George Kirkpatrick (British Army officer)
Canadian soldier
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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, the others being William Heneker, Charles Loewen, and....[1]
23 August 1866
United Kingdom
British ArmySir George Kirkpatrick | |
|---|---|
| Born | George Macaulay Kirkpatrick 23 August 1866 |
| Died | 6 February 1950 (aged 83)[1] London, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Service years | 1885–1930 |
Rank | General |
| Commands | 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 |
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][4] He was appointed aide-de-camp to the General Officer Commanding, Thames District in 1892, and promoted to captain on 12 December 1894.[5] He attended the Staff College, Camberley, from 1895–1896.[6]
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.[7] He received the brevet rank of lieutenant-colonel on 22 August 1902,[8] and the substantive rank of major on 17 January 1903;[9] and served in Halifax, Nova Scotia as Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General for Intelligence from September 1902.[10] 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, where he was promoted in October 1906 to brevet lieutenant colonel,[11] 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, during which time he was promoted to the permanent rank of major general in June 1915 "for distinguished service in the Field",[12] 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 June 1923[13] to 1927.[3] He retired from the army in June 1930.[3][14] He had been promoted to lieutenant general in August 1921.[15]
Honours
Kirkpatrick was twice mentioned in despatches in 1902. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 1911 Birthday Honours.[16] 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
In 1896, Kirkpatrick married artist Mary Lydia Dennistoun (1870-1945).[17] They had three daughters, Georgina Helen (born 1898) mother of Iain Tennant. Kathleen Mary (born 1899) in Malta, and Margaret Charlotte (born 1904) in Canada.