Colonel George Thomas Landmann (1779 – 27 August 1854) was an English

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

. He served with the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Following his retirement from the army, he worked as a civil engineer and was engineer of the

London and Greenwich Railway The London and Greenwich Railway (L&GR) was opened in London between 1836 and 1838. It was the first steam railway in the capital, the first to be built specifically for passengers, and the first entirely elevated railway. Origins The idea for t ...

, the world's first suburban passenger railway.

Military service

Son of Isaac Landmann, professor of

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

and fortification at the Royal Military Academy, George Landmann was born at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

and became a cadet at the Academy on 16 April 1793 before joining the Royal Engineers as second lieutenant on 1 May 1795. Stationed at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

and Falmouth, he was employed in defensive fortifications at both places. In 1797, he was sent to Canada and employed until the end of 1800 in the construction of fortifications at St Joseph Island,

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrology, Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Strait ...

, and then cut a new canal at the Cascades on the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...

. At the end of 1802 he returned to England, helping with fortifications at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

and

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...

. In 1805, Landmann travelled to Gibraltar and on 1 July 1806 was promoted to captain. In 1808 he embarked as commanding royal engineer with General Spencer's corps of 7,000 men from Gibraltar, and landed in August at Mondego Bay to join Sir Arthur Wellesley. He was at the

Battle of Roliça In the Battle of Roliça (17 August 1808) an Anglo-Portuguese army under Sir Arthur Wellesley defeated an outnumbered Imperial French division under General of Division Henri François Delaborde, near the village of Roliça in Portugal. The ...

(17 August) and commanded his corps at

Vimeiro Vimeiro () is a freguesia (civil parish) in the municipality of Lourinhã in west-central Portugal. It is in the District of Lisboa. The population in 2011 was 1,470,John Moore, Landmann assumed the command of his corps in Portugal, constructing a

pontoon bridge A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, uses float (nautical), floats or shallow-draft (hull), draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maxi ...

Abrantes Abrantes () is a concelho, municipality in the Centro Region, Portugal, central Médio Tejo Subregion, Médio Tejo subregion of Portugal. The population was 39,325, in an area of . The municipality includes several parishes divided by the Tagus ...

, on the

Tagus The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see #Name, below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections ...

, another at Punhete, on the Zêzere, and a flying bridge at Villa Velha. Fluent in Spanish, he helped calm an uprising against the Marquis de Villel in Cadiz, receiving the thanks of the king of Spain through the secretary of state. On 23 February 1809 Landmann was granted a commission as lieutenant-colonel in the Spanish engineers, remaining in Cadiz and helping plan fortifications of the city. 2017-11-05 The town of Albufeira 1813, By J

2017-11-05 The town of Albufeira 1813, By J

On 25 March 1810 he was appointed colonel of infantry in the Spanish army, and in April served at the siege of Matagorda. After a brief return to England through ill health, Landmann returned to

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

having been appointed one of the military agents in the Peninsula. He was present at the action of Castilejos, near the

Guadiana The Guadiana River (, also , , ), or Odiana, is an international river defining a long stretch of the Portugal-Spain border, separating Extremadura and Andalusia (Spain) from Alentejo and Algarve (Portugal). The river's basin extends from the e ...

, on 7 January 1811, but suffered further injuries when his horse fell under him. In March 1812 Landmann sailed for England in company with the Spanish ambassador. His health was now so impaired that he was unable to return to duty until July 1818, and he served the remainder of his army career in the

Lough Swilly Lough Swilly () in Ireland is a glacial fjord or sea inlet lying between the western side of the Inishowen, Inishowen Peninsula and the Fanad Peninsula, in County Donegal. Along with Carlingford Lough and Killary Harbour it is one of three glaci ...

district of Ireland, and then the Hull district of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. He retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel on 29 December 1824.

Civil engineer

As a civil engineer, he promoted the design and construction of the

line in south-east London. Other projects included a railway line and docks at

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

(he was engineer to the

Preston and Wyre Railway and Harbour Company The Preston and Wyre Railway was promoted to open up agricultural land in the Fylde in Lancashire, access a new port at what became Fleetwood and the Lancaster Canal at Preston, Lancashire, Preston: it opened in 1840. An associated company built ...

).Herapeth's Railway Journal, Volume 5
(1839). Retrieved: 9 September 2015. He was a member of the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...

, published memoirs of his work in Portugal and of military life (''Adventures and Recollections'', 1852), and died at

Shacklewell Shacklewell is a small locality to the east of Roman Ermine Street (now the A10), in the London Borough of Hackney.'Hackney: Shacklewell', in A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 10, Hackney, ed. T F T Baker (London, 1995), pp. 35–38. ...

near Hackney in east London on 27 August 1854.

References

;Attribution

External links

*
Fleetwood Docks
''Engineering Timelines'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Landmann, George Thomas English civil engineers Royal Engineers officers People from Woolwich 1779 births 1854 deaths