George Brenton Laurie

George Brenton Laurie (1867 1915) was a Nova Scotian army officer and author who distinguished himself in both the Boer War and the First World War. In the latter war, he was killed in the Battle of Neuve Chapelle. General Sir John Keir, K.C.B, said of him "I learnt to appreciate his value as a soldier and his many other sterling qualities. … His name remains one held in honour for all time." Early years Laurie was the son of John Wimburn Laurie, and was born at Halifax, Nova Scotia, on October 13, 1867, and raised in Oakfield, Nova Scotia. At age 17, Laurie received his first commission in the Royal Irish Rifles in September 1885, and joined the 2nd Battalion, then quartered at Halifax. Colonel Laurie wrote in his History of the Irish Rifles Regiment, that the regiment experienced Halifax as a "delightful station, and all were sorry to leave it." He went with them to Gibraltar in November 1886, and on to Egypt in January 1888, where the following year Lieutenant Laurie went up the Nile with the battalion. He was promoted to captain on 20 November 1893. Boer War In 1901 Laurie was posted to South Africa, and served in the Second Boer War until the war ended in June 1902. He was in command of the 28th battalion Mounted Infantry, and on 14 February 1902 received the local rank of major whilst in command. During the war he fought in the Transvaal, the Orange River Colony, and the Cape Colony. He was mentioned in Despatches for his services (London Gazette, July 29, 1902), and received the Queen's Medal with five clasps.