Friends of the Somme - Mid Ulster Branch  
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Updates for Major William Ingram MacAuley
Date Information
13/08/2021 Known family: Christopher James Macauley, Margaret G. Macauley, William Ingham Macauley (born about 1879).
13/08/2021 William was born in Belfast about 1879.
13/08/2021 William Ingham Macauley was the only son of Christopher James and Margaret Macauley.
13/08/2021 On 16th August 1914 Captain Macauley went to France with the Army Veterinary Corps, attached to the 2nd Dragoon Guards (the Queen’s Bays).
13/08/2021 Major William Macauley is buried in Bapaume Australian Cemetery, in the Pas De Calais region of France. His inscription reads: BELOVED BY ALL WHO KNEW HIM
13/08/2021 As a result of the administration oh his estate, his father was left £189.
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30/12/2015
30/12/2015 William Macauley entered the Army Veterinary Corps as a Lieutenant in February 1906.
30/12/2015 He graduated from the London Veterinary College on 16th December 1905 as a vet.
30/12/2015 William was a pupil at the Royal School Dungannon between 1894 and 1896.
30/12/2015 Major William Ingham Macauley, Assistant Director of Veterinary Services, the only son of Mr C J Macauley, Easton Crescent, Cliftonville, Belfast, was killed in action in France on 14th May. He entered the Army Veterinary Corps in 1906 and served in Egypt, India and Burma before the opening of the present war. In August 1914 he went to France with the Expeditionary Force, attached to the 2nd Dragoon Guards (the Queen's Bays), and was in the memorable retreat from Mons, being mentioned in dispatches by Field Marshall Viscount French. In February 1916 he was appointed Assistant Director of Veterinary Services on the staff of a Division, and was promoted to the rank of Major. He was again mentioned in dispatches by Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig on 2nd January 1917. No details are yet to hand as to the circumstances under which Major Macauley was killed.
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30/12/2015 The 1911 census records his parents living in Easton Crescent, Cliftonville, Belfast. His father is described as a Commercial Traveller who sold Spirits.
30/12/2015 Captain W I Macauley, Army Veterinary Corps, has been appointed Assistant Director of Veterinary Services, and while holding that rank will have the temporary rank of major. Captain Macauley, who has lately been in charge of No 20 Veterinary Hospital, will now have an entire division under his care. He is a son of Mr C J Macauley, Easton Crescent, Cliftonville, and a nephew of the late James Allison, of Monaghan. In the early stages of the war Captain Macauley was veterinary officer of the 2nd Dragoon Guards, and was mentioned in connection with Field Marshall Viscount French's first dispatch.
30/12/2015 Tragically, on 14th May 1917, his body was found with a single gunshot wound, believed to be self-inflicted, a few miles behind British lines.
30/12/2015 From the Belfast Newsletter dated 22 May 1917: Major William Ingham Macauley
30/12/2015 William was promoted to Captain in 1911.
30/12/2015 He had served in Egypt, India (where he spent 5 years) and Burma before the war commenced.
30/12/2015 He took part in the retreat from Mons, being mentioned in dispatches by Field Marshall Viscount French.
30/12/2015 From the Belfast Newsletter dated 16 March 1916:
30/12/2015 He was again mentioned in dispatches by Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig on 2nd January 1917.
30/12/2015 His officer files at Kew, London comment that he had been deeply disturbed by what he had seen on the battlefield and had been in an unstable state of mind in the days before his death.
30/12/2015 Major William Ingham Macauley was serving with the Army Veterinary Corps when he died on 14th May 1917. He was 38 years of age.
30/12/2015 The CWGC records Major William Ingham Macauley as the son of Christopher J and Margaret G Macauley of 3 Easton Crescent, Cliftonville, Belfast. It describes him as a native of Monaghan, Ireland.
30/12/2015 Many thanks to Paul Kerr and the Royal School Dungannon for his research and all the information provided. Major William Macauley is listed on page 38 of the Royal School Dungannon WWI book.
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30/12/2015 In February 1916 he was appointed Assistant Director of Veterinary Services on the staff of a Division, and was promoted to the rank of Major.
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