Sydney Donkin
Encyclopedia
Sydney Bryan Donkin was a British
civil engineer
. 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.
He later became an assistant to Alexander Kennedy
, the electrical engineer, and worked on several large hydro-electric dams including the first Lower Aswan Dam
and the Owen Falls Dam. He also sat on the general board of the National Physical Laboratory
, as chairman of the Association of Consulting Engineers, president of Association of Supervisory Electrical Engineers, president of the Institution of Civil Engineers
(ICE) and president of the Smeatonian Society. He was a proponent of social housing and built the first houses for the ICE Benevolent fund at Haywards Heath
.
, the distinguished mechanical engineer and industrialist. He was educated at University College, London, from which he graduated with a degree in engineering. He served an apprenticeship first with the family firm of Bryan Donkin and Company, of Bermondsey, of which his father, Bryan Donkin Jr., was then chairman. This was where his father had carried out classic scientific boiler trials with Sir Alexander Kennedy, in 1887-88. He completed his apprenticeship with Sulzer company from 1890-93, a firm of mechanical engineers based at Winterthur
in Switzerland
.. On returning to England in 1893 he rejoined Bryan Donkin & Company as a draughtsman, later becoming assistant to the manager.
who died on a climb in the Caucasus
in 1888. He soon became an enthusiast and climbed many of the Alpine
peaks including Matterhorn
, Monte Rosa
, Zinalrothorn
, Dent Blanche
and the Dom as well as several mountains of North Wales
. He made many of his ascents without a local guide and took most of his summer holidays in the Alps. He became a founding member of the Climbers' Club
in 1898 and served on their committee in 1908-11, 1929-36 and 1939-43. He was elected vice-president for 1926-9 and president 1936-9.
In 1897 he left the family firm to become an Assistant Engineer at Kennedy and Jenkin, working with Alexander Kennedy
, the famed electrical engineer and another keen climber, and worked within his consultancy. He was made a partner
in the business in 1908 and became the senior partner in 1934 on the retirement of John MacFarlane Kennedy, son of the founder. Donkin worked heavily in hydro-electric power and was involved in several large scale projects. Amongst these were the Aswan Low Dam
on the Nile
in Egypt
which was built between 1899 and 1902 and the Owen Falls Dam
on the White Nile
in Uganda
which was started in 1947 and finished two years after his death.
Donkin had a seat on the general board of the National Physical Laboratory
from 1922 to 1927. He was one of the original consultants for the planning and construction of the National Grid, and was responsible for the design and construction of approximately half of the hydro-electric stations and distribution systems commissioned by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board. Because of his great interest in mountain climbing, in 1928 he urged his assistants working on the design of the grid system that the pylons should be simple in design and positioned so as to do the least environmental damage. He was chairman of the Association of Consulting Engineers for two terms, first in 1927-28, and again in 1943-44. He acted as an adviser to the government on a proposed Severn barrage
scheme, and was personally responsible for the crucial technical appendices of the report (HMSO 1945). Donkin also served as President of the Association of Supervisory Electrical Engineers from 1925 until 1931 and as President of the Institution of Civil Engineers
for 1937 to 1938. He assisted the Ministry of Labour
in their preparations for the Second World War by volunteering his services as Chairman of the engineering section of the National Register of Scientists, Technical Experts and Professional Men which was established to allow the government to better utilize the skills of these men for the war effort. In the 1930s he became interested in uses for the heated water generated by power station
s and this was the subject of his Presidential Address to the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1937. After the war he devised a way of using it to heat homes and businesses which was put into use on a housing estate
in Pimlico
. He erected a working model of it in his home in Surrey. He was made a Fellow of University College, London in 1946. In 1949 he was elected as President of the Smeatonian Society, of which he had become a member in 1931.
for Alexander Kennedy
. He was a keen proponent of the provision of social housing and in this interest founded the Institution of Civil Engineers Benevolent Fund housing scheme in July 1937 with the construction of houses at Haywards Heath
for members and their families in need. Donkin died at Albury
, Surrey
on 12 November 1952 at the age of 81, his wife had predeceased him by eight months.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
civil engineer
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...
. Donkin was educated at University College, London before beginning work for Sulzer Brothers, mechanical engineers, later the Sulzer company
Sulzer (manufacturer)
Sulzer Ltd. is a Swiss industrial engineering and manufacturing firm, founded by Salomon Sulzer-Bernet in 1775 and established as Sulzer Brothers Ltd. in 1834 in Winterthur, Switzerland. Today it is a publicly owned company with international subsidiaries...
