Sir George McCrae
Encyclopedia
Colonel
Sir George McCrae DSO
MP
(28 August 1860 – 27 December 1928) was a Scottish textile merchant Liberal Party
politician.
, George McCrae was educated at the Lancasterian School, Edinburgh. In 1890 he married Eliza Cameron Russell.
, he resigned from the House of Commons
to take up a position in Scottish government service, accepting the appointment of Vice-President of the Scottish Local Government Board. From 1919-1922 he served as Chairman of the Scottish Board of Health. He was knighted in 1908.
, he raised the 16th Battalion the Royal Scots. Among the first recruits were the entire Heart of Midlothian
first team. At the time Hearts were top of the Scottish League. The battalion was raised in Edinburgh and McCrae commanded it on the Western Front
. After what was seen as the battalion’s failure in action in August 1916 however, the divisional commander removed McCrae from command and assigned him to a reserve unit. He was judged to be popular with his men and personally brave but he was thought to have deficiencies as a leader, probably an unwillingness to incur casualties. Despite this judgment of their chief, McCrae's Own, as the battalion was known, had managed to penetrate deeper into the enemy line than any other regiment during the ‘big push’ of July 1916. A memorial cairn
dedicated to McCrae’s Battalion was erected in the French village of Contalmaison
, a commune in the Somme
département where so many of its soldiers fell in 1916.
McCrae ended the war with the rank of Colonel and was awarded the DSO
.
in 1889. He was a City Treasurer and Chairman of the Finance Committee from 1891-1899 and also served as a Justice of the Peace
in Edinburgh
, died causing a Parliamentary by-election
. McCrae was selected as Liberal candidate and held the seat over his Liberal Unionist
challenger with a majority of 1,980 votes.
, holding the seat with a majority of 1,291 and he successfully defended the constituency again at the 1906 general election
this time increasing his majority to 4,174
as a Lloyd George National Liberal
at Edinburgh Central
. In a straight fight with Labour
he trailed sitting MP, William Graham by 3,505 votes.
For the 1923 general election
McCrae switched his attention to the Stirling and Falkirk Burghs. Standing as a Liberal, McCrae defeated the sitting Labour MP, Hugh Murnin
by the narrow margin of 156 votes (which was less than 1% of the total poll). However in 1924
he was unable to hold to his gain and Murnin won back the seat with a majority of 1,924 votes.
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Sir George McCrae DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(28 August 1860 – 27 December 1928) was a Scottish textile merchant Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politician.
Family and education
Born poor circumstances in 1860, the son of George McCrae of EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, George McCrae was educated at the Lancasterian School, Edinburgh. In 1890 he married Eliza Cameron Russell.
Career
McCrae made his mark in the textile trade. He was described variously as a draper or a merchant hosier and mercer In 1909, after a successful career as MP for Edinburgh EastEdinburgh East (UK Parliament constituency)
Edinburgh East is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
, he resigned from the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
to take up a position in Scottish government service, accepting the appointment of Vice-President of the Scottish Local Government Board. From 1919-1922 he served as Chairman of the Scottish Board of Health. He was knighted in 1908.
First World War service
McCrae was a volunteer soldier. In November 1914, before the introduction of conscriptionConscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
, he raised the 16th Battalion the Royal Scots. Among the first recruits were the entire Heart of Midlothian
Heart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...
first team. At the time Hearts were top of the Scottish League. The battalion was raised in Edinburgh and McCrae commanded it on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
. After what was seen as the battalion’s failure in action in August 1916 however, the divisional commander removed McCrae from command and assigned him to a reserve unit. He was judged to be popular with his men and personally brave but he was thought to have deficiencies as a leader, probably an unwillingness to incur casualties. Despite this judgment of their chief, McCrae's Own, as the battalion was known, had managed to penetrate deeper into the enemy line than any other regiment during the ‘big push’ of July 1916. A memorial cairn
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
dedicated to McCrae’s Battalion was erected in the French village of Contalmaison
Contalmaison
Contalmaison is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Contalmaison is situated on the D147 and D20 crossroads, some northeast of Amiens.-History:...
, a commune in the Somme
Somme
Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....
département where so many of its soldiers fell in 1916.
McCrae ended the war with the rank of Colonel and was awarded the DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
.
Local politics
McCrae became a member of Edinburgh Town CouncilPolitics of Edinburgh
The politics of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, are evident in the deliberations and decisions of the council of Edinburgh, in elections to the council, the Scottish Parliament, the House of Commons and the European Parliament....
in 1889. He was a City Treasurer and Chairman of the Finance Committee from 1891-1899 and also served as a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
in Edinburgh
Edinburgh East by-election
In 1899, Robert Wallace, the sitting Liberal MP for Edinburgh EastEdinburgh East (UK Parliament constituency)
Edinburgh East is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
, died causing a Parliamentary by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
. McCrae was selected as Liberal candidate and held the seat over his Liberal Unionist
Liberal Unionist Party
The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington and Joseph Chamberlain, the party formed a political alliance with the Conservative Party in opposition to Irish Home Rule...
challenger with a majority of 1,980 votes.
1900-1906
McCrae fought Edinburgh East again in 1900United Kingdom general election, 1900
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1900*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
, holding the seat with a majority of 1,291 and he successfully defended the constituency again at the 1906 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1906
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
this time increasing his majority to 4,174
1922-1924
After he stepped down from Scottish public service, McCrae tried to resurrect his Parliamentary career. He fought the 1922 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1922
The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...
as a Lloyd George National Liberal
National Liberal Party (UK, 1922)
The National Liberal Party was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1922 to 1923. It was led by David Lloyd George and was, at the time, separate to the original Liberal Party.-History:...
at Edinburgh Central
Edinburgh Central (UK Parliament constituency)
Edinburgh Central was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 2005. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
. In a straight fight with Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
he trailed sitting MP, William Graham by 3,505 votes.
For the 1923 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1923
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
McCrae switched his attention to the Stirling and Falkirk Burghs. Standing as a Liberal, McCrae defeated the sitting Labour MP, Hugh Murnin
Hugh Murnin
Hugh Murnin born Bathgate was a Scottish politician, Labour MP for Stirling and Falkirk Burghs from 1922 to 1923, and from 1924 to 1931....
by the narrow margin of 156 votes (which was less than 1% of the total poll). However in 1924
United Kingdom general election, 1924
- Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *...
he was unable to hold to his gain and Murnin won back the seat with a majority of 1,924 votes.