Norman Reginald McMahon

Norman Reginald McMahon was the son of General Sir Thomas McMahon, 3rd Bt. He was commissioned in the Royal Fusiliers in May 1885 and soon saw active service in the Burmese Expedition (1885-7). He later served in South Africa, where he was badly wounded and won a DSO. McMahon made a vital contribution to the British Army before the war. As Chief Instructor at the School of Musketry, Hythe (1905-9), he was one of the men principally responsible for the outstanding rifle skills possessed by the BEF in 1914.

McMahon was a thinking soldier who recognised the importance of firepower in a future war. He presented his views to the Aldershot Military Society in 1907 to such effect that many of them were incorporated into British Field Service Regulations. When his preferred solution, an increase in machine gun provision, fell foul of Treasury economy he set about improving the British soldier’s marksmanship and speed of fire. He succeeded brilliantly.

He was promoted brigadier-general in November 1914 and appointed to 10th Brigade, in succession to Aylmer Haldane. Unfortunately, operational necessity prevented McMahon from leaving his battalion, 4th Royal Fusiliers, and on 11 November he was killed by a German shell. He has no known grave. Brigadier-General Norman McMahon is commemorated on the Ploegstreet Memorial.