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Major General
SYDNEY D’AGUILAR CROOKSHANK,
K.C.M.G., C.B., C.I.E., D.S.O., M.V.O.

Colonel Commandant Royal Engineers (Retd.),
Knight of Grace of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem (K.St.J.) 

by 

Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Edward De Santis, MSCE, P.E., MinstRE
(June 2024)


Figure 1. Major General Sydney D’Aguilar Crookshank (1870-1941).
(Image courtesy of the Imperial War Museum) 

1.  INTRODUCTION 

            As can be seen by his postnominals, Sydney D’Aguilar Crookshank was one of the most decorated officers of the Royal Engineers.  His 38 years of service are recorded in many references and his life story is well summarized in his Memoir, which was published in The Royal Engineers Journal of December 1914.  I have attempted here to pull many of these references together to create a more thorough picture of his life and service.  Sources for the information contained herein are cited in the endnotes of this narrative.  Where no source is cited, the reader should assume that the information came from his Memoir as published in the R.E. Journal.  In most cases the information from the Memoir has been used verbatim. 

2.  FAMILY INFORMATION AND EARLY LIFE

Family Information

            Major General Crookshank belonged to the fourth generation of a direct line of soldiers. In 1799 his great-grandfather, Colonel Chichester William Crookshank, K.H.,[1] (1783-1838) joined the 68th Regiment of Foot as an Ensign and served with distinction in the Peninsular War, being wounded and having two horses shot from under him at Salamanca. He also served in the Walcheren expedition. He was presented with the freedom of the cities of Dublin, Londonderry and Limerick.  Chichester William Crookshank’s eldest son, Captain Blackman Chichester Graham Crookshank (Sydney's grandfather), served with the 51st Regiment of Foot. 

            In turn, the eldest son of Blackman, Colonel Arthur Chichester William Crookshank, C.B. (Sydney's father), joined the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment, as an Ensign at the age of 18 in 1859.  He subsequently joined the 32nd Pioneers, which he commanded in the Afghan War of 1878-80, being promoted to Brevet Lieutenant Colonel at the close of the campaign.  After a period of several years of distinguished service as Assistant and Deputy Secretary in the Military Department of the Government of India, for which he received the thanks of the Viceroy and the Commander-in-Chief, and the distinction of the C.B., he was selected to raise the 34th Pioneer Regiment.  In 1888 he was appointed to the command of the 4th or River Column of a punitive expedition against the tribes of the Black Mountain in the Hazara District of the North West Frontier of India, in which capacity he was mortally wounded during a reconnaissance near Kotkai.  He died at Haripur on 29 October 1888, from the effects of the wound.  Sydney's mother was the eldest daughter of the Reverend J. B. D'Aguilar, the grandson of Baron D'Aguilar, an eccentric character in the late 18th century and a descendant of a Spanish family of distinction in the Middle Ages.  

            This four-generation series surely forms a noteworthy record of military continuity in the family tree over a period of a century and a half.  But this military tendency of the trunk of the tree in a vertical direction is even surpassed in the case of Sydney's generation by the lateral spread of its branches. For of Colonel Arthur Crookshank's five sons, of whom Sydney was the second, everyone joined the army, and the one daughter also married a soldier.  The five sons were :—Colonel Chichester de Windt Crookshank, R.E., D.L., J.P., M.P. (of His Majesty's Body Guard and the Royal Company of Archers), Major General Sir Sydney D'Aguilar Crookshank, R.E. (the subject of this research), Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Alexander Crookshank, R.E., Captain Wilfred Plassey Crookshank, 1st K.G.O. Gurkha Rifles (killed in action at Kut in 1916), and Major Claude Kennedy Crookshank, 34th Sikh Pioneers.  The daughter (Ethel Helen) married Captain Cecil Edwin Hunt, 34th Sikh Pioneers, who was killed in action at Givenchy in 1914.  

            As regards present and future continuity in the military traditions of the family, the fifth generation was represented in the Army by Chichester de Windt's son, George Howard Usher Crookshank of the 3rd K.O. Hussars (Royal Armoured Corps), Claude's son, Arthur Kennedy Crookshank, a Major in the Scinde Horse, and Mrs. Hunt's son, John Cecil Hunt, of the 60th  Rifles. 

            Out of the five generations of the Crookshank family, at least one member of each generation had been wounded on service.  

