George MacLeay (Onslow) Macarthur-Onslow CMG DSO VD (1875 - 1931)

Ancestors Descendants

Biography

Brigadier General George MacLeay Macarthur-Onslow CMG DSO VD was an Australian grazier and army officer who commanded light horse units during the First World War. He was afterward elected to office in local government.

George Macleay Onslow was born on 2nd May 1875 at Camden Park, Menangle, New South Wales (Australia). He was the third son of Captain Arthur Alexander Walton Onslow and Elizabeth McArthur, granddaughter of the infamous John Macarthur.^[1] After his father died in 1882, his mother Elizabeth took her children to England in 1887 to complete their education while she studied dairy farming. When his mother changed her name to Macarthur-Onslow in 1892, 17 year-old George also took the name, Macarthur-Onslow.

Returning to Australia, George was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the New South Wales Mounted Rifles in 1895 and was promoted to Lieutenant the next year. After Federation he was posted to the 2nd Light Horse Regiment.

He married Violet Marguerite Gordon on 16th October 1907 at Braidwood, New South Wales.^[2] He was promoted to Captain in 1911 and Major on 16th February 1914, commanding the 9th Light Horse Regiment. George transferred to the Australian Imperial War on 1st October that year, being given command of the 1st Light Horse Regiment. Relinquishing command to undergo an operation for appendicitis, upon his recuperation he was appointed second in command of the 7th Light Horse Regiment.^[3] The regiment arrived at Gallipoli, less its horses, on 19th May 1915. George was promoted Lieutenant Colonel and given command of the regiment in November. He was awarded the Volunteer Decoration for twenty years service as an officer in the militia.

He was wounded in August 1916 against the Turks and evacuated. He was Mentioned in Despatches and awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO)^[4]. George continued to lead the regiment upon his recovery; in the Battle of Beersheba, in the battles for Gaza, the pursuit across the Philistine Plain, and the operations across the Jordan^[5].

From May to August 1918, Macarthur-Onslow was acting commander of the 2nd Light Horse Brigade in the absence of Brigadier General Granville Ryrie.

In September 1918, he took command of the newly formed 5th Light Horse Brigade, with the temporary rank of Brigadier General. For his services in Palestine, he was twice more Mentioned in Despatches,^[6][7] appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG),^[8] and received the Egyptian Order of the Nile, Third Class.^[9]. In January 1919, he was evacuated with typhoid and repatriated to Australia 4th March 1919, arriving in May.^[10]