William Binnie (engineer)
Encyclopedia
William James Eames Binnie (10 October 1867 – 4 October 1949) was a British
civil engineer
. William was the son of Alexander Binnie
the famed civil engineer and William would enter the same career. He was educated at Trinity College
, Cambridge
before completing an apprenticeship with his father's firm. His primary area of work was in hydraulic engineering
and he completed works in Britain
, Egypt
, Nigeria
, Singapore
, Hong Kong
and Burma on reservoir
s, dam
s and hydro-electric power generation.
Binnie was involved in many professional associations and served as president of the Institution of Civil Engineers
, Institution of Sanitary Engineers and the Institution of Water Engineers. Binnie was recognised for his work as an engineer by the French
government who made him a chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1948.
, Ireland
and was the eldest son of Alexander Binnie
, the famous civil engineer. He was educated at Bradford Grammar School
followed by Rugby School
, of which he said "a worse school for a boy who ultimately hoped to follow in his father's footsteps as a civil engineer could hardly have been chosen". He received a degree in the natural sciences tripos
from Trinity College
, Cambridge
in 1888 before spending a year studying Chemistry
and Civil Engineering
at the University of Karlsruhe in Germany
.
engineer in Bradford
, and also worked on the Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway
and as an assistant engineer on the Elan Valley Reservoirs
. In 1896 he worked with Sir Benjamin Baker on a section of the underground Central London Railway
between Shepherd's Bush
and Marble Arch
as a designer and resident engineer. He worked on docks in Alexandria
, Egypt
from 1900 to 1902.
and hydro-electric power. He was made a partner of the firm in 1904 and a senior partner upon his father's death in 1917. His work included projects in Birkenhead
, Belfast
, Oxford
, Kano
, Singapore
and Rangoon. Binnie served as the technical advisor to the British representative on the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine
in 1922; as a member of the Great Ouse Drainage Commission in 1925 and of the Doncaster
Area Drainage Commission in 1926. He worked on several projects involved with the River Nile in Egypt
, acting as a commissioner for the heightening of the Aswan Dam
during 1928 and advising on hydro-electric power generation possibilities on the river in 1937.
Binnie was known for his extensive travels to see projects first hand. In 1940, at the age of 72, he travelled to Hong Kong to advise on a dam and reservoir project. During his return flight to France on a French airliner, France was overrun by German forces
and the pilot diverted to Algiers
to disembark the passengers. Left without any means of transport in an unfamiliar country that was soon to become hostile, Binnie was forced to work for his passage home. He signed on as an assistant to a Chinese
cook aboard a collier
bound for Gibraltar
whose Turkish
crew had mutinied and left the ship shorthanded. He eventually returned safely to Britain where he saw out the rest of the Second World War.
(ICE) as an associate member in 1892, becoming a full member in 1900 and serving as chairman of the ICE's committee on flooding in 1933. He was elected president of the ICE for the 1938-9 session, following in the footsteps of his father who was president for 1905-6. Binnie was also elected as president of the Institution of Sanitary Engineers in 1917 and of the Institution of Water Engineers in 1921. He served as chairman of the British sub-committee of the International Committee on Large Dams from 1933 to 1946. Binnie was also made an honorary member of the American Society of Civil Engineers
and of the New England Waterworks Association. He was rewarded for his contributions to engineer by the French government by being made a chevalier (knight) of the Legion of Honour in 1948, yet was not honoured in any way by the British government.
, Berkshire
, where he died on 4 October 1949, his wife having predeceased him by two years. The Binnie & Partners engineering company continued practicing in hydraulic engineering
and was merged with Black & Veatch
in 1995.
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...
. William was the son of Alexander Binnie
Alexander Binnie
Sir Alexander Richardson Binnie was a civil engineer responsible for several major engineering projects, including several associated with crossings of the River Thames in London....
the famed civil engineer and William would enter the same career. He was educated at Trinity College
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
before completing an apprenticeship with his father's firm. His primary area of work was in hydraulic engineering
Hydraulic engineering
This article is about civil engineering. For the mechanical engineering discipline see Hydraulic machineryHydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive...
and he completed works in Britain
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...
, 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...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, 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...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Burma on reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
s, dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
s and hydro-electric power generation.
Binnie was involved in many professional associations and served 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...
, Institution of Sanitary Engineers and the Institution of Water Engineers. Binnie was recognised for his work as an engineer by the French
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...
government who made him a chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1948.
Early life
William was born in DerryDerry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and was the eldest son of Alexander Binnie
Alexander Binnie
Sir Alexander Richardson Binnie was a civil engineer responsible for several major engineering projects, including several associated with crossings of the River Thames in London....
