Christ College Remember . . . Lieutenant Horace Macaulay

REMEMBRANCE DISPATCH No. 41 COMMEMORATES LIEUTENANT HORACE MACAULAY (SCHOOL HOUSE 1905-1907) WHO DIED ON 25 APRIL 1918.

Horace Macaulay was the younger son of John and Janet Macaulay and brother of Bruce Wallace Macaulay (School House 1905-1907).

Joining the Honourable Artillery Company on 8th September 1914, Horace quickly rose through the ranks to become a Lance-Sergeant. Commissioned into the 3rd Seaforth Highlanders on 10th September 1915, he later joined the 7th Battalion as a Lieutenant, entering France on 26th July 1916 aged 22.

He saw several months of intense action in France in 1916, and he and the Battalion fought through the First and Second Battles of the Scarpe in April 1917. Most likely due to wounds or illness, Horace returned to England until April 1918.

23-year-old Horace returned to the Battalion on 24th April 1918 and immediately assumed command of D Company, then in the thick of the German advance in the Ypres Salient. Despite three heavy bombardments, Horace and his men were holding a defensive line at Wytschaete. Within hours of assuming command and just a few days before his 24^th birthday, Horace was killed as the Battalion withdrew on 25th April 1918. His body was never recovered.

His Captain wrote, “Your son was, I think, one of the best-known and most popular officers in the battalion, always cheerful and willing to help a fellow in any circumstances. He was very considerate of his men, and one of the straightest fellows I’ve met”.

Horace’s brother Bruce had been killed in action in France on 3^rd May 1917. The boys’ father applied for the medals of both his sons on 27^th September 1921.

Lieutenant Horace Macaulay is remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial as well as on the Christ College War Memorial