George Esslemont Gordon Leith (1885–1965) was a South African architect.

Career

He started his career working for

Herbert Baker Sir Herbert Baker (9 June 1862 – 4 February 1946) was an English architect remembered as the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, and a major designer of some of New Delhi's most notable government structures. He wa ...

. Leith served as a captain in the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

(and was later recovering from a Western Front gas attack). Leith was assistant architect to the

Imperial War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

in England from 1918 to 1920, before going back to South Africa, where he set up his own practice. Leith's works include the

Calais Southern War Cemetery Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, of which it is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's Pref ...

, France (1918–20),

Johannesburg Park Station Johannesburg Park Station is the central railway station in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, and the largest railway station in Africa. It is located between the Central Business District and Braamfontein, in the block bordered by Rissik, ...

(1927–32), the Town Hall,

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

(1920–40), the

South African Reserve Bank The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is the central bank of South Africa. It was established in 1921 after Parliament passed an act, the "Currency and Bank Act of 10 August 1920", as a direct result of the abnormal monetary and financial condit ...

, Johannesburg (1938), and the

Queen Victoria Hospital, Johannesburg The Queen Victoria Hospital, Queen Victoria Maternity Hospital or Queen Victoria Maternity Home is a defunct hospital that operated in Johannesburg starting in 1904. History The first Queen Victoria Hospital building was designed by Allen Wils ...

(1943).

Personal life

He married Ethel Mary Leith, née Cox (1888–1974). Their daughter Sarah Greenaway Leith (1918-2010), was a British rally driver and novelist, and a Second World War codebreaker at

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes ( Buckinghamshire) that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. The mansion was constructed during the years following ...

References

1885 births 1965 deaths 20th-century South African architects {{SouthAfrica-bio-stub