. Whilst based at this company's headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
he became interested in Alpine
Alpine style
Alpine style refers to mountaineering in a self-sufficient manner, thereby carrying all of one's food, shelter, equipment etc. as one climbs, as opposed to expedition style mountaineering which involves setting up a fixed line of stocked camps on the mountain which can be accessed at one's leisure...
climbing and spent much of his spare time climbing the nearby peaks. He was a founding member of the Climbers' Club
Climbers' Club
The Climbers' Club is the senior rock-climbing club in Wales and England . It was founded in 1898 and publishes guidebooks in the main climbing areas in Wales and Southern England...
and served on their committee in 1908 and later as vice-president and president.
He later became an assistant to Alexander Kennedy
Alexander Kennedy
Sir Alexander Blackie William Kennedy, LLD, FRS, FRGS , better known as Alexander Kennedy, was a leading British civil and electrical engineer and academic...
, the electrical engineer, and worked on several large hydro-electric dams including the first Lower Aswan Dam
Aswan Dam
The Aswan Dam is an embankment dam situated across the Nile River in Aswan, Egypt. Since the 1950s, the name commonly refers to the High Dam, which is larger and newer than the Aswan Low Dam, which was first completed in 1902...
and the Owen Falls Dam. He also sat on the general board of the National Physical Laboratory
National Physical Laboratory, UK
The National Physical Laboratory is the national measurement standards laboratory for the United Kingdom, based at Bushy Park in Teddington, London, England. It is the largest applied physics organisation in the UK.-Description:...
, as chairman of the Association of Consulting Engineers, president of Association of Supervisory Electrical Engineers, president of 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...
(ICE) and president of the Smeatonian Society. He was a proponent of social housing and built the first houses for the ICE Benevolent fund at Haywards Heath
Haywards Heath
-Climate:Haywards Heath experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Rail:Haywards Heath railway station is a major station on the Brighton Main Line...
.
Education and apprenticeship
Donkin was the great-grandson of Bryan DonkinBryan Donkin
Bryan Donkin was an English engineer and industrialist. Of his six sons, John, Bryan, and Thomas also became engineers.-Early life:Born in Sandoe, Northumberland, his father was a surveyor and land agent...
, the distinguished mechanical engineer and industrialist. He was educated at University College, London, from which he graduated with a degree in engineering. He served an apprenticeship first with the family firm of Bryan Donkin and Company, of Bermondsey, of which his father, Bryan Donkin Jr., was then chairman. This was where his father had carried out classic scientific boiler trials with Sir Alexander Kennedy, in 1887-88. He completed his apprenticeship with Sulzer company from 1890-93, a firm of mechanical engineers based at Winterthur
Winterthur
Winterthur is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. It has the country's sixth largest population with an estimate of more than 100,000 people. In the local dialect and by its inhabitants, it is usually abbreviated to Winti...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.. On returning to England in 1893 he rejoined Bryan Donkin & Company as a draughtsman, later becoming assistant to the manager.
Mountain climbing
Donkin first began climbing when working in Switzerland with Sulzer Brothers. A cousin, William Frederick Donkin, had been a famed climber and secretary of the Alpine ClubAlpine Club (UK)
The Alpine Club was founded in London in 1857 and was probably the world's first mountaineering club. It is UK mountaineering's acknowledged 'senior club'.-History:...
who died on a climb in the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
in 1888. He soon became an enthusiast and climbed many of the Alpine
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
peaks including Matterhorn
Matterhorn
The Matterhorn , Monte Cervino or Mont Cervin , is a mountain in the Pennine Alps on the border between Switzerland and Italy. Its summit is 4,478 metres high, making it one of the highest peaks in the Alps. The four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, face the four compass points...
, Monte Rosa
Monte Rosa
The Monte Rosa Massif is a mountain massif located in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps. It is located between Switzerland and Italy...
, Zinalrothorn
Zinalrothorn
The Zinalrothorn is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland. Its name comes from the village of Zinal lying on the north side and from the German word Rothorn which means Red Peak...
, Dent Blanche
Dent Blanche
The Dent Blanche is a mountain in the Pennine Alps, lying in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. With its high summit, it is one of the highest peaks in the Alps.-Naming:...
and the Dom as well as several mountains of North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
. He made many of his ascents without a local guide and took most of his summer holidays in the Alps. He became a founding member of the Climbers' Club
Climbers' Club
The Climbers' Club is the senior rock-climbing club in Wales and England . It was founded in 1898 and publishes guidebooks in the main climbing areas in Wales and Southern England...
in 1898 and served on their committee in 1908-11, 1929-36 and 1939-43. He was elected vice-president for 1926-9 and president 1936-9.
Electrical engineer
Alexander Kennedy
Sir Alexander Blackie William Kennedy, LLD, FRS, FRGS , better known as Alexander Kennedy, was a leading British civil and electrical engineer and academic...
