Nevil Macready

General Sir Cecil Frederick Nevil Macready, 1st Baronet, (7 May 1862 – 9 January 1946), known affectionately as Make-Ready (close to the correct pronunciation of his name), was a British Army officer. He served in senior staff appointments in the First World War and was the last British military commander in Ireland, and also served for two years as Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis in London. Early life Macready was the son of the prominent actor William Charles Macready. His father was 69 years old at Nevil's birth. His paternal grandfather was William Macready the Elder (1755–1829), a famous Irish actor from Dublin. He was born in Cheltenham and was brought up in the bohemian circles frequented by his parents (his mother, Cecile, was the granddaughter of the painter, Sir William Beechey), and was educated at Marlborough College (for two years, before falling ill) and Cheltenham College. He later claimed that he was far too lazy to pursue an artistic career himself, and although he expressed an interest in a stage career, his father, who loathed his own profession, expressly forbade it (although he continued to be involved in amateur dramatics all his life and was also a talented singer). He therefore joined the Army, passing out from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and being commissioned into the Gordon Highlanders in October 1881. Regimental career He joined the 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders at Malta, and in 1882 went with them to Egypt, fighting at the Battle of Tel el-Kebir. This was the last battle in which the British Army fought in red coats. He stayed in Egypt, and in 1884 was appointed garrison adjutant and staff lieutenant of military police at Alexandria. In 1886, he married Sophia Geraldine Atkin (died 1931), an Irishwoman; they had two daughters and a son. Macready remained in Alexandria until early 1889, when he returned to England to rejoin his regiment, and then served in Ceylon and India. He was promoted captain in 1891. He was transferred to Dublin in 1892, and in 1894 became adjutant of the regiment's 2nd Volunteer Battalion in Aberdeenshire. In 1899, he was promoted major and returned to India to join the 2nd Battalion, which was sent to South Africa in September. Boer War and South Africa Macready saw active service in the Second Boer War, serving in the besieged garrison at Ladysmith from October 1899 to February 1900.