George Brian Sinclair

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George Brian Sinclair
Nickname(s)Gus
Born21 July 1928
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
(1975)
Companion of the Order of the Bath
(1983)

Major-General George "Gus" Brian Sinclair

1969 Libyan coup d'état
.

Sinclair served as head of the general staff of

Engineer and Railway Staff Corps. In civilian life he worked for Tarmac Group on the construction of the Channel Tunnel and was a member of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers
.

Early life and career

George Brian Sinclair was born in Shirley, Warwickshire, (now in the West Midlands) on 21 July 1928 to Thomas Stoddart Sinclair, a civil engineer and businessman, and his wife Blanche.[1] He attended Christ's College, Finchley and, from 1945, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst to train as a British Army officer.[1][2] Whilst there Sinclair acquired the nickname "Gus" in unclear circumstance, but by which he became best known.[1] Sinclair was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on 21 October 1948 and spent the next two years in a training regiment.[2][3] He was promoted to lieutenant on 21 October 1950 and given command of a troop of 25 Field Squadron, which was then a sub-unit of 27 Field Engineer Regiment with the British Army of the Rhine.[2][4] Sinclair afterwards served as intelligence and signals officer of the regiment.[2]

Sinclair was posted to Korea in 1953, though he queried his orders as they had been sent after the Korean War had ended in a ceasefire. Upon reporting to his unit, 28 Field Engineer Regiment, he found his arrival was unexpected and, with no military tasks requiring his attention, he was put to work designing a sewerage system for a civilian village.[1] Sinclair found more conventional military employment after his appointment as adjutant when the previous incumbent was dismissed for unsuitable behaviour.[1][2] Sinclair was promoted to captain on 21 October 1954 and left Korea the following year.[2][5]

Operation Grapple

Royal Engineers constructing a runway at Kiritimati, November 1956

In 1956 Sinclair was appointed a

Ministry of Defence (MoD), requiring him to arrange for the island's entire 100-mile (160 km) coastline to be patrolled against landings by Soviet spies. Sinclair considered that five infantry battalions would be required to achieve this; this was disputed by the MoD who sent out a Royal Air Force group captain to investigate. This officer agreed with Sinclair's assessment and the patrol orders were subsequently rescinded.[1] Operation Grapple successfully delivered a megaton-level explosion in November.[2]

Sinclair directly witnessed a number of nuclear tests during Operation Grapple, and in the late 1970s was asked to provide evidence in the case of a sergeant who died from leukaemia. The sergeant's widow claimed he had contracted the cancer as a result of his official duties of photographing the tests. Sinclair supported the widow and provided evidence that the sergeant had been in close proximity to the test sites, despite pressure from an MoD permanent under-secretary not to become involved in the case.[1]

Senior roles

Sinclair was promoted to

Colonel Gaddafi, the MoD issued orders to abandon a base in the Libyan desert, which had been intended for use in training British forces. Sinclair argued that the buildings erected at the site were valuable and could be used at other British bases. He flew to the site with Air Marshal Denis Smallwood, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Near East Air Force, and his subsequent report persuaded the MoD to authorise the recovery of 85 Twynham huts, 2 aircraft hangars and a number of storage sheds.[1] Sinclair returned from Cyprus in 1971.[2]

Sinclair was promoted

major general.[11] His rank was confirmed as substantive on 29 November 1980, with seniority backdated to 1 April 1980.[12]

The Falklands and retirement

Map shows Port Stanley Airport and surrounding area.

Sinclair played an important role in the reconstruction of the Falkland Islands after

Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1983 New Year Honours.[14]

Sinclair was appointed to the honorary and ceremonial role of

Engineer and Railway Staff Corps, a unit of civilian experts that provide engineering and logistics advice to the army.[19][20] His honorary appointment with the Airfield Damage Repair Squadrons ended on 30 November 1988; with the Corps of Royal Engineers on 26 March 1991 and with the renamed Engineer and Transport Staff Corps on 28 October 1993.[21][22][23]

Personal life and other interests

Sinclair married Margaret Richardson from Armagh, Northern Ireland, in 1953; they had two sons and a daughter together. Margaret died in 2011.[1] In retirement Sinclair lived at St Boswells in the Scottish Borders where he enjoyed walking.[2]

Sinclair was admitted as a member of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers, a dining and discussion group, in 1985.[24] From 1990 to 2000 he served as a trustee of the Imperial War Museum and contributed to a documentary about Britain's nuclear programme.[2] Sinclair also worked at the Staff College, Camberley where he organised battlefield tours for the students.[2] On 1 March 1996 he was appointed deputy lieutenant for the county of Kent.[25] Sinclair wrote The Staff Corps: The History of the Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps RE which was published by the Royal Engineers Museum in 2001.[26] He collaborated with Colonel D.J. Hindle to produce a second edition in 2015 to mark the 150th anniversary of the corps.[27]

Sinclair died on 17 May 2020.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Major-General 'Gus' Sinclair obituary". The Times. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Major General Gus Sinclair, staff officer who helped to prepare for Britain's H-Bomb tests – obituary". Telegraph. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  3. ^ "No. 38465". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 November 1948. p. 6180.
  4. ^ "No. 39046". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 October 1950. p. 5234.
  5. ^ "No. 40307". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 October 1954. p. 6042.
  6. ^ "No. 42491". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 October 1961. p. 7580.
  7. ^ "No. 44357". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 June 1967. p. 7383.
  8. ^ "No. 45718". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 July 1972. p. 7976.
  9. ^ "No. 46444". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1974. p. 6.
  10. ^ "No. 46621". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 June 1975. p. 8369.
  11. ^ "No. 48245". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 July 1980. p. 9714.
  12. ^ "No. 48490". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 January 1981. p. 462.
  13. ^ "Falkland Islands (Strategic Airfield) (Hansard, 27 June 1983)". House of Commons debate 27 June 1983 vol 44 cc345-51. Hansard. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  14. ^ "No. 49212". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1982. p. 3.
  15. ^ "No. 49314". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 April 1983. p. 4947.
  16. ^ "No. 49322". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 April 1983. p. 5310.
  17. ^ "No. 49392". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 June 1983. p. 8191.
  18. ^ "No. 49787". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 June 1984. p. 8743.
  19. ^ "No. 51441". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 August 1988. p. 9270.
  20. ^ "Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps" (PDF). British Army. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2008.
  21. ^ "No. 51650". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 February 1989. p. 2176.
  22. ^ "No. 52542". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 May 1991. p. 8197.
  23. ^ "No. 53472". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 November 1993. p. 17533.
  24. ISBN 978-0-7277-1526-5
    .
  25. ^ "No. 54334". The London Gazette. 1 March 1996. p. 3180.
  26. ^ The Staff Corps: The History of the Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps RE Hardcover – 15 Aug. 2001. ASIN 0950645397.
  27. ISBN 978-0993267406
    .
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