Duncan Sayre MacInnes Brigadier General Duncan Sayre MacInnes DSO CMG ( 21 February 1860 - 23 May 1918 ) was a Canadian soldier and engineer who served in South Africa before , during and after the Second Boer War . Before a during World War I , MacInnes played a key role in the establishment and development of the Royal Flying Corps . He was accidentally killed while visiting the front on 23 May 1918 . Education . Brigadier - General Duncan Sayre MacInnes ( RMC 1892 ) DSO CMG entered the Royal Military College of Canada at Kingston , Ontario in 1887 , cadet # 236 . He graduated with distinction in 1891 . He was awarded the sword of honour at Royal Military College of Canada in 1891 and the Governor - General gold medal . Family . His father was Senator Donald MacInnes from Hamilton , Ontario , and his mother was the fourth daughter of Sir John Robinson , 1st Baronet , of Toronto . Duncan Sayre MacInnes married May Millicent Wolferstan Thomas , the daughter of a prominent Montreal banker , Francis Wolferstan Thomas , and his first wife , Harriet , daughter of The Hon . George Jervis Goodhue on 22 October 1902 . They had one daughter and one son . Career . He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on 16 July 1891 . Promoted lieutenant on 18 July 1894 , he served in the Ashanti expedition of 1895 – 96 . He erected a fort at the Ashanti capital of Kumasi ( Ghana ) . He was admitted to the Distinguished Service Order for his work in the Second Boer War . He was principal staff officer to Lieutenant - Colonel Robert Kekewich , who commanded the garrison during the siege of the town of Kimberley , South Africa . Between May and November 1900 MacInnes was engaged in field operations in the Orange River Colony . He served as assistant director of works to the South African Constabulary in the Cape Colony . In 1904 , he and other Canadians celebrated Dominion Day at a banquet in Johannesburg , South Africa . He served as deputy assistant quartermaster general at Halifax , Nova Scotia in 1906 , turning over the fortress and garrison to Canada . From September 1907 he was deputy assistant adjutant - general , Maritime provinces . On 31 March 1908 , he attended the Staff College at Camberley . In 1910 , he was gazetted a general staff officer in the Directorate of Military Training at the War Office . Early in 1912 he became secretary to an advisory committee on military aviation of the Committee of Imperial Defence whose recommendations led to the establishment of the Royal Flying Corps . World War I . In 1913 , he was posted to the staff at Camberley , where he remained until the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 . He was in command of a field company of Royal Engineers , participated in the retreat from Mons , France and in November received a wound which permanently restricted the use of fingers on his right hand . Promoted Brevet Lieutenant - Colonel on 29 November 1915 , he went back to the War Office as assistant director of military aeronautics . In 1916 , he was appointed director of aircraft equipment , in charge of design , supply , and maintenance , and subsequently made a temporary brigadier - general . Faced with extraordinary demands for more and better aircraft , an overwhelmed system of procurement , and malicious attacks from superiors , an overworked MacInnes suffered a breakdown in the fall of 1916 and he left the directorate that winter . Retiring by nature and uninterested in honours , he was rewarded with a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George on 1 January 1917 . He went back to the Western Front to become commanding Royal Engineer to the 42nd Division , in the substantive rank of Lieutenant - Colonel . During the war he was mentioned in Despatches twice . He was awarded the Russian Order of St Stanislaus , with the French Legion of Honour ( Croix d ' Officier ) in 1917 . In January 1918 he was appointed inspector of mines at general headquarters in Montreuil , France , and restored to the rank of Brigadier General . MacInnes was accidentally killed while visiting the front on 23 May 1918 , possibly as a result of his work with mines , and he was buried at Étaples , France on 25 May 1918 . Legacy . Colonel C . S . MacInnes instituted the Duncan Sayre MacInnes Memorial Scholarship in 1951 in memory of his brother the late Brigadier - General Duncan Sayre MacInnes , CMG , DSO , Royal Engineers . The scholarship is awarded to the Fourth Year cadet at the Royal Military College of Canada who is considered the most deserving of those who accept a regular commission in the military occupation of Aerospace Controller by reason of academic standing , character , and proficiency in classification training .