James Macarthur-Onslow

Major General James William Macarthur-Onslow, (7 November 1867 – 17 November 1946) was a soldier, grazier and politician. The son of a prominent New South Wales family, he was commissioned in the New South Wales Mounted Rifles in 1892 and served in the Chitral Expedition, Second Boer War and the First World War. Afterwards, he served in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and New South Wales Legislative Council. Early life James William Macarthur-Onslow was born on 7 November 1867 at Camden Park Estate, near Menangle, New South Wales, the son of Captain Arthur Alexander Walton Onslow and his wife Elizabeth née Macarthur, the granddaughter of wool pioneer John Macarthur. He was educated at Sydney Grammar School. After his father died in 1882 his mother Elizabeth changed her name to Macarthur-Onslow, and in 1887 she took her children to the United Kingdom to complete their education while she studied dairy farming. Macarthur-Onslow read law at Trinity College, Cambridge, receiving Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degrees in 1890. He returned to Australia in 1891. He married Enid Emma Macarthur, the granddaughter of Hannibal Hawkins Macarthur in 1897. – James' great-grandfather and Enid's great-grandfather were brothers. Military career Macarthur-Onslow was commissioned captain of the Camden Squadron of the New South Wales Mounted Rifles in 1892. In 1894 he was selected by commandant of the military forces in New South Wales, Colonel Edward Hutton, for training in India with the 11th Hussars, the Royal Artillery, and the 1st Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps of the British Army. He served in India from 1894 to 1895, seeing active service in the Chitral Expedition.