George Buchanan (engineer, born 1865)

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George Cunningham Buchanan
Born	20 April 1865
Died	14 April 1940
Occupation	Engineer
Engineering career
Institutions	Institution of Civil Engineers

Sir George Cunningham Buchanan

, during the early years of the 20th century.

Buchanan first came to prominence in 1905 when he collaborated with

; 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

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

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 (

).

Sir George’s nephew, Sir Colin Buchanan was a pioneer in transport planning.

References

Bibliography

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