Lieutenant-Colonel Sir James Forrest Halkett Carmichael CMG CBE (8 July 1868 – 12 August 1934) was a British Army officer, engineer and colonial administrator. Carmichael was the son of an Indian civil servant. He was educated at Clifton College and the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

, and was commissioned into 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 ...

in 1887. He was promoted

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1898,

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in 1906, and

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

lieutenant-colonel in 1919. From 1889 to 1900 he served abroad, successively in India,

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...

and Burma. From 1900 to 1904 he served in the office of the Inspector-General of Fortifications at the War Office in London and with the Ordnance Survey. In 1904 he retired from the army and was appointed head of the Engineering and Works Department of the

Crown Agents for the Colonies A crown agency was an administrative body of the British Empire, distinct from the Civil Service Commission of Great Britain or the government administration of the national entity in which it operated. These enterprises were overseen from 1833 ...

. During the First World War he rejoined the army and served on the Armaments Output Committee at the War Office, and later as personal assistant for metals to the director of materials at the Ministry of Munitions and then as assistant director of munitions supply and on the High Speed Steel Committee. After the war he returned to his post at the Crown Agents, later being promoted to chief engineer. In 1921 he was appointed one of the Crown Agents, retiring in 1932. Carmichael was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1918 and

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) in the 1920 New Year Honours, and was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the

1929 New Year Honours The 1929 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 26 February 1929.United Kingdom and Briti ...

. He was also a claimant to the Earldom of Hyndford.

Footnotes

References

*Obituary, '' The Times'', 14 August 1934 {{DEFAULTSORT:Carmichael, James 1868 births 1934 deaths People educated at Clifton College Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Royal Engineers officers British civil engineers British Crown Agents Civil servants in the War Office Civil servants in the Ministry of Munitions Knights Bachelor Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British Army personnel of World War I People from the British Empire