Sir Thomas Duncan Rhind (14 July 1871 – 24 April 1927) was a Scottish architect and military figure. He was knighted in 1919 for services to his country.

Life

Thomas was the son of John Rhind a prominent Edinburgh sculptor. His older brothers

William Birnie Rhind William Birnie Rhind RSA (1853–1933) was a Scottish sculptor. Life Rhind was born in Edinburgh on 27 February 1853 as the first son of sculptor John Rhind (1828–1892), and his wife, Catherine Birnie. He was the elder brother of J. M ...

and

John Massey Rhind John Massey Rhind (9 July 1860 – 1 January 1936) was a Scottish-American sculptor. Among Rhind's better known works is the marble statue of Dr. Crawford W. Long located in the National Statuary Hall Collection in Washington D.C. (1926). E ...

each followed in their father’s footsteps to become sculptors. Thomas instead chose architecture and after being educated at

George Watson’s College George Watson's College is a co-educational independent day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a hospital school in 1741, became a day school in 1871, and was merge ...

he went to train as an architect under

Hippolyte Blanc Hippolyte Jean Blanc (18 August 1844 – 17 March 1917) was a Scottish architect. Best known for his church buildings in the Gothic revival style, Blanc was also a keen antiquarian who oversaw meticulously researched restoration projects. ...

- an important Edinburgh architect specialising in churches. He stayed in his employment from 1887 to 1892. He obtained a post with the London County Council Architectural Department briefly before moving to the firm of Gibson & Russell. He was elected ARIBA at the very young age of 24, a reflection upon his skills. In 1898 he formed a partnership with a former student friend Robert Hamilton Paterson. This lasted only until 1906 and he thereafter practiced alone. In 1902 he married Mary Elizabeth Gilbert, eldest daughter of W. Matthews Gilbert, then the chief reporter of

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...

newspaper. Clearly with family influence his work was highly sculptural, often working directly with family members to ornament a building.

Military career

He was a keen military volunteer and ranked as Major in the local volunteers. He was awarded the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the Te ...

(TD). At the outbreak of the First World War he was appointed Commandant of

Redford Barracks Redford Cavalry and Infantry Barracks is located on Colinton Road, near the Edinburgh City Bypass, east of the suburb of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland. Redford Barracks was built between 1909 and 1915 by the War Office and designed by Harry Be ...

which then partially operated as a prisoner of war camp for German captives. His architectural work completely ceased at this point. In 1917 he was promoted to Brevet Lieutenant Colonel and appointed Assistant Adjutant General to the London-Scottish Regiment. Thereafter he adopted a role in the War Office in London under the Director of Recruiting, Sir Andrew Geddes. At the end of the war he was appointed Controller of Statistics to the Ministry of National Service, and subsequently rose to be Chief Controller. He was appointed a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the

1918 New Year Honours The 1918 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 ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Ja ...

for his efforts during the First World War. In 1919, he was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE). He died in 1927 in a nursing home in

Hove, Sussex Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th c ...

indicating some infirmity had arisen as he was only 56. He is buried with his parents in

Warriston Cemetery Warriston Cemetery is a cemetery in Edinburgh. It lies in Warriston, one of the northern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by the then newly-formed Edinburgh Cemetery Company, and occupies around of land on a slightly sloping si ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Family

His wife, Mary Elizabeth Gilbert, died in London 25 April 1925 and is buried with her parents in Grange Cemetery, Edinburgh.

Architectural Works

*Cottage at 87 Portland Street,

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

for his brother John (1891) *Villa ("Norham") for his brother William at

North Berwick North Berwick (; gd, Bearaig a Tuath) is a seaside town A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on th ...

(1895) *Villa ("Glenorchy") at

(1897) *Shop and Tearoom for Macvitties Guest & Co. 135-136 Princes St, Edinburgh (1900) *Premises on Randolph Place, Edinburgh (1900) *Villa, 9 Succoth Gardens, Edinburgh (1900) *Villa, "The Hollies", Barnton Avenue, Edinburgh (1900) *Premises 83 George St, Edinburgh (1901) *Queen Victoria Memorial, Liverpool (1902) *South African War Memorial,

Hawick Hawick ( ; sco, Haaick; gd, Hamhaig) is a town in the Scottish Borders council area and historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east of Selkirk. It is one of ...

(1903) (sculpted by

) *Royal Scots memorial to losses in the Boer War,

St. Giles Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Naomh Giles), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended ...

, Edinburgh (1903) *St. Rules,

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and gave its name to an ecc ...

(1903) *1 Wester Coates Gardens, Edinburgh (1907)

References

*Dictionary of Scottish Architects: Rhind {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhind, Thomas 1871 births 1927 deaths People educated at George Watson's College Architects from Edinburgh Scottish architects Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Associates of the Royal Institute of British Architects Burials at Warriston Cemetery London Scottish officers British Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Edinburgh