George Anderson Carr
Colonel George Anderson Carr (1857-1924)
1924 Obituary [1]
COLONEL GEORGE ANDERSON CARR, late R.E., who died on the 20th March, 1924, was one of the pioneers of electrical science in the British Army.
Born in 1857 at Nymans, near Crawley, Sussex, he was educated at Uppingham and at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.
He received his first commission as a lieutenant in the Royal Engineers in August 1876 and, after the usual two years' course of instruction at the School of Military Engineering, was posted to the Submarine Mining Service. Here he came into contact with a little group of Royal Engineer officers who were studying and developing the application of electricity to military purposes. Of these, the best-known to the general public were Major R. Y. Armstrong, R.E., Lieut. P. Cardew, R.E., and Lieut, (now Major-General Sir R. M.) Ruck. Working under and with these officers, he soon found his life work.
Not only did he show a great mastery of detail, but he early proved his capacity as a lecturer. Possessed of a remarkable gift for clear and accurate thinking, he was able to explain his thoughts in simple language. With these qualifications it was inevitable that much of his life should be spent in instructional appointments in the electrical branch of the School of Military Engineering and in the School of Submarine Mining at Gillingham, and he held in turn every grade of such appointments at both these establishments. He was for many years the Examiner in Electricity at the R.M. Academy, Woolwich.
Among other subjects with which he dealt were the training of army telegraphists and the design of telegraph stores, also the shutter board and test room and all stores used in the submarine mining service and for defence electric lights. In his various capacities as instructor or assistant instructor he was an ex officio member or associate member of the Royal Engineers Committee which deals with all patterns of military stores, and he served on all the electrical sub-committees and many special sub-committees of that body. He represented the War Office at the original trials of the Marconi system and formed a personal friendship with Signor Marconi.
He became an Associate of the Institution in 1882, served on the Council in 1895-6, and was elected a Member in 1896.