George Scott-Moncrieff
Major-General Sir George Kenneth Scott-Moncrieff (1855-1924) of the War Office and later of Macdonald, Gibbs and Co
1915 Indian Biographical Dictionary
Scott-Moncrieff, Major-General George Kenneth, C.B. (1907); C.I.E. (1900), b. 1855; s. of Major A. P. Scott-Moncrieff; educ: at Edinburgh Academy and Woolwich; entered the Royal Engineers; served in Afghan Campaigns, 1878-80; Waziristan, 1901; Instructor, School of Military Engineering, 1893-98; Commanded R.E. China Expeditionary Force, 1900-01; Commandant, R.E. Dublin Dt., 1904-06; Assistant Director of Fortifications and the Works at the Head-Quarters, 1906; Chief Engineer, Aldershot Command, 1909-11; Director of Fortifications and Works, India Office: Brigadier-General, 1011. Address: Shalford, Guildford, Surrey; Newhalls, St. Andrews, N.B. Club: National.
1924 Obituary[1]
"THE LATE MAJOR-GENERAL SIR G. K. SCOTT-MONCRIEFF.
A large circle of engineers and in the Services will regret to hear of the sudden death while travelling in Poland, of Major-General Sir George Kenneth Scott-Moncrieff, on June 4. General Scott-Moncrieff has been a prominent figure for many years and has been well known to the civil engineering profession although his reputation was made in in the Corps of Royal Engineers. Born in 1855, he had a narrow escape in the Indian Mutiny, when his mother managed to rescue her children from Puralia. His father died when George was ten years old, and, being left free to choose a career, was allowed to enter the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He was gazetted to the Royal Engineers in 1873.
Five years later he was appointed assistant engineer in the Indian Public Works Department, subsequently being present at the taking of Ali Musjid and being mentioned in dispatches. In 1893, after some years of service at Home, he was appointed an instructor at the School of Military Engineering; this position he held till 1898 when he saw further service in India, after which he was appointed C.R.E. to the China Expeditionary Force. For the latter services he received the C.I.E. He was secretary to the Chief Commissioner of the North-West Frontier Province subsequently, and served in the Waziristan Campaign. In 1904 he returned to England as Assistant Director of Fortifications and Works, and in 1909 became Chief Engineer at Aldershot. In 1911 he was made Director of Fortifications and Works at the War Office and held this important position when the war broke out and his department was suddenly called upon to establish training camps all over the country.
In this work Sir George was early to recognise the valuable assistance which might be rendered by civil engineers, and these were largely employed under hit direction. He retired from active duty in 1918. He was made a K.C.B. in 1915, and K.C.M.G. in 1918. His relations with the civilian side of the profession were always cordial, this fact being recognised by his election as an Honorary Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1917. He was largely responsible for the rapid reestablishment of Kingston, Jamaica, after the earthquake and fire of 1907, and his advice was also sought in connection with the rebuilding of Halifax, N.S., after the explosion of 1917. On retiring he became a director of the firm of Messrs. Macdonald, Gibbs & Co.
Sir George was very popular in the Corps of which he was so distinguished a member; contributed frequently to the Journal, and was the author of several books. Among these was a work on the “ Principles of Structural Design,” published in two volumes by the Royal Engineer Institute, Chatham. This dealt with structures of types which particularly concerned military engineers, and as precedents can seldom be exactly followed, in it Sir George laid proper stress on the thorough appreciation of the principles themselves."