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Charles Inglis (engineer)
Encyclopedia
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
. Inglis spent much of his life as a lecturer and academic at King's College
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
Cambridge and made several important studies into the effects of vibration and defects on the strength of plate steel. Inglis served in the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
during the First World War and invented a lightweight, reusable steel bridge – the precursor and inspiration for the Bailey bridge
Bailey bridge
The Bailey bridge is a type of portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge. It was developed by the British during World War II for military use and saw extensive use by both British and the American military engineering units....
of the Second World War. His military service was rewarded with an appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
He was involved in the Institution of Naval Architects, Institution of Civil Engineers
Institution of Civil Engineers
Founded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers is an independent professional association, based in central London, representing civil engineering. Like its early membership, the majority of its current members are British engineers, but it also has members in more than 150...
, Institution of Structural Engineers
Institution of Structural Engineers
The Institution of Structural Engineers is a professional body for structural engineering based in the United Kingdom. It has 27,000 members in 105 countries. The Institution provides professional accreditation for structural engineers...
, Institution of Waterworks Engineers and the British Waterworks Association and sat on several of their councils. Perhaps his greatest professional achievement was his period as president of the Institution of Civil Engineers for the 1941-2 session. He also sat on the board of inquiry
Public inquiry
A Tribunal of Inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body in Common Law countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland or Canada. Such a public inquiry differs from a Royal Commission in that a public inquiry accepts evidence and conducts its hearings in a more...
looking into the loss of airship R101 and was chair of a Ministry of War Transport railway modernisation committee in 1946.
Early life
Charles was born to Dr Alexander Inglis, a general practitionerGeneral practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
in Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
, and his first wife, Florence on 31 July 1875 and was their second eldest son. Charles was not expected to survive the birth and so was hurriedly baptised in the drawing room, Florence died from complications eleven days later. He studied at Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College is a co-educational independent school, located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.One of the public schools of the Victorian period, it was opened in July 1841. An Anglican foundation, it is known for its classical, military and sporting traditions.The 1893 book Great...
from 1889 to 1894 and was elected head boy
Head boy
Head Boy and Head Girl are terms commonly used in the British education system, and in private schools throughout the Commonwealth.-United Kingdom:...
in his final year. He received a scholarship to study the Mathematics Tripos at King's College, Cambridge in 1894, was 22nd wrangler in 1897 and graduated with a first class degree in Mechanical Sciences in 1898.
Apprenticeship
Inglis began work as an apprentice for the firm of John Wolfe-BarryJohn Wolfe-Barry
Sir John Wolfe-Barry was an English civil engineer of the late 19th and early 20th century. His most famous project was the construction of Tower Bridge over the River Thames in London.-Early career:...
and partners after graduation. He started out as a draughtsman in the drawing office for several months before working with Alexander Gibb
Alexander Gibb
Brigadier-General Sir Alexander Gibb GBE CB FRS was a Scottish civil engineer.Gibb was born in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, the son of the civil engineer, Alexander Easton Gibb, and the grandson of John Gibb, a founder member of the Institution of Civil Engineers...
on an extension to the Metropolitan Line
Metropolitan Line
The Metropolitan line is part of the London Underground. It is coloured in Transport for London's Corporate Magenta on the Tube map and in other branding. It was the first underground railway in the world, opening as the Metropolitan Railway on 10 January 1863...
between Whitechapel
Whitechapel
Whitechapel is a built-up inner city district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London, England. It is located east of Charing Cross and roughly bounded by the Bishopsgate thoroughfare on the west, Fashion Street on the north, Brady Street and Cavell Street on the east and The Highway on the...
and Bow
Bow, London
Bow is an area of London, England, United Kingdom in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a built-up, mostly residential district located east of Charing Cross, and is a part of the East End.-Bridges at Bowe:...
. Inglis was responsible for the design and supervision of all of the bridges on the route. It was during this time that he began his lifelong study of vibration and its effects on materials.
Academic life
In 1901 Inglis was made a fellowFellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of King's College after writing a thesis entitled The Balancing of Engines, the first general treatment of the subject which was becoming more and more important due to the increasing speeds of locomotives. In the same year he returned to the college to act as assistant to James Alfred Ewing
James Alfred Ewing
Sir James Alfred Ewing KCB FRS FRSE MInstitCE was a Scottish physicist and engineer, best known for his work on the magnetic properties of metals and, in particular, for his discovery of, and coinage of the word, hysteresis.It was said of Ewing that he was 'Careful at all times of his appearance,...
, professor of mechanism and applied mechanics. He left this post in 1903 to become the first Director of Naval Education at the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
, his successor Bertram Hopkinson
Bertram Hopkinson
Bertram Hopkinson, CMG, FRS, was a patent lawyer and Professor of Mechanism and Applied Mechanics at Cambridge University. In this position he researched flames, explosions and metallurgy and became a pioneer designer of the internal combustion engine.Hopkinson was born in Birmingham, in 1874, the...
appointed him as a lecturer, continuing his association with the university, and the two worked together on the effects of vibration. In 1913 he published a paper on the stress caused to plates by defects which has been described as his most important contribution to engineering.
