Harold Roxbee Cox
Encyclopedia
Harold Roxbee Cox, Baron Kings Norton, Kt
, FEng
, FIMechE
(6 June 1902 – 21 December 1997) was a British aeronautical engineer.
, beginning a lifelong fascination with aircraft.
He left Kings Norton
Grammar School at the age of 16 and joined the Aircraft Design Department of the Austin Motor Company
at Longbridge, which was, at that time, designing and building light aircraft such as the Whippet and Kestrel. Guided by the chief designer, he was responsible for the design of the tail unit of the single-seat Whippet. When Austin's aviation interests failed in 1920, Roxbee (as he was known to his friends) was transferred to the workshops to work with the apprentices, and worked towards an external University of London BSc, which he gained with first class honours.
In 1922, he left Longbridge for London, where he began studying for both a PhD and a DIC (Diploma of the Imperial College) at Imperial College London
in the aerodynamics and instabilities of wings.
As soon as he had graduated, he joined the state-financed Airship R101
engineering team at the Royal Airship Works, Cardington
.
After the R101 tragedy, the work that had been planned for the R100 was cancelled, and Roxbee Cox began working on the development of aeroplanes at the Royal Aircraft Establishment
at Farnborough
. It was here that he contributed to aircraft safety with his studies on the problem of wing flutter and the stability of structures.
By 1936, relations between what was still the Empire and Nazi Germany were steadily deteriorating, and there was a need to be prepared in case of war. An Air Defence Department was founded at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, and Roxbee became its head. Much of this work was with barrage balloon
s. There were two aims to this research. Our balloons needed to be able to bring down enemy aircraft, and conversely our aircraft needed to go through any barrages unscathed.
In 1936, the Government created the Air Registration Board, a new body that would examine civil aircraft and issue certificates of airworthiness. With his experience in air safety from the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Roxbee became their Chief Technical Officer in 1938.
Immediately war was declared, Roxbee was transferred back to Farnborough as Superintendent of Scientific Research and was then moved to the new Ministry of Aircraft Production in May 1940, as Deputy Director of Scientific Research. He dealt with a whole range of wartime projects, and indeed was promoted to become Director of Special Projects in 1943. Roxbee had the special responsibility to work on jet engines. It was now Roxbee's job not to be the engineer, but the facilitator.
The major aerospace companies had each been conducting their own research into combining gas turbines and jet propulsion, but only Group Captain Frank Whittle
's jet engine design worked. However, collaboration was now more important than trade secrets, with the government encouraging any efforts that could give the Allies any edge in conflict. Roxbee founded, and chaired, the Gas Turbine Collaboration Committee, helping to pool ideas and experience. In 1944 the Minister of Aircraft Production
, Sir Stafford Cripps
, nationalised Power Jets, making Roxbee both Chairman and Managing Director. Power Jets was restyled again in 1946 as the National Gas Turbine Establishment
with Roxbee as its Director.
In 1948, Roxbee moved from the National Gas Turbine Establishment to become Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Fuel and Power, where he applied his gas turbine knowledge for the benefit of power generation.
In 1954, Roxbee left the civil service to begin a second career in industry and over the next twenty years he served on the boards of companies as diverse as the British Printing Corporation
, the engineers Ricardo, and chemicals company Hoechst UK. He also chaired the packaging company Metal Box
and the paint-makers Bergers, Jenson and Nicholson, and was President of the Campden and Chorleywood Food Research Association for 33 years.
Playing a wider role in business, Roxbee was involved with a number of industry bodies. He was the Chairman of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
, and President of both the National Council for Quality and Reliability and the Institute of Marketing.
, Roxbee chaired two open meetings during to discuss the education and training of aeronautical engineers. The Minister for Aircraft Production, Sir Stafford Cripps
soon commissioned Sir Roy Fedden
, a speaker at the meetings, to report on the state of aeronautical education. His 1944 report "A College of Aeronautics" was the blueprint for Cranfield. The College of Aeronautics opened in October 1946, and was truly a unique establishment. The concept of hands on learning with access to aircraft and an airfield was completely revolutionary. In 1953,Roxbee was appointed one of three new Deputy Chairmen on the Board of Governors, and in 1962, on the death of Sir Frederick Handley Page
, he became the Board's Chairman. Years of negotiation followed, and university status and a Royal Charter
were granted in 1969 with the college now officially renamed Cranfield University
.
When Roxbee was honoured with a life peerage in 1965, he took the title Baron Kings Norton, of Wotton Underwood in the County of Buckinghamshire
and his chosen motto, "Precision and Tolerance", was highly appropriate. He specifically intended these words to have a double meaning and they summed him up perfectly. They were to be interpreted in both their narrow engineering context, and also their broader, social context. He was a man with great skills in science. He was also a man whose success lay in his tolerance. It wasn't only that he was a good with people; he was also a diplomat. He believed that there shouldn't be divisions between disciplines: the arts and sciences, technology and management, commerce and education. It was an ethos that he lived by, successfully having careers in aviation, education and industry.
