Wilfrid Cracroft Ash

Wilfrid Ash was born in Sculcoates, East Riding of Yorkshire, England to engineer father, William Ash, and mother Phoebe (née Cracroft). His general education was at Ipswich Endowed School and, having studied privately with Bertram Lawrence Hurst between 1903 and 1907, he gained a B.Sc (Engineering) in 1909 from London University.{{cite book |title=University of London, The Historical Record (1812 - 1912) |date=1912 |publisher=University of London Press |page=315}} The same year, he married Beatrice Millicent Baxter UK Government: General Register Office (GRO) index: Marriages Dec 1909 Portsmouth Vol. 2b Pg. 902 and they had two children together, Marjory Yvonne (b. 1915 in Calcutta, India) and Maurice Anthony Ash, the environmentalist, writer and planner, in Hazaribagh, India. Beatrice died in 1917 during childbirth. In 1926 Wilfrid remarried, Edith Maud Harper, in Calcutta. They had one son, Michael Edward Ash (b.1927), the mathematician and brewer who invented ‘Easy Serve’ Draught Guinness and who pioneered the nitro-beer category. Trinity College Cambridge,[https://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/alumni/publications/the-fountain/the-fountain-issue-23/#guinness Making Guinness Guinness – Michael Ash] The Fountain, Issue 23 Wilfrid Ash died on 9 December 1968 at his home in Petersfield, UK.

In his early years, Wilfrid Ash was engaged in the construction of the gun-batteries at Portsmouth Harbour. In 1907 he joined the Indian Civil Service and in 1909 became a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He was posted to Calcutta in 1910 where he was responsible for the completion of King George's Dock. In 1928, he relocated to Vizagapatam, as engineer-in-chief, to design and supervise the construction of the new Vizagapatam Harbour (now called Visakhapatnam Port). Here he implemented the unique feature of scuttling, end-to-end, two tramp ships (each of about 400 feet in length and of about 3,000 tons) to form a revetment, enabling the containment of silting from the harbour area.{{cite journal |last1=Ash |first1=Wilfrid Cracroft|last2=Rattenbury |first2=Oscar Branch|title= Vizagapatam Harbour. Part I - General Notes. Part II - Construction. (Includes Plates and Appendices)|journal= Journal of the Institution of Civil Engineers|date=January 1936 |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=246–248, 285 |doi=10.1680/ijoti.1935.14909}} The docks were completed in 1933.{{cite web|url=https://www.vizagport.com/AboutUs/History.aspx |title=Port of Vizagapatam |website=vizagport.com |accessdate=10 April 2018}}Obituary of Wilfrid Cracroft Ash Bovis Group News Release (11 December 1968){{cite journal |title=Discussion: Vizagapatam Harbour. General notes |journal=Journal of the Institution of Civil Engineers |date=December 1935 |volume=1 |issue=2 |page=316 |doi=10.1680/ijoti.1935.14910|doi-access= }} Two years later, Sir Clement Hindley said:

{{quote|"The confidence which the Government of India placed in Mr. Ash had been most fully justified."}}

File:VizagHarbourFIG3.jpg

Ash retired from the Indian Civil Service in 1938 and, following the outbreak of WWII in 1939, he became a consultant to Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners, later joining the Ministry of Supply. He became engineer-in-chief for Bovis of the world’s largest ordnance factory, ROF Swynnerton, overseeing the erection of 1,700 buildings within just nine months. At the height of the war, the Swynnerton factory employed approximately 18,000 labourers {{cite web |last1=Catford |first1=Nick |title=Swynnerton Royal Ordnance Factory |url=http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/sites/s/swynnerton_royal_ordnance_filling_factory/index.shtml |accessdate=13 July 2018}} and, as an arsenal, was instrumental in securing victory over the Nazis in 1945. In 1964, the MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stephen Swingler commented:

{{quote|"At the peak of the war this factory in the heart of the Staffordshire countryside employed a total of 25,000 (sic.) workers. It made a most important contribution as an arsenal of the weapons of war to victory over the Nazis in 1945."{{cite journal |last1=Swingler |first1=Stephen |title=Royal Ordnance Factory, Swynnerton |journal=House of Commons Debates, Hansard 1803-2003 |date=19 March 1964 |volume=691 |issue=1772–88 |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1964/mar/19/royal-ordnance-factory-swynnerton |accessdate=13 July 2018}}}} Ash also acted as consultant for the flotation of the Mulberry Harbour Phoenix Units used in the Normandy Landings.