Military service
Shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, Inglis, in conjunction with the Royal EngineersRoyal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
detachment of the Officer Training Corps at Cambridge, designed a temporary, reusable steel bridge which was adopted by the army. This design was made up of triangular truss sections and was highly successful, still being in use at the start of the Second World War and influencing Sir Donald Bailey who designed the Bailey Bridge
Bailey bridge
The Bailey bridge is a type of portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge. It was developed by the British during World War II for military use and saw extensive use by both British and the American military engineering units....
as a replacement. He was first commissioned as second lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
in the OTC in 1909. He volunteered for active service in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in 1914 and he was officially listed as an Assistant Instructor in the School of Military Engineering
School of Military Engineering
School of Military Engineering may refer to a training institution for military engineering such as:*Royal School of Military Engineering of the British Army*College of Military Engineering, Pune of the Indian Army...
, with the temporary rank of lieutenant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
, and in 1916 was placed in charge of bridge design and supply at the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
. He was initially promoted to captain
Captain (OF-2)
The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery...
on 6 May 1916, and this was confirmed with an appointment as a Staff Captain in the War Office on 26 June 1917, and he retired with the rank of Major in 1918 and service was rewarded with his appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
Return to academia
Inglis returned to Cambridge in 1919 and was appointed professor of Mechanism and Applied Mechanics. On 25 March 1919 he was elected head of the engineering departmentCambridge University Engineering Department
The Cambridge University Engineering Department at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest departments in the university. The main site is situated at Trumpington Street, to the south of Cambridge city centre. The department is the primary centre for engineering teaching and research...
following the death of Bertram Hopkinson
Bertram Hopkinson
Bertram Hopkinson, CMG, FRS, was a patent lawyer and Professor of Mechanism and Applied Mechanics at Cambridge University. In this position he researched flames, explosions and metallurgy and became a pioneer designer of the internal combustion engine.Hopkinson was born in Birmingham, in 1874, the...
in an air crash. From 1923 he was involved with the analysis of vibration and its effect on railway bridges for British Railways, publishing A mathematical treatise on vibrations in railway bridges as a book on the matter in 1934 and also submitting several papers on the matter to the Institution of Civil Engineers
Institution of Civil Engineers
Founded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers is an independent professional association, based in central London, representing civil engineering. Like its early membership, the majority of its current members are British engineers, but it also has members in more than 150...
. In all Inglis published 25 books or academic papers on a wide range of engineering topics. In 1926 he was appointed to a Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
on cross-river traffic in London. In 1929 he was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by the University of Edinburgh. From 1931 to 1947 he was a member of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
's Advisory Committee on Scientific Research and conducted many experiments in his laboratory at Cambridge. He was due to retire from the university in 1940 but was persuaded to remain for another three years so that John Baker
John Baker, Baron Baker
John Fleetwood Baker, Baron Baker OBE was a British scientist and structural engineer.-Early life:Baker was born in Liscard, Cheshire, a son of J.W. Baker and Emily Fleetwood...
could be appointed in his stead. He was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in the 1945 King's Birthday Honours. He published Applied mechanics for engineers in 1951, following which he spent three months as a visiting professor at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa before returning to England.
Professional institutions
Institution of Civil Engineers
Founded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers is an independent professional association, based in central London, representing civil engineering. Like its early membership, the majority of its current members are British engineers, but it also has members in more than 150...
(ICE), Institution of Structural Engineers
Institution of Structural Engineers
The Institution of Structural Engineers is a professional body for structural engineering based in the United Kingdom. It has 27,000 members in 105 countries. The Institution provides professional accreditation for structural engineers...
and the Institution of Waterworks Engineers. He was elected president of the British Waterworks Association in 1935 and served as president of the ICE during the 1941-2 session. He was an active member of several committees including the board of inquiry
Public inquiry
A Tribunal of Inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body in Common Law countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland or Canada. Such a public inquiry differs from a Royal Commission in that a public inquiry accepts evidence and conducts its hearings in a more...
looking into the loss of the airship R101 and was chair of the Railway Committee appointed to advise the Minister of War Transport on railway modernisation in 1946.
Personal life
Inglis was a keen sportsman and enjoyed long distance running, walking, mountaineering and sailing. He very nearly achieved his blue for long distance running at university but was forced to withdraw from the race with a pulled muscle. He married Eleanor Moffatt in 1901 with whom he would have two daughters. He lived in CambridgeCambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
until 1904 when he built a house at Grantchester
Grantchester
Grantchester is a village on the River Cam or Granta in Cambridgeshire, England. It is listed in the Domesday Book as Grantesete and Grauntsethe...
. His wife died on 1 April 1952 and he followed her eighteen days later.