Frederick Arthur Whitaker
Encyclopedia
Sir Frederick Arthur Whitaker KCB, DEng (17 July 1893 – 13 June 1968) was a British
civil engineer
. Although born in the Colony of Natal
, he was educated in Liverpool
and received a Master of Engineering
degree from the University of Liverpool
. Whitaker joined the Civil Engineer in Chief's Department of the Admiralty at the age of 22 and spent much of the rest of his career there. His
earlier work included Royal Navy
bases in the United Kingdom
, Jamaica
, Malta
and Singapore
during the First World War and Interwar period
. In 1934 he became Deputy Civil Engineer-In-Chief to the Admiralty, being promoted to Civil Engineer-In-Chief in 1940. Whitaker held that position for 14 years, which included most of the Second World War, and during that time was ultimately responsible for all of the Admiralty's civil engineering projects. He retired from the Admiralty in 1954, becoming a partner for an engineering consultancy.
Whitaker was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath
in 1941, and became a Knight Commander in 1945. He was also appointed a Commander in the Legion of Honour by the French government in 1947. He was an active member of the Institution of Civil Engineers
, which he had joined in 1919, and held various offices for them. He was elected president of the institution at a Special General Meeting in February 1957, following the death of the previous president, Harold Gourley
. Whitaker sat on various committees of organisations related to his area of expertise, including the Dover Harbour Board and Suez Canal Company
. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Liverpool in 1960.
, Natal Colony
in modern day South Africa
but received his education mainly in Liverpool
in the United Kingdom. He attended Liverpool Institute High School for Boys and studied engineering at the University of Liverpool
where he received a first class honours Bachelor of Science
degree in 1914 and a Master of Engineering
degree in 1917. Whitaker undertook two years of training with a Mr. H Cartwright before he joining the Admiralty's Civil Engineer in Chief's Department at the age of 22.
and Port Edgar
destroyer
base. In 1919 he began a two year project to erect oil tanks in Jamaica
and was later instructed to design and build a pier and moorings for cruiser
s. In the same year Whitaker was elected a corporate member of the Institution of Civil Engineers
(ICE).
On 8 June 1921 Whitaker was appointed Assistant Civil Engineer for the Devonport Dockyard
. In 1926 he was posted to the Royal Navy dockyard in Malta
where he was involved in the construction of a wave trap in the harbour and underground ammunition dumps as well as the maintenance of various breakwaters. He returned to the UK in 1929 when he took up a position as a civil engineer to the Portsmouth
dockyard, where he was involved with the reconstruction of a seawall and jetty. Whitaker was promoted to Superintending Civil Engineer of the naval base at Singapore
in 1933, whilst there he constructed a 1000 feet (304.8 m) long dry dock and undertook reclamation works on swampy land. The next year he was promoted once more, becoming Deputy Civil Engineer-In-Chief to the Admiralty, and in 1940 was appointed as Civil Engineer-In-Chief. Whitaker held that office for the next 14 years, which gave him responsibility for all Admiralty civil engineering projects across the Empire
and encompassed the busy years of the Second World War.
Whitaker had been elected to the senior grade of ICE membership in 1938, and he became a member of the council in 1944 and became vice president in 1953. He was rewarded for his work at the Admiralty with an appointment as a Companion of the Order of the Bath
on 12 June 1941. On 1 January 1945 he was promoted to the rank of Knight Commander in that Order, which entitled him to use the prefix "Sir". Whitaker was also rewarded by the French government for his work during the war, being appointed a Commander in the Legion of Honour in 1947.
; and for 14 years he served as a member of the Dover Harbour Board.
In 1956 Whitaker was elected to the management commitment of the ICE's Benevolent Fund, a charitable fund that provides for members in hardship, and the next year was elected chairman. On 18 December 1956 Harold Gourley
, then President of the ICE, died just six weeks after assuming the office in November.
Gourley was the first regularly elected president to die in office (Thomas Telford
, who was elected president for life, had previously died in office) and the ICE council, who were authorised to fill any vacancy except that of President, were forced to call a Special General Meeting of members. As a result of this meeting, Whitaker was elected to the position in February 1957 and was allowed to serve out the remainder of Gourley's term in addition to his own full term.
In 1960 the University of Liverpool awarded Whitaker an honorary doctorate in engineering. Whitaker was married and had a son and two daughters. He died on 13 June 1968.
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...
. Although born in the Colony of Natal
Colony of Natal
The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on May 4, 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa, as one of its...
, he was educated in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and received a Master of Engineering
Master of Engineering
A Master of Engineering or Master of Technology or Master of Science in Engineering A Master of Engineering (Magister in Ingeniaria) (abbreviated M.Eng., ME or MEng) or Master of Technology (abbreviated M.Tech. or MTech) or Master of Science in Engineering A Master of Engineering (Magister in...
degree from the University of Liverpool
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
. Whitaker joined the Civil Engineer in Chief's Department of the Admiralty at the age of 22 and spent much of the rest of his career there. His
earlier work included Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
bases in the United Kingdom
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...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
during the First World War and Interwar period
Interwar period
Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
. In 1934 he became Deputy Civil Engineer-In-Chief to the Admiralty, being promoted to Civil Engineer-In-Chief in 1940. Whitaker held that position for 14 years, which included most of the Second World War, and during that time was ultimately responsible for all of the Admiralty's civil engineering projects. He retired from the Admiralty in 1954, becoming a partner for an engineering consultancy.
Whitaker was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
in 1941, and became a Knight Commander in 1945. He was also appointed a Commander in the Legion of Honour by the French government in 1947. He was an active member 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...
