Norman McMahon

Brigadier-General Norman Reginald McMahon (24 January 1866 – 11 November 1914) was a British Army officer. He served with the Royal Fusiliers in the Burma expedition of 1886–87 and in the Second Boer War of 1899–1902. During the latter campaign he served on the general staff as an aide-de-camp and then brigade major. McMahon was seriously wounded in action and was subsequently mentioned in dispatches and awarded the Distinguished Service Order. Once recovered he served as Deputy Assistant Adjutant General towards the end of the war. McMahon was appointed chief instructor of the army's School of Musketry in 1905 and sought to improve the infantry's rate of fire. His request for additional machine guns to be allocated to each battalion was rebuffed and he instead worked on increasing the rate of fire from the riflemen. He implemented rapid-fire training on the Lee–Enfield rifle with each soldier being expected to achieve 15 aimed shots within a minute. This later proved very effective during the opening stages of the First World War. McMahon was promoted to brigadier-general in the first months of the war and was due to take over command of the 10th Infantry Brigade shortly before he was killed by shell fire. Early life and career Norman Reginald McMahon was born on 24 January 1866 and was the youngest son of General Sir Thomas Westropp McMahon, 3rd Baronet. McMahon attended Eton College and the Royal Military College Sandhurst from which he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) on 23 May 1885. He served on the Burma expedition of 1886–87 and was appointed adjutant on 28 February 1890. He relinquished his appointment after two years and was promoted to captain on 27 November 1896. McMahon served during the Second Boer War and on 9 October 1899 was seconded to the general staff for service as an aide-de-camp (ADC) to an infantry major-general. He was present at the 11 October Relief of Ladysmith and the 15 December Battle of Colenso. McMahon held the position of ADC until appointed as brigade major of the 6th Infantry Brigade on 29 April 1900. He served in operations in the Orange River Colony and was seriously wounded in action during operations in the Tugela Heights. He was mentioned in dispatches for his service by General Redvers Buller on 30 March 1900.