Figure 2.  Colonel Chichester de Windt Crookshank, R.E.(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)

Figure 3.  Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Alexander Crookshank, R.E.(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)

Figure 4.  Captain Cecil Edwin Hunt, 34th Sikh Pioneers (Image courtesy of the Imperial War Museum)

 Early Life

            Sydney D’Aguilar Crookshank was born in India on 3 June 1870.  His family on the male side was descended from the Reverend John Crookshank, of Raphoe, who migrated from Scotland to the north of Ireland early in the seventeenth century, members of the family being taking part in the siege of Londonderry in 1688-9. 

            Sydney was educated on the Continent and at the Royal Military Academy (R.M.A.), Woolwich from which he passed out sixteenth in Colvin's batch of twenty on 27 July 1889.  Sixteenth out of twenty does not seem to indicate a stellar performance on his part.  It may have been that Colvin’s batch was made up of a superior batch of officers, or it may be that Crookshank was a slow starter.  His subsequent performance as an officer and the rank which he ultimately attained surely indicate that he should have been near the top of his class. 

            The top man in his class, James Morris Colquhoun Colvin (1870-1945), went on to earn the Victoria Cross in India during the Mohmand campaign of 1897-1898. For distinguished proficiency, Colvin was awarded the Pollock Gold Medal and Memoir as a Cadet Senior Under Officer. He was also awarded the Regulation Sword for exemplary conduct. A travelling clock, aneroid barometer, thermometer and compass were awarded to him for mathematics and mechanics.[2]  If Colvin was typical of the competition that Crookshank face at the R.M.A., then maybe it is understandable as to why he came in the lower 20 percent of his class.


Figure 5.  Colonel James Morris Colquhoun Colvin, V.C.
(Image courtesy of Find a Grave) 

3.  COMMISSIONING AND TRAINING 

Commissioning 

            Crookshank was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on 27 July 1889 and he immediately proceeded to the School of Military Engineering at Chatham to receive further training as an engineer officer. 

Training 

His military training at Chatham included courses in field fortifications, construction, surveying, telegraphy, electric lighting, submarine mining, photography, chemistry, military law and tactics.  The Field Fortifications course lasted for 4 months and 23 days.  This  course consisted of field and siege engineering, field defence, attack of fortresses, mining construction, demolition of railways and water supply.  The Construction course was 6 months and covered building materials, engineering construction, hydraulics, construction of barracks, drainage, manufacture of iron and steel, mining, quarrying and machinery.  Next came the Surveying course consisting of  five months of technical training in geodesy, astronomy, meteorology, trigonometrical chain and road surveys and use of surveying instruments.  One to two months of military topography followed, which included military surveying and sketching and elementary reconnaissance.  In the School of Telegraphy, Electric Lighting and Submarine Mining he studied the theory of electricity, use of telegraph instruments, bracing and connecting instruments, making of batteries, firing mines and testing tubes.  All of this was accomplished in two months with an additional one month devoted to electric lighting, signalling by flag, lamps and heliograph.  The School of Chemistry was a short course of varying length that generally covered practical chemistry, especially relating to limes, concrete and other building materials.  Finally, the School of Military Law and Tactics, also a course of varying length, consisted of special lectures in law and tactics as dictated by current military situations.  This training at the School of Military Engineering lasted for just under 24 months. 


Figure 6.  Lieutenant Sydney D’Aguilar Crookshank, R.E.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)

4.  POSTINGS AND CAMPAIGN SERVICE

India (1891-1914) 

            After the customary two years at the S.M.E. he elected for continuous service in India where for his first two years he was employed on railway survey and construction at Mari-Attock, Rae Bareli and Sind-Saugur.  He was promoted to Lieutenant on 27 July 1892.[3]  In 1893 he was transferred to the Roads and Buildings Branch of the Public Works Department (P.W.D.) in the United Provinces.[4]  

The Gohna Lake 

            Not the least noteworthy of his varied experiences occurred early during this period, in connection with the well-known incident of the Gohna Lake. Gohna was a small hamlet remote in the heart of the Himalayas, situated on one of the tributaries of the river Ganges, some 150 miles upstream of the city of Hurdwar, at which latter point the Ganges debouches from the Himalayan foothills into the main Gangetic plain.  Hurdwar was important both as being one of the most sacred of all the Hindu holy cities and as being the site of the headworks of the great Ganges Canal, which irrigates over a million acres. From Hurdwar upwards the Ganges formed the only highway for the numbers of Hindu pilgrims who journeyed up to worship at the sacred shrines of Badrinath and Kedarnath, halting at numerous populous villages by the way. 

