Colonel George Thomas Landmann (c. 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. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

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 i ...

. He served with the

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

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Following his retirement from the army, he worked as a civil engineer and was engineer of the London and Greenwich Railway, the world's first suburban passenger railway.

Military service

Son of Isaac Landmann, professor of

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

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

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, 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 mainta ...

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 status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

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. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French ex ...

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

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

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

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

and

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hampshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 70,131 and the district had a pop ...

. 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 (17 August) and commanded his corps at Vimeiro on 21 August. In September, when Major Fletcher went to Spain with Sir 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, is a bridge that uses float (nautical), floats or shallow-draft (hull), draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the support ...

Abrantes Abrantes () is a concelho, municipality in the 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 River, which runs through ...

, on the

Tagus The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Name T ...

, 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. 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 ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

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 ( , , , ) 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 la Mancha and 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 district of Ireland, and then the Hull district of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. 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 London and Greenwich Railway 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 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

(he was engineer to the Preston and Wyre Railway and Harbour Company).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 organization, charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters ar ...

, published memoirs of his work in Portugal and of military life (''Adventures and Recollections'', 1852), and died at Shacklewell 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 1770s births 1854 deaths