George Feilden Menzies (1861-1944)
General's son commanded 14th DLI awarded DSO
George Feilden Menzies, the son of General William Collier and Elizabeth Lushington Menzies, was born on 1 September 1861 in Quebec, Canada. The family had temporarily moved to Canada while his father was serving in the Royal Engineers. From Canada the family moved to St Helier in the Channel Islands and, after being educated at Leamington College in Warwickshire, George joined the 3rd (Clare) Battalion of the Royal Munster Fusiliers as a 2nd lieutenant.
In May 1881 he was promoted to lieutenant and in December 1883 was transferred from the Militia to the Prince of Wales’s Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment). He was promoted to captain on 8 November 1893 and served on the North-West Frontier in India from 1897 to 1898. On 2 August 1900 he was appointed to the Staff of the China Field Force as deputy assistant quartermaster-general on an expedition to China from to 30 March 1901. After this he was engaged in the relief expedition following the Boxer rebellion until August 1902 when he was promoted to major and appointed judicial assistant to the Viceroy of Pe-Chi-Li until July 1910.
On 26 September 1915 George was appointed temporary lieutenant-colonel. He landed in France on 27 October in command of the 14th Battalion Durham Light Infantry (DLI). For the next year he spent several months on the Ypres salient and was present during a gas attack in December. Early in 1916 he was mentioned in despatches and awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). During the Battle of the Somme his battalion was mainly responsible for taking the Heidenkopf (Quadrilateral) Redoubt. He retired as commanding officer on 5 August 1917 and was appointed commandant of a musketry and reinforcement camp, finally retiring on 15 April 1918 and being granted the rank of honourary lieutenant-colonel.
Birth date: 1-Sep-1861
Death date: 28-Mar-1944
Armed force/civilian: Army
Residence: 14 Grosvenor Street, St Helier, Jersey (1871 census)
33 Midvale Road, St Helier, Jersey (1881 census)
Regimental Barracks, St Peter, Jersey (1891 census)
Pe-Chi-Li, China (UK, Hart’s Annual Army List, 1902)
73 West Parade, Rhyl, Flintshire, Wales (1939 Register)
Education: Leamington College, Warwickshire
Organisation membership: Royal Geographical Society
Family: Father: General William Collier Menzies
Mother: Elizabeth Lushington Menzies (nee Burke)
Brother: William Maxwell Menzies (Captain in D.L.I.)
Military service:
14th Battalion Durham Light Infantry & General Staff
Temporary Lieutenant-Colonel
Medal(s): Distinguished Service Order
India General Service Medal with 2 clasps
China Silver Medal with 1 clasp
1914-1915 Star
Mentioned in Dispatches
British War Medal
Victory Medal
Gender: Male
Contributed by John Edwards
