Record

Code	DS/UK/71
Dates	1887-1965
Person Name	Menzies; Andrew Forest (1887-1965); Lieutenant-Colonel; soldier, Assistant Director of Works in Macedonia, Area Superintendent in Egypt
Surname	Menzies
Forenames	Andrew Forest
Title	Lieutenant-Colonel
Epithet	soldier, Assistant Director of Works in Macedonia, Area Superintendent in Egypt
Source	CWGC Archive, King’s Birthday Honours 1944; Andrew Forest Menzies in the Canada, Soldiers of the First World War, 1914-1918. Accessed via Ancestry UK website; Andrew Forest Menzies in the Canada, Military Honours and Awards Citation Cards, 1900-1961. Accessed via Ancestry UK website.
Biographical Note	Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Forest Menzies, MC, was Assistant Director of Works in Greece for the Imperial War Graves Commission from 1920-1954, with brief appointment as Area Superintendent in Egypt during the Second World War. Andrew Forest Menzies was born in Pembroke, Ontario, Canada on 9 November 1887. During the First World War, he served as a Lieutenant (later Captain) with the Machine Gun Section, 38th Bn., and suffered periods of ill-health throughout the rest of his life as a result of his military service. He was awarded the Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in August 1917. Menzies was first employed by the Commission in Macedonia in October 1920 as Assistant Director of Works. From 1928 onwards, he was in sole charge of the care and maintenance of cemeteries and memorials in Macedonia, the Aegean Islands and the Balkan States. Through Menzies’s efforts, the Commission maintained amicable relations with the Greek authorities, the British Legation at Athens and the French Consular Service. In November 1935, he was recommended and awarded Member of the British Empire (MBE). During the Second World War, following the Italian attack upon Greece and up until the German invasion, Menzies remained devoted to his work, which he had to carry out often under dangerous conditions. He maintained contact with the Anglo-Greek Committee of the Commission and made arrangements for the conduct of the Commission’s affairs in the event of evacuation. He remained in his post at Salonika right up until last moment and then remained in Athens until the evacuation of British military forces and civilians as a result of heavy land and air attacks. Following on from his time in Greece, Menzies acted briefly as Area Superintendent in Egypt, where his experience and knowledge were highly valued in the construction and maintenance of cemeteries there. In March 1944, he was recommended for the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services with the Commission. Menzies returned to Salonika as Area Superintendent, finally retiring in 1954, after nearly thirty-four years of service. Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Forest Menzies MC died on 5 February 1965.

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