William Munger Heynes (December 31, 1904-September, 1989), born in Leamington Spa

Leamington Spa

Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...

, was a British

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...

 automobile engineer.

Heynes was educated at Warwick School from 1914 to 1921 before joining the Humber Car Company

Humber (car)

Humber is a dormant British automobile marque which could date its beginnings to Thomas Humber's bicycle company founded in 1868. Following their involvement in Humber through Hillman in 1928 the Rootes brothers acquired a controlling interest and joined the Humber board in 1932 making Humber part...

 in Coventry in 1922 where he worked in the drawing office before becoming head of the technical department in 1930. During this time he oversaw the introduction of significant models including the Humber Snipe

Humber Snipe

The Humber Snipe was a four-door luxury saloon introduced by the British-based Humber company for 1930 as a successor to the Humber 20/55 hp at the same time as the similar but slightly longer Humber Pullman...

 and the Humber Pullman

Humber Pullman

The Humber Pullman is a four-door limousine introduced by the British based Humber company in 1930 as a successor to the Humber 20/65 hp and long-wheelbase version of the Humber Snipe....

.

In 1935, after the Rootes Group takeover he left to join SS Cars Ltd

SS Cars Ltd

SS Cars Ltd was a British car maker. It grew out of the Swallow Sidecar Company and was first registered under the new name in 1934. Some conjecture to the origins of the SS name exist, It was John Black who when asked the meaning of SS said it has always stood for Standard Swallow...

 also in Coventry. Initially he worked on the chassis but also was involved in increasing the output of the Standard Motor Company

Standard Motor Company

The Standard Motor Company was founded in Coventry, England in 1903 by Reginald Walter Maudslay . The Standard name was last used in Britain in 1963, and in India in 1987.-1903–1914:...

 engines then being used.

After World War II, SS Cars was renamed Jaguar and Heynes persuaded the chairman William Lyons

William Lyons

Sir William Lyons , known as "Mr. Jaguar", was with fellow motorcycle enthusiast William Walmsley, the co-founder in 1922 of the Swallow Sidecar Company, which became Jaguar Cars Limited after the Second World War....

 that the company should make its own range of engines. The result was the XK engine

Jaguar XK6 engine

The renowned Jaguar XK dual overhead camshaft inline 6-cylinder engine was introduced in 1949 and continued in manufacture until 1992. It was produced in five displacements for Jaguar passenger cars, with other sizes being made by Jaguar and privateers for racing...

. As well as engine development Heynes also worked on many of the cars including the Mark V

Jaguar Mark V

The Jaguar Mark V is a saloon car built by Jaguar Cars Ltd. The origin of the name is rather odd since, back in 1948 there had been no Mk I to IV Jaguars: the MK IV designation was only given to the predecessor after the launch of the Mk V...

, the racing C-Type

Jaguar C-Type

The Jaguar C-Type is a racing sports car built by Jaguar and sold from 1951 to 1953. The "C" designation stood for "competition"....

 and D-Type

Jaguar D-type

The Jaguar D-Type, like its predecessor the C-Type, was a factory-built race car. Although it shared the basic straight-6 XK engine design with the C-Type, the majority of the car was radically different...

, the Mark VII

Jaguar Mark VII

The Jaguar Mark VII was a large four-door sports sedan launched by Jaguar Cars of Coventry at the 1950 London Motor Show. It replaced the Jaguar Mark V, but as there was a Bentley Mark VI already on the market, Jaguar decided to call the next model Mark VII...

, E-Type

Jaguar E-type

The Jaguar E-Type or XK-E is a British automobile, manufactured by Jaguar between 1961 and 1975. Its combination of good looks, high performance, and competitive pricing established the marque as an icon of 1960s motoring...

 and Mark X

Jaguar Mark X

The Jaguar Mark X was the top-of-the-range saloon car built by the British manufacturer Jaguar, originally aimed at the United States market. The Mark X succeeded the Mark IX as the company's large saloon model.-Body:...

.

His retirement from Jaguar took effect at the end of July 1969, following which it was reported that he intended to "devote his energy and enthusiasm to his farm". Shortly before his retirement he was honoured with a CBE (government award)

CBE

CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...

 for his services to exports. His responsibilities were taken over by R. J. ("Bob") Knight (Chief Vehicle Engineer) and W.T.F. ("Wally") Hassan

Walter Hassan

Walter Hassan OBE, C.Eng., M.I. Mech.E. was a distinguished UK automotive engineer who took part in the design and development of three very successful engines: Jaguar XK, Coventry Climax and Jaguar V12 as well as the ERA racing car....

(Chief Engineer, Power Units), both of whom were appointed to the company's board as part of their promotions.