, the famous civil engineer. He was educated at Bradford Grammar School
Bradford Grammar School
Bradford Grammar School is a co-educational, independent school in Frizinghall, Bradford, West Yorkshire. Headmaster, Stephen Davidson is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference . The school was founded in 1548 and granted its Charter by King Charles II in 1662...
followed by Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
, of which he said "a worse school for a boy who ultimately hoped to follow in his father's footsteps as a civil engineer could hardly have been chosen". He received a degree in the natural sciences tripos
Tripos
The University of Cambridge, England, divides the different kinds of honours bachelor's degree by Tripos , plural Triposes. The word has an obscure etymology, but may be traced to the three-legged stool candidates once used to sit on when taking oral examinations...
from Trinity College
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
in 1888 before spending a year studying Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
and Civil Engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
at the University of Karlsruhe in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Apprenticeship
Binnie was apprenticed to his father, who was then working as a waterworksWaterWorks
WaterWorks is a water park owned by Cedar Fair, located at the back of Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia. When it debuted in 1992, it was originally named Hurricane Reef...
engineer in Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, and also worked on the Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway
Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway
The Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway was a British railway company built toward the end of the era of British railway construction. It opened its line from Chesterfield to Lincoln in 1897....
and as an assistant engineer on the Elan Valley Reservoirs
Elan Valley Reservoirs
The Elan Valley Reservoirs are a chain of man-made lakes and reservoirs in the Elan Valley in Powys, Mid Wales , using the rivers Elan and Claerwen...
. In 1896 he worked with Sir Benjamin Baker on a section of the underground Central London Railway
Central London Railway
The Central London Railway , also known as the Twopenny Tube, was a deep-level, underground "tube" railway that opened in London in 1900...
between Shepherd's Bush
Shepherd's Bush tube station (Central Line)
Shepherd's Bush is a London Underground station in the district of Shepherd's Bush, which is located in west London, England, United Kingdom. The station is on the Central Line, between and stations, and it lies in Travelcard Zone 2....
and Marble Arch
Marble Arch tube station
Marble Arch is a London Underground station in the City of Westminster. The station is between Lancaster Gate and Bond Street stations on the Central line, and is in Travelcard Zone 1.-History:...
as a designer and resident engineer. He worked on docks in Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, 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...
from 1900 to 1902.
Partnership
Having finished his training in 1902, Binnie joined his father's engineering practice working primarily in water supplyWater supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavours or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes...
and hydro-electric power. He was made a partner of the firm in 1904 and a senior partner upon his father's death in 1917. His work included projects in Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
, Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, Kano
Kano
Kano is a city in Nigeria and the capital of Kano State in Northern Nigeria. Its metropolitan population is the second largest in Nigeria after Lagos. The Kano Urban area covers 137 sq.km and comprises six Local Government Area - Kano Municipal, Fagge, Dala, Gwale, Tarauni and Nassarawa - with a...
, 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...
and Rangoon. Binnie served as the technical advisor to the British representative on the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine
Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine
The Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine is an international organization whose function is to encourage European prosperity by guaranteeing a high level of security for navigation of the Rhine and environs...
in 1922; as a member of the Great Ouse Drainage Commission in 1925 and of the Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
Area Drainage Commission in 1926. He worked on several projects involved with the River Nile 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...
, acting as a commissioner for the heightening of the 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...
during 1928 and advising on hydro-electric power generation possibilities on the river in 1937.
Binnie was known for his extensive travels to see projects first hand. In 1940, at the age of 72, he travelled to Hong Kong to advise on a dam and reservoir project. During his return flight to France on a French airliner, France was overrun by German forces
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
and the pilot diverted to Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
to disembark the passengers. Left without any means of transport in an unfamiliar country that was soon to become hostile, Binnie was forced to work for his passage home. He signed on as an assistant to a Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
cook aboard a collier
Collier (ship type)
Collier is a historical term used to describe a bulk cargo ship designed to carry coal, especially for naval use by coal-fired warships. In the late 18th century a number of wooden-hulled sailing colliers gained fame after being adapted for use in voyages of exploration in the South Pacific, for...
bound for Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
whose Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
crew had mutinied and left the ship shorthanded. He eventually returned safely to Britain where he saw out the rest of the Second World War.
Professional institutions and honours
Binnie first entered the Institution of Civil EngineersInstitution 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) as an associate member in 1892, becoming a full member in 1900 and serving as chairman of the ICE's committee on flooding in 1933. He was elected president of the ICE for the 1938-9 session, following in the footsteps of his father who was president for 1905-6. Binnie was also elected as president of the Institution of Sanitary Engineers in 1917 and of the Institution of Water Engineers in 1921. He served as chairman of the British sub-committee of the International Committee on Large Dams from 1933 to 1946. Binnie was also made an honorary member of the American Society of Civil Engineers
American Society of Civil Engineers
The American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. ASCE's vision is to have engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward...
and of the New England Waterworks Association. He was rewarded for his contributions to engineer by the French government by being made a chevalier (knight) of the Legion of Honour in 1948, yet was not honoured in any way by the British government.
Personal life
Binnie married Ethel Morse in 1900 with whom he had three sons. His eldest son, Geoffrey Morse Binnie, was born on 13 November 1901 and would become a partner in his father's engineering practice. The elder Binnie retired to TilehurstTilehurst
Tilehurst is a suburb of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is also, with different boundaries as described below, a civil parish in West Berkshire district.-History:...
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, where he died on 4 October 1949, his wife having predeceased him by two years. The Binnie & Partners engineering company continued practicing in hydraulic engineering
Hydraulic engineering
This article is about civil engineering. For the mechanical engineering discipline see Hydraulic machineryHydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive...
and was merged with Black & Veatch
Black & Veatch Corporation
Black & Veatch is a global engineering, consulting, construction and operations company specializing in infrastructure development in energy, water, telecommunications, management consulting, federal and environmental markets. Black & Veatch is the 11th largest majority Employee-Owned company in...
in 1995.