Major-General Malcolm Neynoe MacLeod (23 May 1882–1 August 1969) was Director General of the

Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

from 1935 to 1943. In 1935 he started the

retriangulation of Great Britain __NOTOC__ The retriangulation of Great Britain was a triangulation project carried out between 1935 and 1962 that sought to improve the accuracy of maps made of Great Britain. Data gathered from the retriangulation replaced data gathered during ...

, an immense task which involved erecting concrete triangulation pillars (trig points) on prominent (often inaccessible) hilltops throughout Britain. As well as being an immense physical task, it was also an extremely complex mathematical undertaking. MacLeod can fairly be said to be the creator of the Ordnance Survey in its modern form. MacLeod was commissioned in 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 1900, serving in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

from 1902 until 1914. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he commanded the 4th Field Survey Battalion and was awarded the MC in the

1917 New Year Honours The 1917 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in several editions of ''The London Gazette'' in Ja ...

. He became Chief Instructor at the

School of Artillery, Larkhill A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

in 1920, serving until 1923 when he moved to the Ordnance Survey. After attending the

Staff College, Quetta ( ''romanized'': Pir Sho Biyamooz Saadi)English: Grow old, learning Saadi ur, سیکھتے ہوئے عمر رسیدہ ہو جاؤ، سعدی , established = (as the ''Army Staff College'' in Deolali, British India) , closed ...

. he was Director-General of the Ordnance Survey in 1935, retiring in 1943.

References

Bibliography

*Yolande Hodson, 2004, `MacLeod, Malcolm Neynoe (1882–1969)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. *

External links

Papers relating to Malcolm MacLeod
1882 births 1969 deaths British cartographers Royal Engineers officers British Army personnel of World War I Place of birth missing Recipients of the Military Cross British Army generals of World War II British Army major generals Graduates of the Staff College, Quetta {{UK-scientist-stub