Archibald Cameron Macdonell conflict World War I
The Great War
He was the Commander 7th Canadian Brigade and 1st Canadian Division during the First World War. Sir Archie had been awarded the Order- Knight Commander, The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (military division) [hence the post-nominals, KCB] for his service in the First World War. This grade of the Order conferred Knighthood and the right to bear the title, "Sir". He was awarded the neck badge and the Breast Star of a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.
After being promoted to brigadier-general, he commanded the 7th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, and in June 1917 the 1st Canadian Division. Pierre Berton described MacDonnell in the book Vimy:MacDonell was known as a front-line soldier; indeed, (28-year-old intelligence officer Hal) Wallis was to say he spent as much time at the front with his brigadier as he had in his days as a private.  Not for nothing did the men of the 7th call MacDonell "Fighting Mac" and sometimes "Batty Mac" because of his eccentricities under fire.   Everybody knew the story of how he'd gone so far into No Man's Land that a sniper put a bullet in his arm.  Instead of ducking, Batty Mac had stood up swearing, shaking his unwounded arm angrily at the sniper, who immediately put another bullet in his good arm.  And everybody also knew that MacDonell, at the Somme, had insisted on walking among the wounded after the attack on the Regina Trench, unmindful of the enemy shells, to salute the corpses of the Black Watch.  A sentimental Scot who sometimes swore in Gaelic in moments of great pressure, MacDonell stopped at every corpse and said "I salute you, my brave Highlander," until Wallis managed to pull him to safety.A Presentation General Officer sword, which he was awarded in May 1919 by the officers of the 1st Canadian Division, 'The Older Patch' is in the collection of the Royal Military College of Canada virtual museum
battle warfare struggle fighting combat