Henry Maybury
Encyclopedia
Brigadier-General Sir Henry Percy Maybury KCMG, CB
, (1864 – 7 January 1943) was a British
civil engineer
. He began his career as a railway engineer, working on many railways in England
and Wales
before becoming the county surveyor for Kent
. At the start of the First World War he as appointed to supervise roads used by the Allies
in France
, holding the British Army
rank of Brigadier-General. In recognition of his services in this theatre he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath
and a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
by the British government and an officer of the Legion of Honour by the French. After the war he held various civil service
positions, mainly within the Ministry of Transport
, and was elected president of the Institution of Civil Engineers
in 1933.
in Shropshire
and was educated at nearby Upton Magna
. Upon finishing his studies Maybury began work for the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway
, a joint venture between the Great Western
and London and North Western
railway companies. He worked on the Glyn Valley Tramway
during the rebuilding in 1886. From 1892 until 1895 he served as the engineer and surveyor of the Ffestiniog Railway
, followed by a similar appointment to the Tewkesbury
and Malvern
railway. From 1904 until 1913 Maybury served as the county surveyor for Kent
. In 1910 he was a member of the Advisory Engineering Committee to the Road Board, serving as their Chief Engineering Officer upon leaving his position in Kent.
to build and maintain roads at military camps in the United Kingdom. In 1916 he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General
and placed in charge of the Roads Directorate which supervised the roads used by Allied forces
in France. The directorate was responsible for 40,000 men and 4,000 miles of roads. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath
and an Officer of the Legion of Honour in 1917.
and was appointed Director General of the Roads Department of the Ministry of Transport
, a position he would hold for the next nine years. He served as president of the newly formed Institute of Transport
in 1921 and as a Justice of the Peace
for Kent in 1922. He was appointed to the twelve member London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee
when it was formed in 1928 and had responsibility to advise the Minister of Transport
on the London Traffic Area
. He served as the committee's representative on the London Passenger Transport Board
from its formation in 1933 to his death.
In 1927 he officially opened Maybury Road in Edinburgh
, named in his honour, in his capacity as Director General of the Ministry of Transport. Upon retiring from the ministry in 1928 he was given the freedom of the borough
of Shrewsbury
. Maybury was elected as president of the Institution of Civil Engineers
in 1933, an annual accolade awarded to the profession's most regarded engineers.
He died, at his home in Shrewsbury, on 7 January 1943. The National Portrait Gallery holds ten portraits of Maybury in its photographical collection.
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...
, (1864 – 7 January 1943) 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...
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...
. He began his career as a railway engineer, working on many railways in England
England
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...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
before becoming the county surveyor for Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. At the start of the First World War he as appointed to supervise roads used by the Allies
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, holding 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...
rank of Brigadier-General. In recognition of his services in this theatre he 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...
and a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
by the British government and an officer of the Legion of Honour by the French. After the war he held various civil service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
positions, mainly within the Ministry of Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
, and was elected 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...
in 1933.
Early life
Maybury was born in UffingtonUffington, Shropshire
Uffington is a village in the English county of Shropshire. It lies between Haughmond Hill and the River Severn, 3 miles east from the town centre of Shrewsbury, at .Uffington is home to a church and a pub, the Corbet Arms...
in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
and was educated at nearby Upton Magna
Upton Magna
Upton Magna is a village in Shropshire, England.Magna is latin meaning "great". Therefore the translation of Upton Magna is "Great Upton".Nearby are the villages of Uffington, Rodington, Withington and the wooded Haughmond Hill....
. Upon finishing his studies Maybury began work for the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway
Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway
The Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway was an independently developed English railway, the first to run train services in Herefordshire.Built between 1850 and 1853, it crossed a number of services by both the Great Western Railway and London and North Western Railway companies, became a joint...
, a joint venture between the Great Western
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
and London and North Western
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
railway companies. He worked on the Glyn Valley Tramway
Glyn Valley Tramway
The Glyn Valley Tramway was a narrow gauge railway that connected Chirk with Glyn Ceiriog in Denbighshire , Wales. The gauge of the line was...
during the rebuilding in 1886. From 1892 until 1895 he served as the engineer and surveyor of the Ffestiniog Railway
Ffestiniog Railway
The Ffestiniog Railway is a narrow gauge heritage railway, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park....
, followed by a similar appointment to the Tewkesbury
Tewkesbury
Tewkesbury is a town in Gloucestershire, England. It stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon, and also minor tributaries the Swilgate and Carrant Brook...
and Malvern
Great Malvern
Great Malvern is an area of Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is the historical centre of the town, and the location of the headquarters buildings of the of Malvern Town Council, the governing body of the Malvern civil parish, and Malvern Hills District council of the county of...
railway. From 1904 until 1913 Maybury served as the county surveyor for Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. In 1910 he was a member of the Advisory Engineering Committee to the Road Board, serving as their Chief Engineering Officer upon leaving his position in Kent.
First World War
From the start of the First World War he was appointed by the War OfficeWar 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...
to build and maintain roads at military camps in the United Kingdom. In 1916 he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
and placed in charge of the Roads Directorate which supervised the roads used by Allied forces
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
in France. The directorate was responsible for 40,000 men and 4,000 miles of roads. He 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...
and an Officer of the Legion of Honour in 1917.
Later life
In 1919 he was created a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St GeorgeOrder of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
and was appointed Director General of the Roads Department of the Ministry of Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
, a position he would hold for the next nine years. He served as president of the newly formed Institute of Transport
Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport
The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport is a professional body representing the transport and logistics industries worldwide...
in 1921 and as a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
for Kent in 1922. He was appointed to the twelve member London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee
London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee
The London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee was established in 1924 to advise the Minister of Transport on issues concerning traffic and transport in the London Traffic Area. It was abolished in 1965....
when it was formed in 1928 and had responsibility to advise the Minister of Transport
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
on the London Traffic Area
London Traffic Area
The London Traffic Area was established by the London Traffic Act 1924 in order to regulate the increasing amount of motor traffic in the London area...
. He served as the committee's representative on the London Passenger Transport Board
London Passenger Transport Board
The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for public transport in London, UK, and its environs from 1933 to 1948...
from its formation in 1933 to his death.
In 1927 he officially opened Maybury Road in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, named in his honour, in his capacity as Director General of the Ministry of Transport. Upon retiring from the ministry in 1928 he was given the freedom of the borough
Honorary Freedom of Boroughs Act 1885
The Honorary Freedom of Boroughs Act 1885 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that gave the councils of municipal boroughs in England and Wales the power to award the title of honorary freeman to "persons of distinction and any persons who have rendered emininent services to the...
of Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
. Maybury was elected 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...
in 1933, an annual accolade awarded to the profession's most regarded engineers.
He died, at his home in Shrewsbury, on 7 January 1943. The National Portrait Gallery holds ten portraits of Maybury in its photographical collection.