He died on 21 December 1997 at the age of 95.
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...
, FEng
Royal Academy of Engineering
-Overview: is the UK’s national academy of engineering. The Academy brings together the most successful and talented engineers from across the engineering sectors for a shared purpose: to advance and promote excellence in engineering....
, FIMechE
Institution of Mechanical Engineers
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers is the British engineering society based in central London, representing mechanical engineering. It is licensed by the Engineering Council UK to assess candidates for inclusion on ECUK's Register of professional Engineers...
(6 June 1902 – 21 December 1997) was a British aeronautical engineer.
Life
He was the son of William John and Amelia Roxbee Cox (née Stern). As a child, his father took him to early air shows and air races, and his imagination was fuelled by pilots of the time such as Claude Grahame-White, B. C. Hucks and Gustav HamelGustav Hamel
Gustav Hamel was a pioneer British aviator.Hamel was prominent in the early history of aviation in Britain, and in particular that of Hendon airfield, where Claude Graham-White was energetically developing and promoting flying.-Biography:Gustav Hamel was educated at Westminster School and chose to...
, beginning a lifelong fascination with aircraft.
He left Kings Norton
Kings Norton
Kings Norton is an area of Birmingham, England. It is also a Birmingham City Council ward within the formal district of Northfield.-History:...
Grammar School at the age of 16 and joined the Aircraft Design Department of the Austin Motor Company
Austin Motor Company
The Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...
at Longbridge, which was, at that time, designing and building light aircraft such as the Whippet and Kestrel. Guided by the chief designer, he was responsible for the design of the tail unit of the single-seat Whippet. When Austin's aviation interests failed in 1920, Roxbee (as he was known to his friends) was transferred to the workshops to work with the apprentices, and worked towards an external University of London BSc, which he gained with first class honours.
In 1922, he left Longbridge for London, where he began studying for both a PhD and a DIC (Diploma of the Imperial College) at Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
in the aerodynamics and instabilities of wings.
As soon as he had graduated, he joined the state-financed Airship R101
R101
R101 was one of a pair of British rigid airship completed in 1929 as part of a British government programme to develop civil airships capable of service on long-distance routes within the British Empire. It was designed and built by an Air Ministry-appointed team and was effectively in competition...
engineering team at the Royal Airship Works, Cardington
Cardington, Bedfordshire
Cardington is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, EnglandPart of the ancient hundred of Wixamtree, the settlement is best known in connection with the Cardington airship works founded by Short Brothers during World War I, which later became an RAF training station...
.
After the R101 tragedy, the work that had been planned for the R100 was cancelled, and Roxbee Cox began working on the development of aeroplanes at the Royal Aircraft Establishment
Royal Aircraft Establishment
The Royal Aircraft Establishment , was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence , before finally losing its identity in mergers with other institutions.The first site was at Farnborough...
at Farnborough
Farnborough, Hampshire
-History:Name changes: Ferneberga ; Farnburghe, Farenberg ; Farnborowe, Fremborough, Fameborough .Tower Hill, Cove: There is substantial evidence...
. It was here that he contributed to aircraft safety with his studies on the problem of wing flutter and the stability of structures.
By 1936, relations between what was still the Empire and Nazi Germany were steadily deteriorating, and there was a need to be prepared in case of war. An Air Defence Department was founded at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, and Roxbee became its head. Much of this work was with barrage balloon
Barrage balloon
A barrage balloon is a large balloon tethered with metal cables, used to defend against low-level aircraft attack by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables, or at least making the attacker's approach more difficult. Some versions carried small explosive charges that would be pulled up...
s. There were two aims to this research. Our balloons needed to be able to bring down enemy aircraft, and conversely our aircraft needed to go through any barrages unscathed.
In 1936, the Government created the Air Registration Board, a new body that would examine civil aircraft and issue certificates of airworthiness. With his experience in air safety from the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Roxbee became their Chief Technical Officer in 1938.
Immediately war was declared, Roxbee was transferred back to Farnborough as Superintendent of Scientific Research and was then moved to the new Ministry of Aircraft Production in May 1940, as Deputy Director of Scientific Research. He dealt with a whole range of wartime projects, and indeed was promoted to become Director of Special Projects in 1943. Roxbee had the special responsibility to work on jet engines. It was now Roxbee's job not to be the engineer, but the facilitator.
The major aerospace companies had each been conducting their own research into combining gas turbines and jet propulsion, but only Group Captain Frank Whittle
Frank Whittle
Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, Hon FRAeS was a British Royal Air Force engineer officer. He is credited with independently inventing the turbojet engine Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, Hon FRAeS (1 June 1907 – 9 August 1996) was a British Royal Air...