, which he had joined in 1919, and held various offices for them. He was elected president of the institution at a Special General Meeting in February 1957, following the death of the previous president, Harold Gourley
Harold Gourley
Harold John Frederick Gourley was a British civil engineer.Gourley was born in Liverpool in 1886. He was the holder of a Master of Engineering degree. On 5 October 1912 he gave a lecture to the Salford Technical and Engineering Association on reinforced concrete construction...
. Whitaker sat on various committees of organisations related to his area of expertise, including the Dover Harbour Board and Suez Canal Company
Suez Canal Company
The Universal Suez Ship Canal Company was the Egyptian corporation which was formed by Ferdinand de Lesseps during 1858, constructed the Suez Canal between 1859 and 1869, and owned and operated it for many years thereafter...
. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Liverpool in 1960.
Early life
Whitaker was born on 17 July 1893 in LadysmithLadysmith, KwaZulu-Natal
Ladysmith is a city in the Uthukela District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is north-west of Durban and south of Johannesburg. Important industries in the area include food processing, textile and tyre production...
, Natal Colony
Colony of Natal
The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on May 4, 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa, as one of its...
in modern day South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
but received his education mainly in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
in the United Kingdom. He attended Liverpool Institute High School for Boys and studied engineering at the University of Liverpool
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
where he received a first class honours Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in 1914 and a Master of Engineering
Master of Engineering
A Master of Engineering or Master of Technology or Master of Science in Engineering A Master of Engineering (Magister in Ingeniaria) (abbreviated M.Eng., ME or MEng) or Master of Technology (abbreviated M.Tech. or MTech) or Master of Science in Engineering A Master of Engineering (Magister in...
degree in 1917. Whitaker undertook two years of training with a Mr. H Cartwright before he joining the Admiralty's Civil Engineer in Chief's Department at the age of 22.
Admiralty work
At the Admiralty Whitaker focussed on the construction and maintenance of harbours, docks, air defence installations and fuel oil facilities. Two of his earlier projects were the construction of Rosyth Naval BaseRosyth Dockyard
Rosyth Dockyard is a large naval dockyard on the Firth of Forth at Rosyth, Fife, Scotland, owned by Babcock Marine, which primarily undertakes refitting of Royal Navy surface vessels.-History:...
and Port Edgar
Port Edgar
Port Edgar is a marina situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth immediately to the west of the southern end of the Forth Road Bridge in the town of South Queensferry, Scotland. In previous years it had been the site of HMS Lochinvar. In the inter war period Port Edgar was the a destroyer...
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
base. In 1919 he began a two year project to erect oil tanks in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
and was later instructed to design and build a pier and moorings for cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s. In the same year Whitaker was elected a corporate member 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).
On 8 June 1921 Whitaker was appointed Assistant Civil Engineer for the Devonport Dockyard
HMNB Devonport
Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...
. In 1926 he was posted to the Royal Navy dockyard in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
where he was involved in the construction of a wave trap in the harbour and underground ammunition dumps as well as the maintenance of various breakwaters. He returned to the UK in 1929 when he took up a position as a civil engineer to the Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
dockyard, where he was involved with the reconstruction of a seawall and jetty. Whitaker was promoted to Superintending Civil Engineer of the naval base at Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in 1933, whilst there he constructed a 1000 feet (304.8 m) long dry dock and undertook reclamation works on swampy land. The next year he was promoted once more, becoming Deputy Civil Engineer-In-Chief to the Admiralty, and in 1940 was appointed as Civil Engineer-In-Chief. Whitaker held that office for the next 14 years, which gave him responsibility for all Admiralty civil engineering projects across the Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
and encompassed the busy years of the Second World War.
Whitaker had been elected to the senior grade of ICE membership in 1938, and he became a member of the council in 1944 and became vice president in 1953. He was rewarded for his work at the Admiralty with an appointment as a Companion of the Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
on 12 June 1941. On 1 January 1945 he was promoted to the rank of Knight Commander in that Order, which entitled him to use the prefix "Sir". Whitaker was also rewarded by the French government for his work during the war, being appointed a Commander in the Legion of Honour in 1947.
Later life
Whitaker left the Admiralty in 1954 and joined the Liversey & Henderson engineering consultancy as a partner - his curriculum vitae for this job is now held in the National Archives. He retired from the company in 1962 but continued to work for them as a consultant. During this time he served as chairman of the British National Committee of the Permanent International Association of Navigation Congresses; from 1952 he sat on the Commission Consultative Internationale des Travaux of the Suez Canal CompanySuez Canal Company
The Universal Suez Ship Canal Company was the Egyptian corporation which was formed by Ferdinand de Lesseps during 1858, constructed the Suez Canal between 1859 and 1869, and owned and operated it for many years thereafter...
; and for 14 years he served as a member of the Dover Harbour Board.
In 1956 Whitaker was elected to the management commitment of the ICE's Benevolent Fund, a charitable fund that provides for members in hardship, and the next year was elected chairman. On 18 December 1956 Harold Gourley
Harold Gourley
Harold John Frederick Gourley was a British civil engineer.Gourley was born in Liverpool in 1886. He was the holder of a Master of Engineering degree. On 5 October 1912 he gave a lecture to the Salford Technical and Engineering Association on reinforced concrete construction...
, then President of the ICE, died just six weeks after assuming the office in November.
Gourley was the first regularly elected president to die in office (Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...
, who was elected president for life, had previously died in office) and the ICE council, who were authorised to fill any vacancy except that of President, were forced to call a Special General Meeting of members. As a result of this meeting, Whitaker was elected to the position in February 1957 and was allowed to serve out the remainder of Gourley's term in addition to his own full term.
In 1960 the University of Liverpool awarded Whitaker an honorary doctorate in engineering. Whitaker was married and had a son and two daughters. He died on 13 June 1968.