David Gwilym Morris Roberts

Last updated

Gwilym Roberts
Born1925 (1925)
Harlech, Wales
Died(2020-07-31)July 31, 2020
NationalityBritish
OccupationEngineer
Engineering career
Discipline Civil
Institutions Institution of Civil Engineers (president)

David Gwilym Morris Roberts CBE FREng FICE FIMechE (24 July 1925 - 31 July 2020) was a British civil engineer, cited as "one of the most influential civil engineers of the 20th century". [1] Born in North Wales, he grew up in Merseyside before attending Cambridge University. Following graduation, he served with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, including several cruises on board HMS Sheffield. After demobilisation he served part-time with the naval reserves reaching the rank of lieutenant commander. In civilian life Roberts was employed by water engineering consultant John Taylor & Sons and remained with them and their successor bodies for the rest of his career. He became founder chairman of the successor Acer Consultants in 1987, holding the post for five years, during which the group's turnover quadrupled and employee numbers trebled.

Contents

Roberts worked extensively in the Middle East, largely upon wastewater and water-treatment schemes. He worked with many engineering organisations and became president of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1986. Roberts has written a number of academic papers on diverse subjects and has received awards for many of them. In retirement he was active in a number of engineering and other organisations.

Early life and military service

Roberts was born in Harlech, Wales in July 1925. [2] [3] His parents, who were both fluent in Welsh, moved to Merseyside where Roberts attended Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby. [4] Having been awarded a State Bursary in 1943 Roberts studied engineering at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he remained until 1945. [4] [5]

Roberts then entered the engineering branch of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR), the reserve officer force of the Royal Navy, and undertook his initial training at Devonport. [4] He served on the cruiser HMS Sheffield whilst she was flagship of the America and West Indies Station, and made several cruises aboard her showing the flag in South America and the Caribbean, during which time he was transferred to the main Royal Navy with the rank of temporary sub-lieutenant(E). [4] [6] He returned to the RNVR on 7 December 1948 with his rank confirmed as permanent, and seniority backdated to 24 July, and was promoted to lieutenant on 17 August of the next year with seniority again backdated to 24 July. [7] He was subsequently promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander on 25 September 1957 (with seniority again of 24 July) and retired in that rank on 23 April 1963, by which time the RNVR had become the Royal Naval Reserve. [8] [9]

Engineering career

On leaving HMS Sheffield Roberts entered civilian employment as an Assistant Resident Engineer with John Taylor & Sons, an engineering consultancy which specialised in water and wastewater engineering. [4] His first assignment was to a drainage project in Bootle, where he received a wage of £5 per week, before moving to the firm's London offices in 1949. [4] Roberts was sent to Kuwait in 1952 to design that country's first water-distribution system, an assignment that began a lifelong association with the Middle East. [4] He was appointed a partner in the firm in 1956 and subsequently designed water-supply projects in Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia, and sewerage projects in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Iraq – including Baghdad's first sewage-treatment scheme. [4] During this time Roberts also worked in the UK, at John Taylor & Sons' Liverpool and Plymouth offices, working on various water and wastewater projects including the design of marine outfall sewer pipes. [4]

In 1968 Roberts was elected president of the Institution of Public Health Engineers and in 1974 represented the institution on the code-drafting sub-committee of the British Standards for foundations of machinery. [10] Continuing his work with sewerage design at John Taylor & Sons he was part of the Anglo-American team that was awarded the Cairo Wastewater Project in 1978, one of the largest public-health engineering projects ever constructed. [4] Roberts became John Taylor's senior partner in 1984 and was elected president of the Institution of Civil Engineers for the 1986–87 session. [11] [12] He was also a member of the Natural Environment Research Council from August 1987 to July 1993 and was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1987. [13] Roberts became co-chairman, and later chairman, of Acer Consultants, which was formed in 1987 following the merger of John Taylor & Sons with Freeman Fox & Partners. He retired as chairman in 1992, by which time he had overseen a quadrupling of the group's turnover and a trebling of staff numbers. [4] He was president of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers in 2009, having been elected to membership of the society in 1987. [14]

During his career Roberts also served as chairman of the British Geological Survey, of the Football Stadia Advisory Design Council, the Second Severn Crossing Technical Adjudication Panel and as Visiting Professor at Loughborough University. [4] He was also the Royal Academy of Engineering's honorary secretary for civil engineering and a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management and was named one of Britain's four major international engineers of the 20th century by The Sunday Times Magazine. [4] He was also a frequent academic author with over 19 articles in recognised journals, sometimes in collaboration with co-authors. [15] These covered topics including marine engineering, sewage treatment, highways and engineering history, and were recognised by the award of the Institution of Civil Engineers' Stephenson Medal & Halcrow Premium, and the Institution of Public Health Engineers' gold and silver medals. [4] [15] On 21 July 2015, at the age of 89, he delivered the Smeaton Lecture at the Institution of Civil Engineers. [16]

