Click the image above to see in more detail.
1965: Harold Norman Gwynne Allen
Harold Norman Gwynne Allen (1912-1995)
80th President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers
Allen was born in Bedford, England in 1912.
He went to Westminster School, followed by Neuchatel University, Switzerland, and Trinity College, Cambridge. After graduating from Trinity College in 1933, he undertook training at the firms of J S White and Co. Ltd., Cowes, specializing in naval machinery, and John Brown and Co. (Clydebank) Ltd., during the building of the Queen Mary. He then gained sea-going experience with Alfred Holt and Co. (Blue Funnel Line) and the Union Castle Line, followed by further practical experience at the Queens Engineering Works, Bedford.
He then began to work in the family firm, W. H. Allen Sons and Co., founded by his grandfather. He was given special responsibility for the execution of a major contract for the supply and installation of steam turbine and electric motor-driven pumps at the Hampton Pumping Station of the Metropolitan Water Board.
In 1943 he was appointed a director of the Company, and two years later became Engineering Director. He held this position until becoming Joint Managing Director in 1954. He was responsible for adding gas turbines and epicyclic gears to the Company’s range of products, as well as a major expansion of the Queens Engineering Works, Bedford, and the establishment of a separate Gearing Works at Pershore, Worcestershire. He retired in 1977.
Allen also served as Vice-Chairman and Governor of the College of Aeronautics, Cranfield from 1962 to 1969 (Governor from 1955), becoming Charter Pro-Chancellor when it became Cranfield Institute of Technology in 1969. He retired from this position in 1975.
Allen was also a member of the Magic Circle.
He was President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1965.
He died in 1995.
Image Details
| Biography |
|---|
