Major-General Hector A MacDonald ('Fighting Mac')

Chromolithograph by Maclure, Macdonald & Co, published by Maclure, Macdonald and Co, Glasgow, 8 May 1899.

Sir Hector MacDonald rose from private to the rank of major-general. He was popular with his men and nicknamed 'Fighting Mac'. MacDonald was especially distinguished in command of a Sudanese brigade during the re-conquest of the Sudan, particularly at the Battle of Omdurman (1898). He then commanded the Highland Brigade in South Africa in 1900. Appointed to command the Ceylon garrison in 1902, he shot himself in March 1903 rather than face an investigation after being accused of homosexuality.