Nemesis
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Dear Member 20th February 2008
I write to tell you about our meeting on Monday 17th March:
Topic: Owen Williams’ concrete ships
Speakers: Royston Foot
Date & Time: 5.45pm for 6.15pm on Monday 17th March.
Place: at the Institution, 11 Upper Belgrave Street, London SW1
The talk deals with something that the ordinary person always finds a little difficult to comprehend - concrete ships and although there is very little written about concrete ships, indeed the Naval Museum at Greenwich has almost nothing on the subject, their history does go back some 150 years, starting at the very beginning of reinforced concrete with Lambot’s ferrocement dinghy built in 1848.
However, their history begins in earnest during the 1914-1918 war. Concrete tugs and barges were built in yards around the country, their aim being to bring in vital supplies from the continent. Following the Armistice in 1918 however, work on concrete ships in this country was abandoned.
In the earlier years of the 1939-1945 war, shipping losses were heavy and once again the idea of concrete was resurrected. This was largely due to the efforts of the Cement and Concrete Association who had engaged Sir Owen Williams to act as their designer. The Admiralty were sceptical, but in the end two ships were built and the talk describes how they were designed and constructed. Once again at the end of the conflict the interest in such ships quickly diminished but there were a number of concrete barges built and the lessons learned in the design and construction of the two ships figured prominently in their construction.
Roy Foot joined Sir Owen Williams and Partners in the mid 1950's and worked with them for 36 years before retiring as managing partner in 1992. He worked with Sir Owen on a variety of newspaper projects including the Daily Mirror and the Daily Express as well as many motorway schemes including "Spaghetti Junction". Nine years ago he talked to the Group about Owen Williams’ practice and will now tell us about a further aspect of that remarkable career.
Yours ever
Lawrance Hurst
Convenor
Future meetings:
Monday 7th April – David Darnell & Graham Slade on Paddington Span 4
Monday 28th April- Bernard Espion on Buildings of Brussels Expo 58
Monday 19th May – Lynne Lancaster on an aspect of Roman vaulting and/or concrete yet to be decided
Sent by:
Howard Fielder
Technical Officer, IStructE
IStructE Centenary: 1908-2008 celebrating 100 years of structural engineering with inspiring events and activities through to December 2008. For more information about IStructE and its Centenary please visit istructe.org/centenary
The Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE). International HQ: 11 Upper Belgrave Street, London, SW1X 8BH, United Kingdom.
I write to tell you about our meeting on Monday 17th March:
Topic: Owen Williams’ concrete ships
Speakers: Royston Foot
Date & Time: 5.45pm for 6.15pm on Monday 17th March.
Place: at the Institution, 11 Upper Belgrave Street, London SW1
The talk deals with something that the ordinary person always finds a little difficult to comprehend - concrete ships and although there is very little written about concrete ships, indeed the Naval Museum at Greenwich has almost nothing on the subject, their history does go back some 150 years, starting at the very beginning of reinforced concrete with Lambot’s ferrocement dinghy built in 1848.
However, their history begins in earnest during the 1914-1918 war. Concrete tugs and barges were built in yards around the country, their aim being to bring in vital supplies from the continent. Following the Armistice in 1918 however, work on concrete ships in this country was abandoned.
In the earlier years of the 1939-1945 war, shipping losses were heavy and once again the idea of concrete was resurrected. This was largely due to the efforts of the Cement and Concrete Association who had engaged Sir Owen Williams to act as their designer. The Admiralty were sceptical, but in the end two ships were built and the talk describes how they were designed and constructed. Once again at the end of the conflict the interest in such ships quickly diminished but there were a number of concrete barges built and the lessons learned in the design and construction of the two ships figured prominently in their construction.
Roy Foot joined Sir Owen Williams and Partners in the mid 1950's and worked with them for 36 years before retiring as managing partner in 1992. He worked with Sir Owen on a variety of newspaper projects including the Daily Mirror and the Daily Express as well as many motorway schemes including "Spaghetti Junction". Nine years ago he talked to the Group about Owen Williams’ practice and will now tell us about a further aspect of that remarkable career.
Yours ever
Lawrance Hurst
Convenor
Future meetings:
Monday 7th April – David Darnell & Graham Slade on Paddington Span 4
Monday 28th April- Bernard Espion on Buildings of Brussels Expo 58
Monday 19th May – Lynne Lancaster on an aspect of Roman vaulting and/or concrete yet to be decided
Sent by:
Howard Fielder
Technical Officer, IStructE
IStructE Centenary: 1908-2008 celebrating 100 years of structural engineering with inspiring events and activities through to December 2008. For more information about IStructE and its Centenary please visit istructe.org/centenary
The Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE). International HQ: 11 Upper Belgrave Street, London, SW1X 8BH, United Kingdom.