30 September 1966(1966-09-30) (aged 84) Sydney, New South Wales
Allegiance
Australia
Service/branch
Australian Army
Years of service
1913–1946
Rank
Lieutenant general
Service number
NX363
Commands held
New Guinea Force (1943–44) Second Army (1942–44) 6th Division (1940–41) 2nd Division (1937–40) 5th Infantry Brigade (1930–32) 8th Infantry Brigade (1921–26) 9th Infantry Brigade (1920–21) 1st Infantry Brigade (1918) 1st Machine Gun Battalion (1918) 4th Infantry Battalion (1916–18)
Battles/wars
First World War
Gallipoli Campaign
Battle of Pozières
Second Battle of Bullecourt
Battle of Passchendaele
Battle of the Lys
Battle of Amiens
Battle of the Hindenburg Line
Second World War
Operation Compass
Battle of Greece
Salamaua–Lae campaign
Huon Peninsula campaign
Finisterre Range campaign
Awards
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order & Bar Volunteer Decoration Mentioned in Despatches (6) Croix de guerre (France) War Cross (Greece)
Other work
Australian High Commissioner to India (1943–48)
Lieutenant General Sir Iven Giffard Mackay, KBE, CMG, DSO & Bar, VD (7 April 1882 – 30 September 1966) was a senior Australian Army officer who served in both world wars.
Mackay graduated from the University of Sydney in 1904 and taught physics there from 1910 until 1914, when he joined the Australian Imperial Force shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. He served with the 4th Infantry Battalion at Gallipoli, where he distinguished himself in hand-to-hand fighting at the Battle of Lone Pine. In April 1916, he assumed command of the 4th Infantry Battalion on the Western Front and led it at the Battle of Pozières, Battle of Bullecourt and Battle of Broodseinde. He was promoted to brigadier general in June 1918, and led the 1st Infantry Brigade at the Battle of Hazebrouck, the Battle of Amiens and in the attack on the Hindenburg Line.
After the war, Mackay studied physics at the University of Cambridge under Ernest Rutherford before returning to Australia and his old job as a lecturer at the University of Sydney. From 1933 to 1940 he was headmaster of Cranbrook School, Sydney. He remained in the Militia between the wars, and was a major general by the time the Second World War broke out. He was selected to command the 6th Division in 1940, and led it through the Australian Army's first battles of the war. Any doubts about his ability soon disappeared with the commitment of the division to the Western Desert Campaign. During the Battle of Bardia in January 1941, the 6th Division captured the fortified town along with 36,000 Italian prisoners. In the Battle of Greece, he became the only Australian general to face the Waffen-SS in battle. He suffered a series of reverses in Greece, but impressed the troops under his command with his courage under fire. He was recalled to Australia in 1941 to serve as General Officer Commanding Home Forces. On 6 April 1942, he assumed command of the Second Army. During 1943 he twice commanded New Guinea Force in the fighting in the New Guinea campaign. His active service ended with his appointment as High Commissioner to India in November 1943.
Lieutenant General Sir Iven Giffard Mackay, KBE, CMG, DSO & Bar, VD (7 April 1882 – 30 September 1966) was a senior Australian Army officer who served...
planned by an Australian staff. The 6th Australian Division (Major General IvenMackay) assaulted the strongly held Italian fortress of Bardia, Libya, assisted...
December, troops of the 6th Australian Infantry Division (Major-General Iven Giffard Mackay), replaced the 4th Indian Division, which was sent to East Africa...
January 1917, he went on leave, handing over command to Lieutenant Colonel IvenMackay. However, when General Headquarters (GHQ) BEF found out about this use...
VD. The War Memorial Science Building was opened in July 1955 by Sir IvenMackay KBE, CMG, DSO, VD when he unveiled a stone memorial wall with the following...
Hugh Mackay (general) (c. 1640–1692), Dutch Scots Brigade lieutenant general IvenMackay (1882–1966), Australian Army lieutenant general Kenneth Mackay (Australian...
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Home Forces, Lieutenant-General IvenMackay, had advocated that in the event of an invasion, the majority of available...
Gilbert (1983–1995) – Australian Ambassador to Kuwait since 2017 Sir IvenMackay (1897–1900) – Australian High Commissioner to India 1943–1948 John Tilemann...
May 1943: Lieutenant General Sir IvenMackay (Acting) August 1943 – January 1944: Lieutenant General Sir IvenMackay November 1943 – January 1944: Lieutenant...
Division began to relieve the 6th Australian Division (Major-General IvenMackay) at Mersa Brega for shipment to Greece, which demonstrated the difficulty...
Hahn Douglas Hartree Pyotr Kapitsa Daulat Singh Kothari George Laurence IvenMackay Ernest Marsden Mark Oliphant Thomas Royds Frederick Soddy President of...
summoned to New Guinea to relieve Herring by Lieutenant General Sir IvenMackay, the commander of New Guinea Force, which he did on 7 October 1943. Morshead...
after a hoax stating that he had been struck by a car gained traction. IvenMackay, an Australian general, received an obituary in The Times, entitled "Athlete...
blow up the magazines of San Giorgio to deny it to the British. General IvenMackay ordered a general advance for the morning of 22 January. At 8:30 a.m...
1940–1942 2/17th Battalion 1942–1946 The 6th Division, under Major General IvenMackay fought in the Western Desert campaign at Bardia, Tobruk and Benghazi...
(Lt. Gen. Sir Thomas Blamey) 6th Australian Division (Maj. Gen. Sir IvenMackay) 16th Australian Infantry Brigade (Brig. Arthur Allen) 17th Australian...
Major General IvenMackay, the commander 2nd Division. All were over 50 years of age and all except Bennett, Drake-Brockman and Mackay were serving or...
partner died in 1961. Godfrey set out to secure a new partner, and found IvenMackay. Together, they developed the first Melway. After five years of work...
15 April 1940, along with the 6th Division's commander, Major General IvenMackay and his headquarters. Training was difficult as the old ammunition was...
International Affairs. 19 (6): 358. June 1948. Retrieved 22 October 2022. "MACKAY IN INDIA". The Daily Telegraph. New South Wales, Australia. 15 March 1944...
University Press, 1986, pp 196–198. "Major-General James Alexander Kenneth Mackay". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 16 June...