            Sometime before the end of 1893 native reports began to trickle in that an enormous landslide had occurred near Gohna and that the river was being dammed up and was causing the formation of a large lake. Crookshank was detailed to report on the situation, to watch the growth of the lake and to advise upon the steps necessary for the safeguarding of life and property.  The selection for this duty of so young an officer, with a bare two years' practical experience, was a testimony to the high opinion already formed by Crookshank's superiors of the capabilities of which he was to give such ample proof in later years.  

            On arrival at the site he reported that a whole mountain side had collapsed from a height of 4,000 feet and for a length of more than a mile and had entirely choked up the valley. The dam thus formed was about 1,000 feet high, of enormous thickness, and composed of earth, shale and gigantic masses of rock.  The pent-up water was already headed back a distance of one mile.  

            All possible protective measures were set in hand. It was impossible to lower the dam to any useful extent or to regulate the outflow of the torrent which the bursting of the dam would liberate, but a temporary telegraph line was constructed for the despatch of constant reports and warnings, some of the various suspension bridges over the Ganges were dismantled and the height of the canal headworks regulator at Hurdwar was increased by temporary crib work. Also ample warning was given to all residents in the valley and to pilgrims.  

            By July 1894, the lake had grown to 2 square miles in area and was 620 feet deep. Public interest in the matter developed into excitement as time drew on. Crookshank's methodical observations of rainfall and his record of the contours, cross section and bed slope of the valley enabled him to make a fairly accurate forecast of the date on which the level of the lake would top the dam, but opinions varied as to what would then happen.  

            One theory was that, as the dam was of so great a thickness and contained such enormous masses of rock, the escaping water would not be able to cut down into it to any very great depth and that a permanent lake would be formed of an area not much smaller than the maximum attained at the time of the crisis. The contrary theory, held by many, was that the whole dam would go.  

            Matters reached a climax late in August 1894, by which time the lake had been filling for probably the best part of a year and was 5 miles long by half a mile in width and its surface level was rising by several feet a day, a rapid rate due to the melting of the snow and ice in the glaciers above. Crookshank had made arrangements to photograph the final burst and he attempted to make this occur at the hour of his choice by cutting a runway across the top of the dam. Some hidden outlet, however, suddenly gave and threw back his calculations by some 12 hours. Heavy rain and bad visibility prevented further attempts at regulation and the decisive breach occurred in pitch black night late on 25 August.  


Figure 7.  Gohna Lake and Landslide Dam.
(Image courtesy of the-south-asian.com) 

            All that could be done was to listen to the roar of the escaping water and to watch the rapid extinction one by one of the tell-tale lanterns which had been arranged as an automatic record up the opposite hillside below the dam. Judging by these factors his opinion was that the whole dam had gone and he telegraphed to that effect and gave warning to "expect enormous flood."  

            The flood was indeed an enormous one, the river rising 140 feet at a point about 50 miles downstream from Gohna. But in point of fact the whole dam had not gone. It had cut down to a depth of 390 out of its total height of 1,000 feet and the bed of the outflow had then solidified and resisted further cutting. A permanent lake was thus formed and still exists to this day.  

            Crookshank gained much kudos and the thanks of the United Provinces Government for his conduct of affairs throughout. The most satisfactory features of the operations were that the Ganges Canal at Hurdwar was only slightly damaged (though the flood in actuality reached within inches of the top of the emergency crib-work), and that all loss of life was avoided except in the case of 5 persons, who in spite of all warnings refused to move from their hut immediately below the dam.  

Relief of Chitral, 1895 

            After the Gohna episode Crookshank was posted to a P.W.D. sub-division at Muttra but he only served there for a few months as on the formation of the Chitral Relief Force he was claimed by the Military Department in March 1895 for Field Service as Assistant Field Engineer at the Malakand.  In this capacity he worked on the Lines of Communications for the Chitral Relief Force, specifically on the road from Madan to Dargai.  He was the officer in immediate charge of the greater part of the work, employing the 32nd Sikh Pioneers and large gangs of Swati coolies.[5]  He completed this work in July 1895.[6] 

            On return from Field Service in October 1895 he was reposted to Muttra and shortly afterwards employed on cholera camp works in Bundelkhund and in 1897 he set to work on famine relief works at Gorakhpur, for which he was again awarded the thanks of the Provincial Government. 

District Engineer, Naini Tal and Lucknow 

            From 1898 to 1900, in which latter year he was promoted Captain on 6 May, he was posted as District Engineer to Naini Tal where he was employed on the building of the present Government House.  


