagoa line, east of Pretoria, in July, in which role he continued until September. At this stage he was assigned as the Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General Intelligence (DAAGI) to Major-General Ralph Arthur Penrhyn Clements's column, serving in the Transvaal and to the west of Pretoria. On 29 November Macandrew was awarded the Distinguished Service Order; he continued as DAAGI into 1901, moving in February to serve Major-General Neville Lyttelton in the same position.
Having served in operations in the Transvaal, Orange River Colony, and Cape Colony, Macandrew was then promoted to serve Major-General Bruce Hamilton as DAAGI Army Headquarters Staff in May. He stayed in this role until the end of the war, relinquishing his position on 31 May 1902. For his services in the Boer War Macandrew received the Queen's South Africa Medal with four clasps, the King's South Africa Medal with two clasps, and was mentioned in dispatches a further two times.
Return to India
Macandrew's lengthy service as a staff officer during the Boer War led him to be considered qualified for formal staff employment after his return to India. On 2 May 1903 he was appointed a Station Staff Officer, 1st Class, but he stayed in this position for only a short while. Later in the year he was appointed brigade major to the Inspector-General of Cavalry in India, Major-General Douglas Haig. Haig chose Macandrew because he had worked with him in the Boer War and been impressed by his intelligence work. The appointment was meant to be for only one year, but Haig had Macandrew stay on until 1905. He was promoted to major on 10 November 1904.