The son of Major John Routledge Majendie (1801–1850) and his wife, Harriet Mary Dering (1806–1893), and the grandson of
Henry Majendie, the
Bishop of Bangor, Vivian Majendie was educated at
Leamington College before joining the
Royal Artillery in 1854. Promoted to
second lieutenant on 23 October 1854, he saw action during the
Crimean War and the
Indian Mutiny. From 1861 to 1871 Majendie served as Captain Instructor and Assistant Superintendent at the
Royal Arsenal at
Woolwich. In 1871 he was appointed Chief Inspector of Explosives, a position he held until his death in 1898. and was one of the first
bomb disposal experts. In 1871 Majendie led the enquiry into the
Stowmarket Guncotton Explosion. As a
major in the
Royal Artillery Majendie investigated an explosion on 2 October 1874 in the
Regent's Canal when the
barge 'Tilbury', carrying six barrels of petroleum and five tons of gunpowder blew up, killing the crew and destroying Macclesfield Bridge and cages at nearby
London Zoo. He was appointed a
Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1875 for framing a
Bill which became 'The Explosives Act, 1875', and a
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1895. His advice during the
Fenian dynamite campaign of 1881–85 was officially recognised as having contributed to the saving of lives. After
Victoria Station was bombed on 26 February 1884 he defused a bomb with a
clockwork mechanism which might have gone off at any moment. In October 1886 Majendie visited the United States to observe the
petroleum industry there and to examine the regulations regarding storage and distribution of that product. A
caricature of Majendie by
Leslie Ward ('Spy') appeared in
Vanity Fair on 23 April 1892. His publications included
Up Among the Pandies (1859),
Ammunition. A Descriptive Treatise on the Different Projectiles, Charges, Fuses, Rockets, &c. (1867),
The Arms and Ammunition of the British Service (1868), and
The Official Guide to the Explosives Act (1877). Majendie married Adelaide Frances Grylls (1841–1868) and had two children, Annie Shadwell Majendie (1864-1874) and Captain Henry Grylls Majendie (1865–1900) - the latter was killed during the
Boer War while serving with the
Rifle Brigade. Vivian Dering Majendie died of heart failure in 1898 while visiting his sister in
Oxford. His funeral was at
St Paul's Cathedral and he was buried with Adelaide and Annie at
Charlton Cemetery on 29 April - there is also a screen in his memory at
St Luke's Church, Charlton. ==References==