Lieutenant Colonel Philip Mathew Magnay

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In Memory of
Lieutenant Colonel PHILIP MATHEW MAGNAY
3 times Mentioned in Despatches

Royal Fusiliers
Commanding 12th Bn., Manchester Regiment
who died
on 13 April 1917
Son of the late Sir William Magnay, 2nd Bart. and Lady Magnay, of Milford Lodge, Lymington, Hants.

Remembered with honour
CABARET-ROUGE BRITISH CEMETERY, SOUCHEZ

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He played cricket too ! 

MAGNAY, LIEUT.-COL. PHILIP M. (Royal Fusiliers), born 1886; killed April 13. Played occasionally for the Harrow XI. Twice Mentioned in Dispatches. Recommended for D.S.O.

Wisden

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Seems this kindly man was well liked and had been through a lot !

LIEUT.-COLONEL P. M. MAGNAY

Royal Fusiliers

The Headmaster's 993-05' Aged 31 April 13th, 1917

Younger son of the late Sir William Magnay, Bart, and of Lady  Magnay, of 8 Gloucester Place, Portman Square, W.

Football XI, 1903-4.

Was engaged to be married to Marjorie, youngest daughter of the Rev.  Thomas S. Cooper, of Charleshurst, Chiddingfold, Surrey.

Lieut.-Colonel Magnay joined the Royal Fusiliers in October, 1910.  He went to France with the ist Battalion on September 8th, 1914, and  went through the Battle of the Aisne, being gazetted Captain shortly after.
He was later attached to the 4th Battalion and was with them in Flanders  and at Armentieres. After being invalided home he returned to the Front  as Second-in-Command of the 24th Battalion Manchester Regiment and was  given command of the 12th Battalion at the beginning of our offensive on  the Somme. He was through many engagements, including the taking of  Delville Wood, Longueval, and Beaumont Hamel. He was killed by a  5*9 shell on April 13th, 1917, while directing the operations of his Battalion  from a captured German trench north of Arras, the same shell killing his  Adjutant and two other Officers. He was three times mentioned in  Despatches and recommended for the D.S.O.

His Brigadier-General wrote: —

" I can candidly say I have seldom met a man with a more charming  personality, and furthermore an exceedingly able Officer. In him I have  lost a Commanding Officer of the first rank."

Lieut.-Colonel R. T. Collins, General Staff, 17th Division, wrote : —

" Both General Robertson and I watched with great interest the effect  of your son's influence on the Battalion he commanded so well and so  gallantly. I do not think it is too much to say that he had made it into one  of the best, if not the best in the Division, entirely by his own efforts. . . .  His death was a very real loss to his Battalion, his Brigade, and the  Division."

A brother-officer wrote : —

"You really can't imagine what a loss this is to us. The CO. was one  of the very best, and the Brigadier says that owing to him the Battalion is  the best in the Brigade. . . . We are all absolutely down over this awful  catastrophe, because the Colonel was so universally popular with Division,  Brigade, Battalion Officers, and the whole of the rank and file."

"Harrow memorials of the great war : August 23rd, 1914, to March 20th, 1915"

http://www.archive.org/stream/harrowmemorialso05warn/harrowmemorialso05warn_djvu.txt

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His father was a novelist ! ....

Sir William Magnay, 2nd Baronet (1855 - 8 January 1917) was an English baronet and novelist.
He was a son of Sir William Magnay, 1st Baronet, and succeeded him to the title in 1871. He married in 1879, and was himself succeeded by his son Christopher Magnay, born 1884.
He was a prolific novelist, and published twenty-five novels before his death; a further three were brought out posthumously.

http://www.mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=118

http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/10029

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Marjorie's brother Captain Osbert Stephen Cundy-Cooper was also in the  Royal Fusiliers  ....

wonder if thats how they met ?? ( don't take any notice of me ... I like trying to make up stories about our soldiers !!   )

http://www.rootschat.com/links/076a/

Captain Osbert Stephen Cundy-Cooper

     Captain Osbert Stephen Cundy-Cooper is the son of Reverend Thomas Stephen Cooper He married Phyllis Audrey Earle, daughter of Sir Henry Earle Earle and Evelyn Grace Boileau, on 29 April 1915.
     Surrey issue. He was Military Cross (M.C.). He graduated from Master of Arts (M.A.). He lived Chiddingfold. He was Royal Fusiliers (d ) on 9 July 1962

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Lookee here ...... !! 

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I did it wrong ... but you'll get the idea !!

[JC]

Magnay, Phillip Matthew of 8 Gloucester Place, Hyde Park, Middlesex. Lieutenent Colonel died 13 April 1917 in France. Administration London 6 December to Dame Margaret Susannah Magnay widow.
Effects £631 4s 2d

Magnay, sir William of 8 Gloucester Place, Hyde Park, Middlesex. Baronet died 8 January 1917. Administration London 29 June to Dame Margaret Susannah Magnay widow.
Effects £1878 11s 9d