Kenneth Phipson Hawksley
Kenneth Phipson Hawksley (1869-1924) of T. and C. Hawksley
son of Charles Hawksley
1924 Obituary [1]
KENNETH PHIPSON HAWKSLEY was born in London on 15th September 1869, and was educated at Wellington College and Trinity College, Cambridge.
He served his pupilage with his father, the late Mr. Charles Hawksley, Member of Council of this Institution, and in the year 1900 was taken into partnership in the firm of T. and C. Hawksley.
He was associated with a large number of water undertakings, amongst others Bristol, Bognor, Herts and Essex, Lowestoft, Great Yarmouth, Norwich, Newcastle, Southend, West Gloucestershire, and Worthing. In many of these cases the works were designed and superintended by him.
On the death of Mr. Charles Hawksley, Mr. Kenneth Hawksley came rapidly to the front as an Engineering expert, and his services were in frequent demand before Parliamentary Committees. He was a clear and effective witness, and his opinion carried great weight before Committees.
During the War he acted as Consulting Engineer to the Ministry of Munitions with respect to the water supplies for the High Explosive Works in various parts of the country. He was associated with the late Lord Moulton in selecting suitable sites, and subsequently designed and carried out the extensive waterworks at Gretna, Queen's Ferry, Avonmouth, and Henbury. This work had to be done at great speed, and entailed in some cases a supply of water of 12 million gallons per day. He was entirely successful in these undertakings, and received the warm thanks of Lord Moulton and those in association with him.
At the time of his death he held the position of Consulting Engineer to the Durham County Water Board, and almost his last work was to lay down the design of a large impounding reservoir for that Board.
Mr. Hawksley not only had great engineering skill, but a complete knowledge of the organization and management of water undertakings, not only on the engineering side, but also on the financial, and he was constantly consulted with respect to the details of administration.
His death took place after a long illness on 2nd May 1924, in his fifty-fifth year.
He became a Member of this Institution in 1900, and he was also a Member of Council of the Institution of Civil Engineers.
1924 Obituary [2]
KENNETH PHIPSON HAWKSLEY, son of Charles Hawksley, Past-President Inst. C.E., and grandson of Thomas Hawksley, F.R.S., Past-President Inst. C.E., was born in London on the 15th September, 1869, and died on the 2nd May, 1924, in London.
He was educated at Wellington College (1884-88), Trinity College, Cambridge, and University College, London. His engineering training was obtained under his father, whom he assisted in Parliamentary surveys at Newcastle, Pontypool, Newark, and Bognor ; under Mr. E. M. Eaton, Assoc. M. Inst. C.E., on waterworks at Sheffield; and as an apprentice in the workshops of the Glenfield Company, Kilmarnock.
In 1893 he became an assistant to his father, and in 1900 a partner in the firm of T. and C. Hawksley. Mr. Hawksley was responsible for the design of numerous water supply works, including those for Bognor, Bristol, Durham County Water Board, Maidenhead, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and Norwich; and he was consulted at various times with regard to the following undertakings: Great Yarmouth Water Company, Herts and Essex Waterworks Company, Leatherhead and District Water Company, Lowestoft Water and Gas Company, Maidenhead Waterworks Company, Norwich Corporation Water, Rickmansworth and Uxbridge Valley Water Company, Sheffield Corporation Water, and West Gloucestershire Water Company. Practically his last work was to outline the design of the Durham County Water Board’s great new impounding-reservoir.
During the war he rendered valuable assistance to the Ministry of Munitions as consulting engineer for water-supply, designing and carrying out with conspicuous success works for supplying the great explosive factories at Gretna, Queen’s Ferry, Avonmouth, and Henbury.
In addition to his wide knowledge of waterworks engineering, Mr. Hawksley had a clear grasp of details, combined with aptitude for lucid and concise explanation, and his services were therefore in constant demand before Parliamentary Committees. He was also possessed of much administrative capacity, the exercise of which was not confined to waterworks undertakings, but was applied also to the affairs of numerous other undertakings, such as the South Metropolitan Gas Company, Electric Lamp Factors, and the National Omnibus and Transport Company, to which he rendered valuable services as a Director. He married in 1894 Julia Loetitia Anderson Green, daughter of Dr. Edward Septimus Green, of Settle, and left a widow, one son, and one daughter. Mr. Hawksley was a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and other scientific societies.
He was elected an Associate Member of The Institution in 1897, and transferred to the class of Members in 1903, and was a Member of Council from 1921 until his death.