12 Facts About Vivian Majendie

The son of The Reverend Henry Majendie, Vivian Majendie was educated at Winchester College and the Royal Military College at Sandhurst.

Vivian Majendie was commissioned into the Somerset Light Infantry in 1905.

Vivian Majendie developed a career as a cricketer and played for Somerset and Devon.

Vivian Majendie served with the West African Frontier Force in Southern Nigeria from 1908 to 1913 and then in India from 1913 to 1914.

Vivian Majendie married the following year, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in July 1917.

Vivian Majendie ended the war in 1918 as officer commanding the 1st Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry, serving in France as part of the British Expeditionary Force.

Vivian Majendie commanded his battalion with the greatest skill and determination.

Vivian Majendie's battalion was continuously in touch with the enemy and under heavy shell and machine-gun fire, and its grit and determination reflect the spirit of its commanding officer.

Vivian Majendie was appointed General Officer Commanding the 55th Infantry Division, a Territorial Army formation, in 1938, and the same year became Colonel of the Somerset Light Infantry, taking over from General Sir Walter Braithwaite.

Vivian Majendie served from the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 until June 1941 as GOC the 55th Division, which in late June 1940 was reorganised as an infantry division and served in the United Kingdom throughout the war.

Vivian Majendie retired from the army, after a career spanning well over 40 years, in 1946 and ceased being Colonel of his regiment the following year.

Vivian Majendie became deputy lieutenant for the county of Hertfordshire in 1951.