21 Facts About Hector MacDonald

The son of a crofter, MacDonald left school before he was 15, enlisted in the Gordon Highlanders as a private at 17, and finished his career as a major general, a rare example of a British Army general who rose through the ranks on merit alone.

Hector MacDonald distinguished himself in action at the Battle of Omdurman, became a popular hero in Scotland and England, and was knighted for his service in the Second Boer War.

Hector MacDonald was born on a farm at Rootfield, near Dingwall, Ross-shire, Scotland.

Hector MacDonald was, as were most people in the area at the time, a Gaelic speaker and in later life went by the name Eachann nan Cath.

Hector MacDonald's father, William MacDonald, was a crofter and a stonemason.

Hector MacDonald's mother was Ann Boyd, the daughter of John Boyd of Killiechoilum, Whitebridge, and Cradlehall, near Inverness.

On 7 March 1870 Hector MacDonald joined the Inverness-shire Highland Rifle Volunteers, and in 1871 enlisted in the 92nd Gordon Highlanders at Fort George.

Hector MacDonald rose rapidly through the noncommissioned ranks, and had already been a Colour Sergeant for some years when his distinguished conduct in the presence of the enemy during the Second Afghan War led to his being offered the choice of being recommended for the Victoria Cross or commissioned in his regiment; he chose the latter.

Hector MacDonald served as a subaltern in the First Boer War, and at the Battle of Majuba Hill, where he was made prisoner, his bravery was so conspicuous that General Joubert gave him back his sword.

Hector MacDonald swung his men by companies in an arc as the Dervishes charged and by skillful manoeuvring held his ground until Kitchener could redeploy his brigades.

Hector MacDonald received a brevet promotion to colonel in the British Army, appointed an aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria, and received the thanks of Parliament and a cash award.

In October 1899, Hector MacDonald received the temporary rank of brigadier general and was seconded to command the Sirhind district in the Punjab with headquarters at Umballa.

Hector MacDonald received the substantive rank of colonel on 4 January 1900, arrived in Cape Town on 18 January 1900 by the transport Dwarka, and six days later assumed command of the Highland Brigade stationed at Modder River, with the local rank of major general.

Hector MacDonald returned to the United Kingdom in May 1901, but soon left for India where he had been appointed to command the South District Army, and was in command of in Belgaum district, near Madras.

In London Hector MacDonald "was probably told by the king that the best thing he could do was to shoot himself".

Lord Roberts, now commander-in-chief of the Army, advised Hector MacDonald to go back to Ceylon and face a court martial to clear his name.

Hector MacDonald, reading this in the morning newspaper over breakfast in the Hotel Regina in Paris, returned to his room and shot himself.

Now made public was the discovery that Hector MacDonald had a wife and a son.

In March 1911, the Ashburton Guardian reported that Hector MacDonald had been seen in Manchuria, and another report that a non-commissioned officer who had served with Hector MacDonald in India and Egypt had seen him breakfasting at the Astor House in Shanghai two years earlier.

Yet Hector MacDonald's alleged homosexuality had been a concern to his superiors even before Ceylon.

Hector MacDonald is often said to have been the model for the soldier who appeared on the label for Camp Coffee.