, the famed electrical engineer and another keen climber, and worked within his consultancy. He was made a partner
Partner (business rank)
A partner in a law firm, accounting firm, consulting firm, or financial firm is a highly ranked position. Originally, these businesses were set up as legal partnerships in which the partners were entitled to a share of the profits of the enterprise. The name has remained even though many of these...
in the business in 1908 and became the senior partner in 1934 on the retirement of John MacFarlane Kennedy, son of the founder. Donkin worked heavily in hydro-electric power and was involved in several large scale projects. Amongst these were the Aswan Low Dam
Aswan Low Dam
The Aswan Low Dam or Old Aswan Dam is a gravity masonry buttress dam on the Nile River in Aswan, Egypt. The dam was built at the former first cataract of the Nile, and is located about 1000 km up-river and 690 km south-southeast of Cairo...
on the Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
which was built between 1899 and 1902 and the Owen Falls Dam
Nalubaale Power Station
Nalubaale Power Station, often known by its old name, Owen Falls Dam, is a hydroelectric power station across the White Nile near to its source at Lake Victoria in Uganda...
on the White Nile
White Nile
The White Nile is a river of Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile from Egypt, the other being the Blue Nile. In the strict meaning, "White Nile" refers to the river formed at Lake No at the confluence of the Bahr al Jabal and Bahr el Ghazal rivers...
in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
which was started in 1947 and finished two years after his death.
Donkin had a seat on the general board of the National Physical Laboratory
National Physical Laboratory, UK
The National Physical Laboratory is the national measurement standards laboratory for the United Kingdom, based at Bushy Park in Teddington, London, England. It is the largest applied physics organisation in the UK.-Description:...
from 1922 to 1927. He was one of the original consultants for the planning and construction of the National Grid, and was responsible for the design and construction of approximately half of the hydro-electric stations and distribution systems commissioned by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board. Because of his great interest in mountain climbing, in 1928 he urged his assistants working on the design of the grid system that the pylons should be simple in design and positioned so as to do the least environmental damage. He was chairman of the Association of Consulting Engineers for two terms, first in 1927-28, and again in 1943-44. He acted as an adviser to the government on a proposed Severn barrage
Severn Barrage
The Severn Barrage refers to a range of ideas for building a barrage from the English coast to the Welsh coast over the Severn tidal estuary. Ideas for damming or barraging the Severn estuary have existed since the 19th century. The building of such a barrage would be a huge engineering feat,...
scheme, and was personally responsible for the crucial technical appendices of the report (HMSO 1945). Donkin also served as President of the Association of Supervisory Electrical Engineers from 1925 until 1931 and as President of 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...
for 1937 to 1938. He assisted the Ministry of Labour
Ministry of Labour
The Ministry of Labour was a British civil service department established by the New Ministries and Secretaries Act 1916. It was renamed the Employment Department in 1988, and finally abolished in 1995...
in their preparations for the Second World War by volunteering his services as Chairman of the engineering section of the National Register of Scientists, Technical Experts and Professional Men which was established to allow the government to better utilize the skills of these men for the war effort. In the 1930s he became interested in uses for the heated water generated by power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
s and this was the subject of his Presidential Address to the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1937. After the war he devised a way of using it to heat homes and businesses which was put into use on a housing estate
Housing estate
A housing estate is a group of buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Accordingly, a housing estate is usually built by a single contractor, with only a few styles of house or building design, so they tend to be uniform in appearance...
in Pimlico
Pimlico
Pimlico is a small area of central London in the City of Westminster. Like Belgravia, to which it was built as a southern extension, Pimlico is known for its grand garden squares and impressive Regency architecture....
. He erected a working model of it in his home in Surrey. He was made a Fellow of University College, London in 1946. In 1949 he was elected as President of the Smeatonian Society, of which he had become a member in 1931.
Personal life
He was married to Phoebe Smiles in 1902, whilst working in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
for Alexander Kennedy
Alexander Kennedy
Sir Alexander Blackie William Kennedy, LLD, FRS, FRGS , better known as Alexander Kennedy, was a leading British civil and electrical engineer and academic...
. He was a keen proponent of the provision of social housing and in this interest founded the Institution of Civil Engineers Benevolent Fund housing scheme in July 1937 with the construction of houses at Haywards Heath
Haywards Heath
-Climate:Haywards Heath experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Rail:Haywards Heath railway station is a major station on the Brighton Main Line...
for members and their families in need. Donkin died at Albury
Albury, Surrey
Albury is a village and civil parish in the borough of Guildford in Surrey, England, about south-east of Guildford town centre. The village is within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Site of Special Scientific Interest....
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
on 12 November 1952 at the age of 81, his wife had predeceased him by eight months.