British Army Veterinary Corps
William Ingham MACAULEY
Major
Died 14 May 1917 · Aged 38
His story
Major William Ingham Macauley was the only son of Christopher James and Margaret Macauley. He was born in Belfast in 1879. William attended the Royal School Dungannon between 1894 and 1896. He graduated from the London Veterinary College on 16 December 1905.
William entered the Army Veterinary Corps. He had served in Egypt, India and Burma before the war commenced. In August 1914, he was attached to the 2nd Dragoon Guards (the Queen’s Bays). In February 1916, he was appointed Assistant Director of Veterinary Services and was promoted to the rank of Major. He was again mentioned in dispatches on 2nd January 1917.
On 14 May 1917, his body was found a few miles behind British lines with a single gunshot wound, believed to be self-inflicted.
Major Macauley’s obituary appeared in the Veterinary Record on 3 June 1917.
Photographs and documents
Before the war
- Nationality
- British
- Date of Birth
- 1879
- Place of Birth
- Belfast, Antrim, Ireland
- Veterinary College and Date of Graduation
- London - December 1905
Military service
- Last Rank
- Major
- Regiment/Service
- British Army Veterinary Corps
- Secondary Regiment
- 11th Division Assistant Director Veterinary Services
- First Theatre of War
- France August 1914
Medals and commemoration
- Name on RCVS Honour Board
- Yes
- Name In Officers who died in Great War
- Yes
- Medals and Awards
- British War Medal 1914-1918; Victory Medal
Death and burial
- Date of Death
- 14 May 1917
- Age at Death
- 38
- Place of Death
- France
- Cause of Death
- Self Inflicted Gunshot Wound
- Cemetery
- Bapaume Australian Cemetery
- Location
- Bapaume, France
- Grave Reference
- B.33
- Commonwealth War Grave
- Yes - CWGC Headstone
- Emblem or Badge on Headstone
- British Army Veterinary Corps
Sources and further reading
- CWGC casualty and commemoration record
- Find a Grave memorial
- The Veterinary Record, 3 June 1917 — cited in the earlier biography
Cite this biography
Graham Hodgkins and Pete Matthews, “William Ingham Macauley”, Veterinary Virtual War Memorial, https://vetsremembered.org/people/william_ingham_macauley/.
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