Bryan Mahon

Sir Bryan Mahon

Bryan Mahon
Born 2 April 1862
Galway, Ireland
Died 29 September 1930 (aged 68)
Dublin, Ireland
Allegiance United Kingdom United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Service/branch British Army
Rank General
Commands held 10th (Irish) Division
Western Frontier Force
Commander-in-Chief, Ireland
Battles/wars Second Boer War
World War I
Awards Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
KCMG
Distinguished Service Order

General Sir Bryan Thomas Mahon KCB, KCVO, PC, DSO (2 April 1862 – 29 September 1930) was an Irish born general of the British Army and Senator of the Irish Free State.

Biography

Mahon was born at Belleville, County Galway on 2 April 1862. He became a lieutenant in the 8th (King's Royal Irish) Hussars in 1883. He served in Sudan in the Dongola Expedition in 1896 as Staff officer to Sir Herbert Kitchener, and was present at the Battle of Ferkeh and the operations at Hafir. In 1899 he took part in the final defeat of the Khailfa as Assistant Adjutant general in charge of Intelligence, and was mentioned in despatches (dated 25 November 1899) by Colonel Wingate with the following words:

I cannot speak in sufficiently strong terms of the excellence of the services performed by this officer. I invariably placed him in general command of all the mounted troops; his personal disregard for danger, intrepid scouting, and careful handling of men, all fit him for high command; his bold and successful seizure of the position in front of Fedil's camp, and his conduct of the fight before I came up, show him to possessed of exceptional qualities as a commander.[1]

During the Second Boer War Colonel Mahon led a flying column, 2,000 strong and consisting mainly of South African volunteers, from Kimberley which came to the Relief of Mafeking. The town, which had been under siege for seven months by Boer forces, was facing starvation. Mahon was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) for his services during the operations.[2]

He was briefly Governor of Khartoum in 1903.

Bryan Mahon at Salonica 1916

During the First World War he commanded the 2nd (Sialkot) Cavalry Brigade and the 10th (Irish) Division during the Gallipoli Campaign.The 10th Division landed at Suvla Bay on the night of 6-7 August 1915. In September he moved with the Division to be head of the British Salonika Army to support Serbia at the onset of the Macedonian campaign. In 1916 General Mahon took up command of the Western Frontier Force in the Egyptian Expeditionary Force.[3]

He was then appointed as the Commander-in-Chief, Ireland in 1916 in the lead up to the Anglo-Irish war. He retired from the British Army at the end of August 1921.[4]

After his retirement he was elected as a privy council member of the short-lived Senate of Southern Ireland.[5] He was appointed to Seanad Éireann by the President of the Executive Council, William T. Cosgrave, in 1922 and 1925. He was elected to the Seanad in 1928, and served until his death in 1930.[6]

Mahon was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS) in May 1902.[7]

References

  1. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 27159. pp. 598–600. 30 January 1900.
  2. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 27359. p. 6303. 27 September 1901.
  3. ↑ Sir Archibald Murray's Despatch of 1916
  4. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 32441. p. 6912. 30 August 1921.
  5. ↑ The Senate of Southern Ireland, 1921
  6. ↑ Oireachtas entry
  7. ↑ "Court Circular" The Times (London). Wednesday, 14 May 1902. (36767), p. 12.

External links

Military offices
Preceded by
New Post		 General Officer Commanding the 10th (Irish) Division
1914–1915 		Succeeded by
John Longley
Preceded by
Charles C. Monro		 Commander of the British Salonika Army
1915–1916 		Succeeded by
George Milne
Preceded by
John Maxwell		 Commander-in-Chief, Ireland
1916–1918 		Succeeded by
Frederick Shaw
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