Figure 8.  Government House at Naini Tal.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia) 

            In 1901 he became District Engineer in the Lucknow District of the P.W.D. and then went to England for a course at Chatham during 1904. On his return to India he was promoted to the position of Under Secretary to the Government of India in the Public Works Department, United Provinces. 

            Although he had adopted the civil engineering branch of his profession with his  P.W.D. service, took care to keep in touch with the military side by Volunteer service, holding a company command in the Naini Tal Volunteer Rifles while employed at that station and leading a troop of the United Provinces Light Horse in the Allahabad Squadron in 1905-1907.


Figure 9.  Cap Badge of the Naini Tal Volunteer Rifles.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia) 

Executive Engineer, Lucknow 

            In 1908 he became Executive Engineer of the King George's Medical College and Hospital Division at Lucknow and for the next 3 years was employed in a wide series of extensive designing and construction works of much importance and interest, including two bridges over the river Gumti at Lucknow, the construction of the New Canning College at Lucknow, and of the Technical School of Design and the Arabic College at the same place, and of a large hospital in the native state of Balrampur. Throughout this period he was a Troop Leader of the Lucknow Squadron of the U.P. Light Horse. He was promoted Major R.E. in July, 1909.  


Figure 10.  King George’s Medical College, Lucknow, India.
(Image from SANDES, The Military Engineer in India, Vol. II) 

            In these various activities Crookshank and his work came conspicuously to the notice of that great administrator, Sir John Prescott Hewett, I.C.S., who was then Lieutenant-Governor of the United Provinces. Not only was Sir John much impressed by Crookshank's professional ability but the engaging personality of the latter so much attracted him as to lay the foundation of a personal friendship which continually increased throughout the subsequent years. 

            Crookshank’s work was praised to the Governor General by the Committee of the New Canning College at the opening ceremony of the college: 

"The Committee are specially grateful to Your Honour for entrusting the complete specification, the inception, and the progress of the greater part of the work to Major S. D'A. Crookshank, R.E., whose brilliant talents, unswerving resolution, and indefatigable energy have created the inseparable association of his name with the New Canning College building.”  

Figure 11. Sydney D’Aguilar Crookshank, c. 1912.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com) 

            Crookshank's work in these years lay in the province of the design of important buildings. Although he was always too busy a man to be able to devote much time to art as a pastime, he was naturally endowed with an eye for effect and a cleverness of touch which made him an architectural draughtsman of a very high class, and it was to the possession of this talent as well as to his width of vision that he owed a large share of his success as a designer.  

The Delhi Durbar, 1911 

            The Coronation Durbar at Delhi in 1911 provided the next opportunity for the exercise of his capabilities. Sir John Hewett was selected by the Viceroy as supreme organizer and director of the Durbar and all connected with it and he in turn placed Crookshank in complete charge of all the engineering works concerned." A truly marvelous experience" as Crookshank himself described it. The Durbar camps and arena covered an area of over 25 square miles and the preparations occupied 12 months and the brilliant success of the ceremony as a whole is a matter of history.  The burden of the actual construction work for the Durbar fell on Crookshank and his staff who made the roads, building and grounds required for the great assembly and prepared the huge amphitheater on the site of the previous Durbars of 1877 and 1903.  For his services Crookshank received an immediate award as a Member of the Victorian Order (M.V.O.), followed in 1912 by being made a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (C.I.E.).  

Superintending Engineer, Delhi 

            On his return in 1913 from leave in England he renewed his acquaintance with Delhi by being selected for duty in connection with the construction of the Imperial Capital at New Delhi, with the grading of a Superintending Engineer. Sir Hugh Keeling, the well-known Civil Engineer, who selected him, wrote:—  

“ . . . He was kind-hearted and always ready to give a lame dog a helping hand. He was full of drive and no one was better at getting a job of work done. He saw to it that his young men worked hard and played hard. . ."

            Crookshank was always a keen sportsman. So far as his devotion to duty permitted he joined in as wide a variety of sport and games as possible. He got much pleasure out of polo, pigsticking, shooting, golf and, in later years, salmon fishing.  

            He became a Squadron Commander of the Punjab Light Horse while at New Delhi.  


