George Macaulay Kirkpatrick

Sir George Kirkpatrick
Sir George Kirkpatrick
Birth name	George Macaulay Kirkpatrick
Born	23 August 1866; Kingston, Ontario
Died	6 February 1950 (aged 83)[1]; London, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1885–1930
Rank	General
Commands held	British Forces in China; Western Command, India
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath; Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India; CB

General Sir George Macaulay Kirkpatrick KCB KCSI (23 August 1866 – 6 February 1950) was a Canadian soldier who served with the British Army in South Africa, Canada, India, Australia, and China. He became one of only a handful of Canadians to reach the rank of full General.[1]

Education

Kirkpatrick was born on 23 August 1866 to the politician Sir George Airey Kirkpatrick (1841–1899) and Frances June Macaulay of Kingston, Ontario. He was educated at Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario and at the Haileybury and Imperial Service College in London. He returned to Ontario to attend the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston from 1882 to 1885.[1] As a surveyor in 1892, he authored topographic maps of the Town and environs of the Fez Region of Morocco.[2]

Military service

Kirkpatrick was commissioned into the Royal Engineers as a lieutenant on 30 June 1885.[3] He was appointed Aide-de-camp to the General Officer Commanding, Thames District in 1892, and promoted to captain on 12 December 1894.[4] He was deployed as Deputy Assistant Adjutant General (Intelligence) during the Second Boer War,[3] and received the brevet rank of major on 29 November 1900. Following the end of the war in June 1902, he left Cape Town on the SS Canada and returned to Southampton in late July.[5] He served in Halifax, Nova Scotia as Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General for Intelligence from September 1902,[6] and received the brevet rank of lieutenant-colonel on 22 August 1902.[7] Two years later he became Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General at Headquarters of the Army in 1904.[3] He went on to be Assistant Quartermaster General at Headquarters, India in 1906 and Inspector General of the Military Forces of Australia in 1910.[3] He served in World War I as Director of Military Operations in India from 1914 to 1916 when he became Chief of the General Staff in India.[3]

He subsequently served as Commander of British Forces in China from 1921 to 1922 and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, India from 1923 to 1927.[3] He retired in 1930.[3]

Honours

Kirkpatrick was twice mentioned in despatches in 1902. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1911. He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India (KCSI) in 1917 and a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1918.[1]

Family

George Airey Kirkpatrick

In 1896, Kirkpatrick married artist Mary Lydia Dennistoun (d. 1945).[8] They had two daughters, Georgine Helen (born 1898) and Kathleen Mary (born 1899) in Malta.

References

"Obituary: General Sir George Kirkpatrick". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 8 February 1950. p. 9.
George Macaulay Kirkpatrick, Sir; Town and environs of Fez Region of Morocco Ordnance Survey. Southampton, [England] : photozincographed at Ordnance Survey Office, 1892.
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
Hart's Army list, 1903
"The Army in South Africa – Troops returning home". The Times (36821). London. 16 July 1902. p. 11.
"No. 27486". The London Gazette. 21 October 1902. p. 6652.
"No. 27490". The London Gazette. 31 October 1902. p. 6900.
McMann, Evelyn de Rostaing (1997). Royal Canadian Academy of Arts/Académie royale des arts du Canada exhibitions and members, 1880-1979. University of Toronto Press. p. 223. ISBN 9780802041395. Retrieved 18 May 2019.

Sources

4237 Dr. Adrian Preston & Peter Dennis (Edited) "Swords and Covenants" Rowman And Littlefield, London. Croom Helm. 1976.
H16511 Dr. Richard Arthur Preston "To Serve Canada: A History of the Royal Military College of Canada" 1997 Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1969.
H16511 Dr. Richard Arthur Preston "Canada's RMC – A History of Royal Military College" Second Edition 1982
H1877 R. Guy C. Smith (editor) "As You Were! Ex-Cadets Remember". In 2 Volumes. Volume I: 1876–1918. Volume II: 1919–1984. Royal Military College. [Kingston]. The R.M.C. Club of Canada. 1984

External links

Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online

Military offices
Preceded by Sir Percy Lake	Chief of the General Staff 1916–1920	Succeeded by Sir Claud Jacob
Preceded by Francis Ventris	Commander of British Forces in China 1921–1922	Succeeded by Sir John Fowler
Preceded by Sir Walter Braithwaite	GOC-in-C, Western Command, India 1923–1927	Succeeded by Sir Charles Harington

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[times-1] "Obituary: General Sir George Kirkpatrick". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 8 February 1950. p. 9.

[2] George Macaulay Kirkpatrick, Sir; Town and environs of Fez Region of Morocco Ordnance Survey. Southampton, [England] : photozincographed at Ordnance Survey Office, 1892.

[lh-3] Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives

[4] Hart's Army list, 1903

[5] "The Army in South Africa – Troops returning home". The Times (36821). London. 16 July 1902. p. 11.

[6] "No. 27486". The London Gazette. 21 October 1902. p. 6652.

[7] "No. 27490". The London Gazette. 31 October 1902. p. 6900.

[8] McMann, Evelyn de Rostaing (1997). Royal Canadian Academy of Arts/Académie royale des arts du Canada exhibitions and members, 1880-1979. University of Toronto Press. p. 223. ISBN 9780802041395. Retrieved 18 May 2019.