Henry Ernest Lavie (1879-1930)
Man born in Sri Lanka commanded the 2nd DLI was awarded the DSO
Henry Ernest Lavie, the son of Henry George and Gertrude Clara Lavie, was born in Sri Lanka on 5 August 1879. He had one brother and they came to England a few years after they were born to be educated.
On 28 September 1918 he was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant into the 3rd Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment and was transferred to the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) as a 2nd lieutenant on 18 April 1900, being promoted to lieutenant on 13 July 1901. He was employed with the West African Frontier Force from August 1904 to June 1909, during which time he was promoted to captain. At the beginning of 1910 he married Constance Gertrude McCoan and by 1911 he had been posted to India. In India he served as Assistant Embarkation Staff Officer from August 1914 to November 1915 and Deputy Acting Quartermaster-General from December to September 1916.
In October 1916 Henry was sent to Europe and was attached to the service battalion of the Yorkshire and Lancashire Regiment as commanding officer, being appointed acting lieutenant-colonel and then temporary lieutenant-colonel. He was mentioned in despatches in May 1918 and in July he was awarded the Croix de Guerre (Belgium). He returned to England where he had a special staff appointment as an Instructor at the Senior Officers’ School in Aldershot.
In February 1919 he was appointed commanding officer of the 13th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment and served in northern Russia, where he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and the Order of Vladimir, 4th class with Swords. On his return to England he went back to the 2nd Battalion Durham Light Infantry as commanding officer and was appointed brevet lieutenant-colonel in February 1920, being again mentioned in despatches.
From 1925 until September 1927 he served with the 1st Durham Light Infantry in Northern Ireland after which he retired on half-pay. Two months later he retired on the grounds of ill health, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel and moved to Cornwall. Henry died in the Colonial Hospital in Gibraltar on 28 February 1930.
The award of the DSO was gazetted on 3 October 1919 and the citation reads:
” For inspiring leadership and devotion to duty when in command of the ‘Seletskoe Detachment’. No exertion on his part has been too great in ensuring that proper defensive measures were being taken, and the entire lack of success of enemy attacks made on his front during April, 1919, can be attributed in great measure to the change of morale in the defending troops owing to his personality and power of command”.
Birth date: 5-Aug-1879
Death date: 28-Feb-1920
Armed force/civilian: Army
Residence: 10 Hertford Gardens, Albert Road, Battersea, Surrey (1891 census)
Hillfield, Addlestone, Surrey (1901 census)
Peter Pan, Mevagissey, Cornwall (England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1930)
Family: Father: Henry George Lavie
Mother: Gertrude Clara Lavie (nee Harris)
Brother: George Lavie
Wife: Constance Gertrude Lavie (nee McCoan)
Military service:
2nd Battalion Durham Light Infantry
Lieutenant-Colonel
Medal(s): Distinguished Service Order
Mentioned in Despatches (2)
British War Medal
Victory Medal
Croix de Guerre (Belgium)
Russian Order of Vladimir, 4th Class with Swords
Gender: Male
Contributed by John Edwards
