William John McCrae
William John McCrae (c1876-1946)
1946 Obituary [1]
"WILLIAM ANDREW MCCRAE spent most of his professional career in Egypt, where he was in the service of the Government and engaged upon important public works. He received his general and technical education at Milan and served his apprenticeship from 1897 to 1902 in the shops and drawing office of the Great North of Scotland Railway at Aberdeen. After a brief period as engineer to Messrs. Graham and Morton, Ltd., of Leeds, he began his long connection with Egypt in 1904, his first appointment being that of under manager and engineer to a French light railway undertaking in that country. Two years later he entered upon his period of service under the Egyptian Government and was made chief engineer of the Mansourah municipality and manager of the waterworks. After holding this position for seven years he was transferred temporarily to the main drainage department for special work.
In the following year, however, on the outbreak of hostilities, he was attached to the Royal Engineers and was engaged on the construction of works for the defence of the Suez Canal. In 1917 he was appointed a senior director of works in connexion with the construction of the Senaar dam. On vacating this appointment in 1922 he continued in the Government service for another year, when he finally retired. Mr. McCrae, whose death occurred in his sixty-ninth year on 1st November 1945, was elected an Associate Member of the Institution in 1911. He was also an Associate Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers."