Sir George Cunningham BuchananKCIE (20 April 1865 – 14 April 1940) was a British civil engineer particularly associated with harbour works in Burma, Iraq and Bombay, during the early years of the 20th century.
Buchanan first came to prominence in 1905 when he collaborated with Patrick Meik on designs for the Rangoon River training works in Burma; Meik was consulting engineer and Buchanan was chief engineer. The project reclaimed some 1.2 km² of land behind a wall of rubble 2 miles (3.2 km) long and 230 feet (70 m) wide.
At the start of the First World War in 1914, Buchanan was working in India, until called to support the British Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force at Basra in Mesopotamia (now part of modern-day Iraq) with advice on improving shipping channels into the port. After many delays, he was finally able to design and supervise construction of a line of wharves complete with cranes, sheds, roads and railway lines. In 1917, Buchanan was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and was knighted. However, he had already distanced himself from his compatriots by his reputation for egotism and outspokenness, and jealousy of his enormous salary as Director-General of Port Administration and River Conservancy. His military counterpart, General MacMunn, wrote that he: "irritated everyone who came across him or worked for him". Buchanan later wrote a critical book about the military campaign and his own part in turning it around, The Tragedy of Mesopotamia (1938).
Buchanan was a member of the Indian Munitions Board from 1917 – 1919. In 1920, working with Patrick’s brother Charles Meik in a firm renamed CS Meik and Buchanan in 1920, Buchanan was invited to Bombay to investigate a potential land reclamation project, the Bombay Backbay reclamation. The costs of the huge and ambitious scheme, and the time it would take to complete, soon escalated out of control, and a subsequent enquiry blamed Sir George (the project became known as Lloyd’s Folly, after Sir George Lloyd, then governor of Bombay).[1]
At the same time, Sir George Buchanan was alleged to have "criticised and condemned the proposals of another engineer and had offered his services uninvited" – an action which saw him expelled from the British Institution of Civil Engineers. His later career was largely focused overseas, notably in Australia where he prepared an influential report on the country's ports in 1926 at the request of the Federal Government.
His ignominious departure from UK engineering circles meant that the name 'Buchanan' had to be deleted from the company name in 1923 when the firm became CS Meik and Halcrow (William Halcrow had been a partner in the firm from the previous year and went on to take a more controlling interest in what became the Halcrow Group).
Sir George’s nephew, Sir Colin Buchanan was a pioneer in transport planning.
Referencesedit
^"The Backbay Reclamations". TIFR. 28 October 1999. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
Bibliographyedit
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (October 2018)
Description of the Rangoon River Training Works (1914)
Report on the Development of Mesopotamia (1917)
Report on the development of the Port of Chittagong., Government Monotype Press, 1918, OCLC 867886824
The Ports Of India (1920)
Economics Of Port Administration And Development
Northern Territory development and administration : report, Victorian Govt. Printer, 1925
Report on the ports of north and north-western Australia, 30th April 1926, Govt. Printer for the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia, 1926
Report on transport in Australia with special reference to port and harbour facilities, Govt. Printer, 1927
The tragedy of Mesopotamia, W. Blackwood, 1938
April 11, 2024
george, buchanan, engineer, born, 1865, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, george, buchanan, engineer, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources George Buchanan engineer born 1865 news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Sir George Cunningham Buchanan KCIE 20 April 1865 14 April 1940 was a British civil engineer particularly associated with harbour works in Burma Iraq and Bombay during the early years of the 20th century George Cunningham BuchananBorn20 April 1865Died14 April 1940OccupationEngineerEngineering careerInstitutionsInstitution of Civil EngineersBuchanan first came to prominence in 1905 when he collaborated with Patrick Meik on designs for the Rangoon River training works in Burma Meik was consulting engineer and Buchanan was chief engineer The project reclaimed some 1 2 km of land behind a wall of rubble 2 miles 3 2 km long and 230 feet 70 m wide At the start of the First World War in 1914 Buchanan was working in India until called to support the British Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force at Basra in Mesopotamia now part of modern day Iraq with advice on improving shipping channels into the port After many delays he was finally able to design and supervise construction of a line of wharves complete with cranes sheds roads and railway lines In 1917 Buchanan was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and was knighted However he had already distanced himself from his compatriots by his reputation for egotism and outspokenness and jealousy of his enormous salary as Director General of Port Administration and River Conservancy His military counterpart General MacMunn wrote that he irritated everyone who came across him or worked for him Buchanan later wrote a critical book about the military campaign and his own part in turning it around The Tragedy of Mesopotamia 1938 Buchanan was a member of the Indian Munitions Board from 1917 1919 In 1920 working with Patrick s brother Charles Meik in a firm renamed CS Meik and Buchanan in 1920 Buchanan was invited to Bombay to investigate a potential land reclamation project the Bombay Backbay reclamation The costs of the huge and ambitious scheme and the time it would take to complete soon escalated out of control and a subsequent enquiry blamed Sir George the project became known as Lloyd s Folly after Sir George Lloyd then governor of Bombay 1 At the same time Sir George Buchanan was alleged to have criticised and condemned the proposals of another engineer and had offered his services uninvited an action which saw him expelled from the British Institution of Civil Engineers His later career was largely focused overseas notably in Australia where he prepared an influential report on the country s ports in 1926 at the request of the Federal Government His ignominious departure from UK engineering circles meant that the name Buchanan had to be deleted from the company name in 1923 when the firm became CS Meik and Halcrow William Halcrow had been a partner in the firm from the previous year and went on to take a more controlling interest in what became the Halcrow Group Sir George s nephew Sir Colin Buchanan was a pioneer in transport planning References edit The Backbay Reclamations TIFR 28 October 1999 Retrieved 1 March 2013 Bibliography editThis list is incomplete you can help by adding missing items October 2018 Description of the Rangoon River Training Works 1914 Report on the Development of Mesopotamia 1917 Report on the development of the Port of Chittagong Government Monotype Press 1918 OCLC 867886824 The Ports Of India 1920 Economics Of Port Administration And Development Northern Territory development and administration report Victorian Govt Printer 1925 Report on the ports of north and north western Australia 30th April 1926 Govt Printer for the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia 1926 Report on transport in Australia with special reference to port and harbour facilities Govt Printer 1927 The tragedy of Mesopotamia W Blackwood 1938 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title George Buchanan engineer born 1865 amp oldid 1153864167, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