Figure 12.  Badge of the Punjab Light Horse.
(Image courtesy of the National Army Museum) 

France (1914-1918) 

            Sometime early in 1914 Crookshank said: "I suppose I shall now go on building New Delhi until I retire." But 1914 changed all that and on 11 November of that year he was given command of the 2nd Field Squadron of Indian Sappers and Miners in the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division in France.  On 14 December he landed with the squadron at Marseille with two other officers under his command: Captain D. Ogilvy, R.E.[7] and Lieutenant B.H. Fox, R.E.  By 22 December the division was concentrated at Orleans and on 31 December Crookshank and his squadron were at Mametz 

            On 2 July 1915 Crookshank relinquished command of the 2nd Indian Field Squadron to Major R.C.R. Hill[8] to take up his appointment as Commander Royal Engineers (C.R.E.) of the 47th (2nd London) Division.  For this posting he was appointed a temporary Lieutenant Colonel.  When his took up this post, the engineers of the 47th Division consisted of the following units:[9] 

·         3rd London Field Company

·         4th London Field Company

·         2/3rd London Field Company

·         2nd London Divisional Signal Company 

            The Pioneer Battalion of the division was the 1/4th Battalion, The Royal Welsh Fusiliers.  This battalion frequently worked in coordination with the R.E. divisional engineers.   Pioneer Battalions were used on a large scale on the Western Front. Because of its largely static nature, there was a much heavier reliance on field defences and the provision of mobility support to get troops, weapons, ammunition, rations and stores up to the front and to get casualties out.  Roads and railways needed to be built maintained and repaired.  While these were also engineer tasks, engineers alone could not meet the heavy demand, while riflemen were always needed at the front. Therefore, Pioneer Battalions were raised to meet the needs of both and trained to support both engineers and infantry.

 

            Crookshank was present with the 47th Division at the battle of Loos in September 1915.  He was mentioned in the despatches of Field Marshal French, dated General Headquarters, 30 November 1915, for his service at Loos.[10]

 

            When the Germans fired a mine on 21 May 1916 and attacked the division’s position in overwhelming numbers at Vimy Ridge, the situation became so critical that Crookshank found it necessary to organize a defensive line with his Sappers to man the trenches and fight as infantry. For this action he was awarded the D.S.O. on 3 June 1916 and on 15 June he was again mentioned in despatches.  During the battles of the Somme he was with the division at High Wood in September and at Le Transloy in October 1916.   

 

            On 27 November 1916, he was appointed Deputy Director of Light Railways in France.  In January 1917 he was appointed Chief Engineer of XV Corps,[11] an appointment that was to last for only about a month.  He was mentioned in despatches again on 4 January 1917 and in March 1917 he was chosen to serve as Deputy Director-General of Transportation, a new department recently created, embodying many civilian experts under Sir Eric Geddes and Sir Philip Nash. Crookshank became one of the former's three Deputy Directors, as a temporary Brigadier General. He was promoted substantive Lieutenant Colonel on 22 June 1917. 

            In May 1917, Sir Eric Geddes left France to go to the Admiralty and Sir Philip Nash succeeded him as Director-General of Transportation (D.G.T.). Sir Philip in his turn was transferred in December 1917, to the Inter-Allied Transportation Council and this meant a further step for Crookshank. 

            Crookshank was once again mentioned in despatches on 11 December 1917[12] and awarded the French Legion of Honour (Croix d’Officier) on 17 December[13] and was appointed a Brevet Colonel (Temporary Brigadier General) on 1 January 1918.[14]  He was confirmed as the Director General of Transportation on 19 March 1918 and, as was befitting his new post, he was appointed a Temporary Major General.[15] 

            As Director-General he was directly responsible throughout the area of British occupation on the Western Front for all railways, light railways, dock working, inland water transport, construction and maintenance of roads, and for the Transportation services which coordinated the use by the Army of all these forms of transport, the total personnel comprising at its peak 162,500 men. He shouldered these heavy responsibilities throughout all the stress of the great German offensives in March and April 1918, followed by the turn of the tide culminating in the final victorious advance of the Allies. He continued in the post until May 1919, being promoted substantive Colonel on 2 June 1919.[16]  

            His war services were mentioned four more times in despatches in the London Gazettes of 20 May 1918, 21 October 1918, 20 December 1918 and 10 April 1919, this latter mention for his work during the advance into Germany.[17]  The 21 October 1918 London Gazette citation was from the despatch of Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, dated 20 July 1918, where Haig wrote: 

“The large and incessant demands made upon the Transportation Services in the course of the battle [Cambrai] were met in the most admirable manner by my Director-General, Brigadier-General S.D’A. Crookshank, C.I.E., M.V.O., D.S.O., and those working under him.” 

