Boer War Geddes served in the
Second Boer War in South Africa between 1901 and 1902 as a
second lieutenant in the
Highland Light Infantry. On 2 June 1902 he was promoted a
lieutenant in the 3rd (
Militia) battalion of the regiment, and he returned home with other men of this battalion on the SS
Doune Castle in September 1902, after the war had ended two months earlier.
Academic career Geddes was educated at
George Watson's College in
Edinburgh. He then studied medicine at
Edinburgh University graduating MB ChB in 1903. From 1906 to 1909, Geddes was an assistant professor of anatomy at Edinburgh University. The university gave him his doctorate (MD) in 1908. In 1909 he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh; his proposers were
William Turner, Sir
Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer,
David Waterston and
George Chrystal. From 1913 to 1914 he was a professor of anatomy at the
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. From 1913 to 1914, he was a professor of anatomy at
McGill University. His academic career was interrupted by the
First World War, during which he served as a brigadier general in the War Office.
First World War During the
First World War he served as a Major in the 17th
Northumberland Fusiliers and was on the staff of the General Headquarters in
France as a Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel and Honorary Brigadier General. Geddes was Director of Recruiting at the
War Office from 1916 to 1917.
Political and diplomatic career In 1917 he was elected
Unionist Member of Parliament for
Basingstoke, a seat he held until 1920. He was sworn of the
Privy Council in 1917 and served under
David Lloyd George as
Director of National Service from 1917 to 1918, as
President of the Local Government Board from 1918 to 1919, as
Minister of Reconstruction in 1919 and as
President of the Board of Trade (with a seat in the cabinet) from 1919 to 1920. As His Majesty's ambassador, Geddes investigated the treatment of British immigrants at
Ellis Island, for which he wrote a report (1923). He was also heavily involved in the negotiations that led up to the
Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, which limited the size and number of the world's battleships. He was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of St. Michael and St. George (G.C.M.G.) in 1922. From 1924 to 1947, he was the chairman of the
Rio Tinto Company and Rhokana Corporation. He returned to public service during the
Second World War when he served as commissioner for civil defence for the South-East Region from 1939 to 1944 and for the North-West Region from 1941 to 1942. ==Personal life==