Personal life

Roberts married Rosemary Giles in 1960 and they had two children together. Rosemary died in 1973 and Roberts subsequently married Wendy Moore in 1978. [4] He remained involved with his alma mater, becoming president of the Merchant Taylors' School Old Boys' Association in 1998 and an honorary fellow of Sidney Sussex College in 1994. He has made charitable donations to both bodies. [4] [17] [18] He has also donated to the Royal Academy of Engineering Development Appeal. [19] Roberts was a director of the Newcomen Society for the Study of History of Engineering and Technology, and was a Liveryman of the Worshipful Companies of Constructors, Engineers and Water Conservators and was chairman of his parish council. [3] [4] He lived in Newick in East Sussex. [20]

He died on 31 July 2020 at the age of 95. [21]

Publications

In retirement he continued with the writing of articles and books, most of which were on non-technical aspects of engineering topics. The books included

while papers included the following (published by Thomas Telford Ltd for ICE)

and

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Institution of Civil Engineers</span> UK independent professional association

The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, while the rest are located in more than 150 other countries. The ICE aims to support the civil engineering profession by offering professional qualification, promoting education, maintaining professional ethics, and liaising with industry, academia and government. Under its commercial arm, it delivers training, recruitment, publishing and contract services. As a professional body, ICE aims to support and promote professional learning, managing professional ethics and safeguarding the status of engineers, and representing the interests of the profession in dealings with government, etc. It sets standards for membership of the body; works with industry and academia to progress engineering standards and advises on education and training curricula.

Events from the year 1771 in Great Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryan Donkin</span> British civil engineer (1768–1855)

Bryan Donkin FRS FRAS developed the first paper making machine and created the world's first commercial canning factory. These were the basis for large industries that continue to flourish today. Bryan Donkin was involved with Thomas Telford's Caledonian Canal, Marc and Isambard Brunel's Thames Tunnel, and Charles Babbage's computer. He was an advisor to the government and held in high esteem by his peers.

Sydney Bryan Donkin was a British civil engineer. His parents were Bryan Donkin Junior and Georgina Dillon. Donkin was educated at University College, London before beginning work for Sulzer Brothers, mechanical engineers, later the Sulzer company. Whilst based at this company's headquarters in Switzerland he became interested in Alpine climbing and spent much of his spare time climbing the nearby peaks. He was a founding member of the Climbers' Club and served on their committee in 1908 and later as vice-president and president.

The Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers was founded in England in 1771. It was the first engineering society to be formed anywhere in the world, and remains the oldest. It was originally known as the Society of Civil Engineers, being renamed following its founder's death.

Sir Robert Meredydd Wynne-Edwards CBE, DSO, MC and bar was a British civil engineer and army officer. Wynne-Edwards was born in Cheltenham and educated at Giggleswick School and Leeds Grammar School before being commissioned into the Royal Welch Fusiliers at the outbreak of the First World War. He served on the Western Front in France where he received a Mention in Despatches, Distinguished Service Order and a Military Cross and bar for his gallantry and leadership. Following the war he studied engineering at Christ Church, Oxford from which he graduated with second class honours in 1921.

Angus Anderson Fulton was a British civil engineer.

Sir Thomas Angus Lyall Paton was a British civil engineer from Jersey. Paton was born into a family that had founded the civil engineering firms of Easton, Gibb & Son and Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners and he would spend his entire professional career working for the latter. Following his graduation from University College London one of his first jobs was the construction of a dam in Maentwrog in Wales. Paton later became an expert on dams and much of his career was devoted to their construction. In 1931 he undertook an economic survey of Canada which recommended a programme of works for its port system. This report was still being used into the 1970s. During the Second World War Paton was involved with the construction of gun emplacements in the Dardanelles, Turkey and of caissons for the Mulberry Harbours used after the Invasion of Normandy.

Sir William "Kirby" Laing was a British civil engineer.

Sir William Gordon Harris was a British civil engineer. His early career was with the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and in the Sudanese Irrigation Department before he began a 26-year spell with the Admiralty Civil Engineers Department. Harris rose to become Civil Engineer in Chief in 1959 and was responsible for building facilities to cope with the change in focus of the Royal Navy from gunnery ships to aircraft carriers and submarines, including the nuclear submarine docks at Faslane. Harris was later made director-general of highways in the Ministry of Transport during which time he was responsible for the construction of the 650 miles of motorway, a focus on ground investigation at pre-tender stage and the development of new motorway signalling and telecommunications systems. He later entered private practice as a consulting engineer and was chairman of the Port of Dover. Harris also served as president of the Institution of Civil Engineers and of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Hawksley</span> Civil engineer from Nottingham, England

Charles Hawksley (1839–1917) was a British civil engineer. Hawksley was born in Nottingham, England in 1839 and was the son of civil engineer Thomas Hawksley. He studied at University College London and after graduating entered into apprenticeship with his father's firm, which had been established in 1852 and specialised in water related projects. From 1857 Hawksley was, with his father, an adviser to the Great Yarmouth Waterworks Company and in 1866 became a partner in his father's firm. Hawksley worked extensively in the water industry and clients included the Newcastle and Gateshead Water Company, Sunderland and South Shields Water Company, Consett Waterworks, Weardale and Shildon District Waterworks and Durham County Water Board. Hawksley, with his father, built the Catcleugh Reservoir in Northumberland for the Newcastle and Gateshead Water Company between 1899 and 1905. In addition to his work on reservoirs, pipes and other infrastructure for the water companies he also undertook work for the Bishop Auckland District Gas Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Clarke Hawkshaw</span> British civil engineer (1841–1921)

John Clarke Hawkshaw was a British civil engineer.