            Crookshank was created C.B. on 3 June 1918, and K.C.M.G. on 9 June 1919.  He was also awarded the Belgian Order of King Leopold (Commandeur) and the Belgian Croix de Guerre on 21 August 1919,[18] Grand Commander of the Order of Avis of Portugal on 24 October 1919 and the U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal on 8 March 1920.  The citation for his award of the Distinguished Service Medal reads as follows: 

“The President of the United States, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Major General Sydney D’A Crookshank, Royal British Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished service in a position of great responsibility to the Government of the United States, during World War 1.  The services General Crookshank rendered as Director General of Transportation of the British forces were of great merit.  He heartily cooperated with the American authorities and gave much assistance to our Transportation Corps.  He lent every effort to further those friendly relations which characterized the transportation service of the British and American Armies.”[19] 

            In September 1919 Crookshank had been appointed Secretary of the Public Works Department and Consulting Engineer to the Government of India.  With regard to his position of Consulting Engineer, it should be noted that immediately following the end of the war he prepared himself for such a position by applying for membership in the Institution of Civil Engineers on 23 January 1919.  His membership in the I.C.E. was approved on 9 April and he became an Associate Member of the Institution on 16 April.[20] 

            Along with his position in the Public Works Department, Crookshank was also given command of the Simla Rifles of the Auxiliary Forces of India.  Then in 1920 he was made, in recognition of his responsibilities with regard to the ambulance train services, a Knight of Grace of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. 


Figure 13.  Cap Badge of the Simla Rifles.
(Image courtesy of the National Army Museum) 

            As regards his services as D.G. Transportation, Sir Sam Fay, who was at that time Director-General of Movements and Railways at the War Office and a member of the Army Council, wrote:-  

" He was, as one of those officers serving under him in France--a war-time military man—said 'A great gentleman.' That was the view of all of all of them without exception. . . . Haig, as you see from his letters to me quoted in my book, held him in high regard and he expressed in a talk to me his gratitude for Sir Sydney's work during and after the break through. . . . Of all those who served in the Transport Services during my period of office no one impressed me more than he did as a keen, clean and conscientious leader in word and deed."  

High praise indeed from one who was by virtue of his position in touch with every side of the transportation problem.

India (1919-1937)

            After only 4 months' leave Crookshank returned to India to take over the appointment of Secretary in the Public Works Department and Consulting Engineer to the Government of India, thus attaining to the highest appointment in the service which he had first joined 28 years before. As Secretary to the P.W.D. he became a member of the Viceroy's Legislative Council and a member of the Legislative Assembly. In the latter capacity he was seldom called upon to speak in the Assembly, as controversial subjects were outside his province—in such speeches as he did make his main theme was advice to the Indian legislator to learn to walk before he tried to run. 

            On the abolition of his post, on reorganization in 1923, he was deputed for special duty under the Colonial Office to report on the Public Works Services of the Gold Coast, after which he was appointed Chief Engineer of the Southern Command at home. His G.O.C.-in-C. at that time, Sir Alexander Godley, wrote of him:-  

"Coming as he did from high appointments in India, his efficiency and value to the Command were beyond question. But the great success he made of the appointment was due not only to this but even more to his delightful character and charm of manner. No trouble was too great for him to take for any of us and his cheery ways were a tonic for all with whom he came in contact. For him difficulties were only made to be overcome and I have never served with anyone more successful in surmounting them. We all loved him."  

            Crookshank retired from the Army in 1927 with the honorary rank of Major-General. For 4 years up to 1929, he was Honorary Colonel of the 47th (2nd London) Divisional R.E. (TA.).  As well as an Associate of the Institution of Civil Engineers, he was a member of the Council of the Institution of Royal Engineers and a member of the Council of the Institution of Engineers (India).

            He was promoted Colonel Commandant R.E. in 1936, an award which gave him, such was his love for the Corps, possibly more pleasure than any other of his many distinctions.  After his retirement from the service in 1927 he became General Secretary of the Officers' Association, which appointment he filled with conspicuous success until failing health drove him out of harness some 10 months before his death in August 1941.  

            As regards his work for the Association the following speak for themselves. General the Hon. Sir Herbert Lawrence, C.G.S. to Earl Haig in France, wrote of him:-  

" . . . His great chance came in the last war when he became Director-General of Transportation in 1918. It was here that I was fortunate enough to meet him and was able to appreciate the invaluable work which he did in the anxious months of March and April, and again in the victorious months from August to the end of the war. His energy and vitality were tremendous factors in the accomplishment of his difficult task of keeping our communications open and his services were highly appreciated and valued by the late Lord Haig. As General Secretary of the Officers' Association he displayed his usual organizing power and tact, as thousands of officers today can testify who benefited by his work. He is a great loss to his friends and to the country, and he leaves his own monument behind him in his record of service to the nation and to his brother officers."  

