Basic Biographical Details
| Name: | William Norman Bruce George |
| Designation: | |
| Born: | 3 December 1915 |
| Died: | 27 January 2016 |
| Bio Notes: | William Norman Bruce George generally known as Bruce George was born on 3 December 1915 in Bombay where his father who was of Scots extraction was deputy head of Port Customs. After the death of his father the family moved back to England where Bruce George attended Farnham Boys' Grammar School. From 1933 he studied for the degree of BArch at the University of Liverpool and was awarded a First Class Honours in 1937. During his student years he had studied the Scandinavian architecture and had visited Sweden, Denmark and Finland where he was particularly impressed by the work of Alvar Aalto. He was elected ARIBA in 1939 and also AMTPI. He then joined the practice of Pite Son & Fairweather which specialised in hospitals. During the Second World War George joined the Artists' Rifles and was commissioned in November 1940 in the Royal Artillery, initially serving with the TA in Bristol. He was then posted abroad and ended up being imprisoned in Singapore. He was moved to Saigon and later to work on the Burma-Thailand Railway. When work on the railway was complete in November 1943, he and other prisoners were sent further south to build a road and in mid-1944 to a prison camp near Bangkok. He kept a report of his men noting their movements and where possible their fate. Back in Britain he met Donald Gibson, his former mentor from Liverpool, now City Architect and Planning Officer of Coventry who was restoring the city following the Luftwaffe raid in November 1940. George joined Gibson's team and broadened his experience. By 1947 he had rejoined Pite Son & Fairweather as a partner. He published 'The Architect in Practice' with Arthur Willis. The firm was reconstituted in 1958 as George, Trew & Dunn and designed a range of hospitals in England. As architect to Aberdeen University, George also built Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. The firm also designed the Guards' Chapel in Birdcage Walk as well as submitting plans for rebuilding Wellington Barracks but this latter project was put on hold. After the IRA bomb which set fire to Westminster Hall in 1974, the moratorium was lifted and the project went ahead. As a person he was 'urbane courteous and unflappable and was always happy to establish a happy rapport with any professional team. Outwith his work he had lifelong interests in golf and cricket and the opera. After retirement he took up portrait painting and sculpture. He never married but kept in touch with his many relatives. He died on 27 January 2016. |
Employment and Training
Employers
| The following individuals or organisations employed or trained this (click on an item to view details): | |||||
| Name | Date from | Date to | Position | Notes | |
 | George Trew & Dunn | 1950s | Partner | ||
| Pite, Son & Fairweather | 1950s | Assistant(?) | ||
Buildings and Designs
| This was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details): | |||||||
| Date started | Building name | Town, district or village | Island | City or county | Country | Notes | |
| 1963 | Foresterhill Medical Campus | Aberdeen | Scotland | Development Plan. Additions to west. | ||
| 1969 | Foresterhill Medical Campus, university residences | Aberdeen | Scotland | In the course of building | ||
| 1971 | Foresterhill Medical Campus | Aberdeen | Scotland | Additions to west | ||
| 1971 | Foresterhill Medical Campus, Medical Library, Auditorium and Medical Chirurgical Society | Aberdeen | Scotland | |||
References
Bibliographic References
| The following books contain references to this : | ||||||
| Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | |
| RIBA | 1954 | RIBA Kalendar 1953-54 | |||
| RIBA | 1964 | The RIBA Kalendar 1963-64 | |||
Periodical References
| The following periodicals contain references to this : | |||||
| Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | |
| Telegraph | 20 March 2016 | Obituary | ||