Sir Charles Langbridge Morgan CBE was a British civil engineer. A railway engineer, he spent his early career on several railway construction projects before joining the Great Eastern Railway where his responsibilities included construction of Liverpool Street station. Morgan became chief engineer of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway in 1896 and directed improvements to London Victoria station and Grosvenor Bridge. During the First World War Morgan was a lieutenant-colonel in the Royal Engineers, carrying out "special engineering duties" in Italy and France for the War Office. He later served as the army's deputy director of railways, on the advisory expert committee to the Ministry of Munitions and on the Disposal Board of the Disposal and Liquidation Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Muir Wood</span> British civil engineer (1921–2009)

Sir Alan Marshall Muir Wood was a British civil engineer.

Peter Arthur Cox was a British civil engineer.

Geoffrey Morse Binnie FRS FEng was a British civil engineer and writer particularly associated with dams and reservoirs.

Thomas Yeoman was a millwright, surveyor and civil engineer who played a significant part in the early industrial revolution and became the first president of the first engineering society in the world, the Society of Civil Engineers, now known as the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers.

Michael Norman Tizard Cottell was a British civil engineer.

Robin Lee Wilson was a British civil engineer. He served as chairman of the Travers Morgan Consulting Group and EC Harris and also as president of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1991–92. He was master of the Worshipful Company of Paviors in 2003 when the livery company updated its ordinances for the first time since 1479. Wilson also chaired the Construction Industry Council and the heritage trust which manages the Coultershaw Wharf and Beam Pump.

George Fleming is a Scottish civil engineer specialising in environmental issues. Educated at the Royal College of Science and Technology, Stanford University and the University of Strathclyde he is a doctor of philosophy. His research started with studies of the hydrology of the River Clyde that expanded to a range of subjects including, flood risk, dredging, nuclear waste management, decommissioning of North Sea platforms and contaminated land. He has written reports on flooding for the Institution of Civil Engineers and the British government. Fleming was involved in the planning stages of the Glasgow Garden Festival of 1988 and established a way of reusing dredgings from the Clyde to provide topsoil for the event. He has served as a non-executive director of British Waterways, Port of Tyne boards and for WRAP, a government quango whose aim was to promote recycling and resource efficiency. He is founder and chairman of the EnviroCentre environmental consultancy, of which his son is now managing director.

References

  1. ↑ "Gwilym Roberts obituary". The Times online. Retrieved 11 September 2020.(subscription may be required or content may be available in libraries)
  2. ↑ Masterton, Gordon (2005), ICE Presidential Address, archived from the original on 3 January 2011, retrieved 24 October 2010
  3. 1 2 "David Gwilym Morris Roberts". Director Check. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Roberts, Gwilym (2006). Chelsea to Cairo – 'Taylor-made' Water Through Eleven Reigns and in Six Continents A History of John Taylor & Sons and their predecessors. London: Thomas Telford. pp. 272–4. ISBN   0-7277-3411-3.
  5. ↑ "Thankyou to all who have supported Sidney Sussex in 2009 & 2010". Pheon magazine. Sidney Sussex College. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  6. ↑ "No. 37872". The London Gazette . 4 February 1947. p. 616.
  7. ↑ "No. 38699". The London Gazette . 26 August 1949. p. 4131.
  8. ↑ "No. 41192". The London Gazette . 4 October 1957. p. 5764.
  9. ↑ "No. 43075". The London Gazette . 6 August 1963. p. 6641.
  10. ↑ "British Standard CP 2012-1 1974". scribd.com. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  11. ↑ "Costs and Benefits of Estuarine and Coastal Pollution Control". IWA Publishing. Archived from the original on 6 September 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  12. ↑ Institution of Civil Engineers. "Past Presidents". Archived from the original on 22 August 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2008.
  13. ↑ "Research Councils". Hansard. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  14. ↑ Watson, Garth (1989). The Smeatonians. London: Thomas Telford. p. 175. ISBN   9780727715265.
  15. 1 2 "DGM ROBERTS". Journalogy.net. Archived from the original on 21 February 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  16. ↑ "Smeaton Lecture 2015". ice. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  17. ↑ "Presidents". Merchant Taylors' Old Boys' Association. Archived from the original on 6 September 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  18. ↑ "New Donations to the College". Pheon magazine. Sidney Sussex College. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  19. ↑ "Annual Report 2007/8" (PDF). Royal Academy of Engineering. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  20. ↑ "Director Details – Mr David Gwilym Morris Roberts CBE FEng FICE FIMechE". UKData.com. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  21. ↑ Roberts
Professional and academic associations
Preceded by President of the Institution of Civil Engineers
November 1986 – November 1987		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.