            And as a further appreciation of his work for the Officers' Association the following extract from a letter from its Chairman, Colonel Sir Frank Watney, wrote :—  

" There never was a wiser and kinder man to work with. . . He was a great organizer and a great worker but above all he was so human and so full of love for those of his profession who were in want. . . . He not only saved the Association much money but was instrumental in obtaining for it many donations and subscriptions .. There never was an office which ran with so little friction and we all at 8, Eaton Square loved him. . . . "  

            In 1919 Crookshank married Beryl Mary, the youngest daughter of the late Commander Willoughby Still, R.N.. King George V and Queen Mary presented the bride and bridegroom with signed copies of their photographs.  There never was a happier marriage. Each was entirely devoted to the other. They shared all interests in common. They were ideally happy together in their charming home at Windmill House in Fleet, Hampshire, which it gave them so much pleasure to design and beautify and where they were so well-loved for their wide interest in local affairs. It is an unspeakable tragedy that they were not granted a more liberal space of time in which to enjoy their great happiness.  Lady Crookshank was a perfect companion and helpmate to her husband for 22 years. Her care and devotion throughout his fatal illness are beyond description.  

            They had no children, but Sydney had the great satisfaction of seeing the family name carried on in India by his nephew Arthur (a Major in the Scinde Horse), whom he saw through his Sandhurst days and the early years of his Army service and for whose entry into the Indian Cavalry he arranged, as a token of his own regard for India and the Indian Army. 

            In looking back on one's long personal friendship with Sydney Crookshank and in studying his outstanding career, the qualities which seem most closely to characterize him were his well-balanced judgment and his coolness and imperturbability. Added to these were a becoming measure of self-reliance and assurance and an invaluable sense of humour. He was generous and kind-hearted and, as is copiously evidenced in the record above, was possessed of the power of gaining the trust and affection of all those with whom he worked, both superiors and subordinates.  

            His friendships were deep and widespread. In the many letters received concerning him there is a practical unanimity in referring to him affectionately as " Crookie." His devotion to duty is fittingly attested by his favourite quotation :— 

" We are not here to play, to dream, to drift. We have hard work to do and loads to lift. Shun not the struggle—face God's gift."  

            Major General Crookshank died at Aldershot on 17 August 1941.  Probate of his Will took place in Llandudno, Wales on 29 January 1942 where his effects were left to his widow, Dame Beryl Mary Crookshank in the amount of £24,529, 1 shilling and 11 pence (approximately $1,907,500 US in 2024 currency). 


Figure 14.  Portrait Sketch.
(From The History of the Corps of Royal Engineers, Vol. V)

5. MEDALS, AWARDS AND DECORATIONS


Figure 15.  The Awards and Medals of Major General Sydney D’Aguilar Crookshank.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia) 

            The awards and medals shown in the Figure above are, from left to right: 

 

Figures 16 & 17.  Great War Medal Index Card Obverse and Reverse.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)

 REFERENCES: 

Army Lists 

Hart’s Annual Army List, 1908, p. 211. 

Books 

  1. CONNOLLY, T.W.J.  Roll of Officers of the Corps of Royal Engineers From 1660 to 1898.  The Royal Engineers Institute, Chatham, Kent, 1898.

  2. EDWARDS, D.K.  A History of 1st Middlesex Volunteer Engineers.  Published by the Regiment, 1967.

  3. HENNIKER, A.M.  History of the Great War: Transportation on the Western Front, 1914-1918.  The Imperial War Museum, London, 1937.

  4. INSTITUTION OF ROYAL ENGINEERS.  The History of the Corps of Royal Engineers.  Volume V.  The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1952.

  5. INSTITUTION OF ROYAL ENGINEERS.  The History of the Corps of Royal Engineers.  Volume VII.  The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1952.

  6. MAUDE, A.H, (ed.).  The 47th (London) Division, 1914-1919, by Some who Served with it in the Great War.  Amalgamated Press (1922) Ltd., London, 1922.

  7. SAMBROOK, J.  With the Rank and Pay of a Sapper: the 216th (Nuneaton) Army Troops Company, Royal Engineers, in the Great War.  Paddy Griffith Associates, Nuneaton, 1998.

  8. SANDES, E.W.C.  The Indian Sappers and Miners.  The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1948.

  9. SANDES, E.W.C.  The Military Engineer in India.  Volume II.  The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1935.  