's jet engine design worked. However, collaboration was now more important than trade secrets, with the government encouraging any efforts that could give the Allies any edge in conflict. Roxbee founded, and chaired, the Gas Turbine Collaboration Committee, helping to pool ideas and experience. In 1944 the Minister of Aircraft Production
Minister of Aircraft Production
The Minister of Aircraft Production was the British government position in charge of the Ministry of Aircraft Production, one of the specialised supply ministries set up by the British Government during World War II...
, Sir Stafford Cripps
Stafford Cripps
Sir Richard Stafford Cripps was a British Labour politician of the first half of the 20th century. During World War II he served in a number of positions in the wartime coalition, including Ambassador to the Soviet Union and Minister of Aircraft Production...
, nationalised Power Jets, making Roxbee both Chairman and Managing Director. Power Jets was restyled again in 1946 as the National Gas Turbine Establishment
National Gas Turbine Establishment
The National Gas Turbine Establishment in Fleet, part of the Royal Aircraft Establishment , UK was the prime site in the UK for design and development of gas turbine and jet engines. It was created by merging the design teams of Frank Whittle's Power Jets and the RAE turbine development team run...
with Roxbee as its Director.
In 1948, Roxbee moved from the National Gas Turbine Establishment to become Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Fuel and Power, where he applied his gas turbine knowledge for the benefit of power generation.
In 1954, Roxbee left the civil service to begin a second career in industry and over the next twenty years he served on the boards of companies as diverse as the British Printing Corporation
Maxwell Communications Corporation
Maxwell Communications Corporation plc was a leading British media business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
, the engineers Ricardo, and chemicals company Hoechst UK. He also chaired the packaging company Metal Box
Metal Box
Metal Box is the second album by Public Image Ltd, released in 1979 by Virgin Records.The title refers to the album's original packaging, which consists of a metal 16mm film canister embossed with the band's logo and containing three 12" 45rpm records...
and the paint-makers Bergers, Jenson and Nicholson, and was President of the Campden and Chorleywood Food Research Association for 33 years.
Playing a wider role in business, Roxbee was involved with a number of industry bodies. He was the Chairman of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research is South Africa's central and premier scientific research and development organisation. It was established by an act of parliament in 1945 and is situated on its own campus in the city of Pretoria...
, and President of both the National Council for Quality and Reliability and the Institute of Marketing.
Cranfield University
In the summer of 1943, as the vice-president of the Royal Aeronautical SocietyRoyal Aeronautical Society
The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a multidisciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community.-Function:...
, Roxbee chaired two open meetings during to discuss the education and training of aeronautical engineers. The Minister for Aircraft Production, Sir Stafford Cripps
Stafford Cripps
Sir Richard Stafford Cripps was a British Labour politician of the first half of the 20th century. During World War II he served in a number of positions in the wartime coalition, including Ambassador to the Soviet Union and Minister of Aircraft Production...
soon commissioned Sir Roy Fedden
Roy Fedden
Sir Alfred Hubert Roy Fedden MBE was an engineer who designed most of Bristol Engine Company's successful aircraft engine designs.-Early life:...
, a speaker at the meetings, to report on the state of aeronautical education. His 1944 report "A College of Aeronautics" was the blueprint for Cranfield. The College of Aeronautics opened in October 1946, and was truly a unique establishment. The concept of hands on learning with access to aircraft and an airfield was completely revolutionary. In 1953,Roxbee was appointed one of three new Deputy Chairmen on the Board of Governors, and in 1962, on the death of Sir Frederick Handley Page
Frederick Handley Page
Sir Frederick Handley Page, CBE, FRAeS was an English industrialist who was a pioneer in the design and manufacture of aircraft. His company Handley Page Limited produced a series of military aircraft, including the Halifax bomber in World War II, of which around 7,000 were produced...
, he became the Board's Chairman. Years of negotiation followed, and university status and a Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
were granted in 1969 with the college now officially renamed Cranfield University
Cranfield University
Cranfield University is a British postgraduate university based on two campuses, with a research-oriented focus. The main campus is at Cranfield, Bedfordshire and the second is the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom based at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire. The main campus is unique in the United...
.
When Roxbee was honoured with a life peerage in 1965, he took the title Baron Kings Norton, of Wotton Underwood in the County of Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
and his chosen motto, "Precision and Tolerance", was highly appropriate. He specifically intended these words to have a double meaning and they summed him up perfectly. They were to be interpreted in both their narrow engineering context, and also their broader, social context. He was a man with great skills in science. He was also a man whose success lay in his tolerance. It wasn't only that he was a good with people; he was also a diplomat. He believed that there shouldn't be divisions between disciplines: the arts and sciences, technology and management, commerce and education. It was an ethos that he lived by, successfully having careers in aviation, education and industry.
He died on 21 December 1997 at the age of 95.