Civil Documents 

  1. 1891 Census of England (Chatham Barracks).

  2. India Office Record of Service, 1892, p. 482.

  3. Ireland Visitation, Volume 5, p. viii.

  4. Register of the India Office, Order of the Indian Empire, 1915, p. 167A.

  5. India Office Record of Service, 1937, p. 615.

  6. Membership Application for The Institution of Civil Engineers (Forms A and E).

  7. 1939 England and Wales Register.

  8. Obituary, 1941, publication unknown.

  9. UK Probate Calendar, 1942, p. 378. 

Family Trees 

  1. Sydney D’Aguilar Crookshank (by felstedarchivist).

  2. Chichester De Windt Crookshank (by felstedarchivist).

  3. Arthur Chichester William Crookshank (by felstedarchivist) (father).

  4. Wilfred Plassey Crookshank (by felstedarchivist) (brother).

  5. Arthur Alexander Crookshank (by Karenn40) (brother).  

Internet Web Sites 

  1. The Hall of Valor Project

https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/18525

  1. James Morris Colquhoun Colvin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Morris_Colquhoun_Colvin

  1. The-South-Asian.com (Gohna Lake)

http://www.the-south-asian.com/April-June2008/Gohna_Lake.htm

  1. Wikipedia: Raj Bhavan, Nainital.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raj_Bhavan,_Nainital

London Gazette 

  1. The London Gazette, 1 January 1916, p. 24.

  2. The London Gazette, 15 June 1916, p. 5931.

  3. The London Gazette, 4 January 1917, p. 191.

  4. The London Gazette, 23 March 1917, pp. 2861 and 2862.

  5. The London Gazette, 30 March 1917, p. 3108.

  6. The London Gazette, 9 July 1917, p. 6847.

  7. Supplement to the London Gazette, 3 September 1917, p. 9129.

  8. Supplement to the London Gazette, 11 December 1917, p. 12911.

  9. Supplement to the London Gazette, 17 December 1917, p. 13206.

  10. Supplement to the London Gazette, 1 January 1918, p. 9.

  11. Supplement to the London Gazette, 20 May 1918, p. 5945.

  12. Supplement to the London Gazette, 3 June 1918, pp. 6451 and 6452.

  13. Supplement to the London Gazette, 20 August 1918, p. 10158.

  14. Supplement to the London Gazette, 9 October 1918, p. 11923.

  15. Supplement to the London Gazette, 21 October 1918, pp. 12425 and 12450.

  16. Supplement to the London Gazette, 20 December 1918, p. 14925.

  17. Supplement to the London Gazette, 10 April 1919, pp. 4693 and 4709.

  18. Supplement to the London Gazette, 9 June 1919, pp. 7420 and 7421.

  19. Supplement to the London Gazette, 12 August 1919, p. 10311.

  20. The London Gazette, 21 August 1919, pp. 10603 and 10604.

  21. Supplement to the London Gazette, 24 October 1919, p. 13004.

  22. Supplement to the London Gazette, 8 March 1920, p. 2874.

  23. The London Gazette, 3 June 1927, p. 3630.

  24. The London Gazette, 14 June 1927, p. 3837.  

Military Documents 

Great War Medal Index Card. 

Periodicals 

  1. The Royal Engineers Journal, Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, March 1926, p. 50.

  2. The Sapper, HQ, Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, July 1929, p. 317.

  3. The Royal Engineers Journal,  Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, December 1941 (Memoir).

ENDNOTES:

[1] Knight Hospitaller (Knight of Malta)

[2] Wikipedia.

[3] CONNOLLY.

[4] The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was a province of India under the British Raj, which existed from 22 March 1902 to 1937

[5] SANDES.  The Military Engineer in India, Volume II.

[6] SANDES.  The Indian Sappers and Miners.

[7] Later, Major, D.S.O.

[8] Later, Brigadier, Bengal Sappers and Miners.

[9] MAUDE.

[10] London Gazette, 1 January 1916.

[11] Corps History, Volume V.

[12] London Gazette, 11 December 1917.

[13] London Gazette, 17 December 1917.

[14] London Gazette, 1 January 1918.

[15] London Gazette, 30 August 1918 and 9 October 1918.

[16] London Gazette, 10 August 1919.

[17] Sir Douglas Haig’s despatch of 21 March 1919.

[18] London Gazette, 21 August 1919.

[19] The Hall of Valour Project.

[20] I.C.E. Forms A and E.