In 1946 he joined Paul Gilbert and with him founded the construction firm Gilbert-Ash Ltd (Initially Bovis (Public Works) Ltd; name changed to Gilbert-Ash Ltd 9 February 1946{{cite web |title=Companies Registration Office: Certificate of Name Change |url=https://document-api-images-prod.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/docs/d-0RIji7w0jM8lx4VTwQYLCMV5RL3NREgpBj4DIjZ3A/application-pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAJOS3CWYDLJMNW6IQ%2F20180714%2Feu-west-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20180714T184006Z&X-Amz-Expires=60&X-Amz-Security-Token=FQoDYXdzEHkaDOWEdPTIum5ZBIqdYSK3AwXsUQbHNYsrY62fkyETqSyj5s0syd3flIZSdW3f%2BvzoYeSZk3XRAkpap1eDmxbX0EvNn1NS1lGqzL9AcFeQ3FjUagE5bMYaxm4Ij9l5KWYWA9n9VTWNGTBB2D1zgZcZgdGmV6RA49hZ4U76jAjDv1oT7JizAW4tn4VRzy25gzNgylP5GjnWN2vtR2%2B2tg21CbEBO8qPfgfiwbwnDFRAuwZZHtL9%2F4aHZcpjUgoCHn%2FZaN%2Fy5Yi5ZFo09l8VEibBGm8K1xRpqvfSRBZZLIShS%2BU4%2BgM2EhnEAIncfpn%2FoOopCLb%2FeYYVqJgCFgszyiYIOnkS0Vx8tohjYQly8b4LYn1Sg1QrSs%2F76gCQpT5iFhqxlK3m5KOonslYs3KXMx3xqoBdLUGYNScJSDsbp%2F%2BtSI%2BkHfLpWA0aZaiVmV%2F6VaXyLxtBcwZVQrm5OwxdVEYBChihCyxw23F0B77a9U6kcMnG9uZOshqYY9zVW4MGBWlIQataYrvsdVi5QpdLTa%2FimkU0QMSKbyvFFN75oMRnTj9VBl1JmWaDK0gsbOp%2BpDOMlwp3mfTeZqN4sR3yGlGVuDjjYMZ99Voozr%2Bo2gU%3D&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=04934cccd3c786ef7c44f1019e65050e4c57e0b80eb7db09f19648e38dd33cf1 |publisher=Companies House |accessdate=14 July 2018}} before becoming Bovis Engineering Ltd on 20 February 1990{{cite web |title=Companies House: Special Resolution of Name Change |url=https://document-api-images-prod.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/docs/y0djG_UE6Wdih6sfPTO5BrxUth2ukzr7w8MfMBqWEDg/application-pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAJALR3ZO7IOW6Y2MA%2F20180714%2Feu-west-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20180714T185352Z&X-Amz-Expires=60&X-Amz-Security-Token=FQoDYXdzEHcaDMhxdKEFr9KrJJgYayK3A2u0CGzStVzv9UXdk4Ghdpf5bM1eIfqbtzDNTt3s2b9eBpi1VrggabCBbpYFkFFsd1GLNfGYZcAhWjJPi81qZ1WCpBqLkrqga9n1C2nabNLuPSm%2BuPsyJFum8PYwGTAL0n9GMHRdF%2BXBTZlUWMWqf2Zeed%2F8KFuuqaq1lFJBCXu0krHJt1lXuLCF%2FrC5%2BfBzzcvKNiEQ3IqJ%2F4yRTJSgEVHYqO4VH9MtTwcaHza2D4Htb0xw6tDdrLv7%2FymI1rvzFkMZa%2F87dsGyYxYFQ87dJOoTAGMaAllnoz%2FDjEL8cIeI6k43I5LgdMzj3YxqfcI5j7d3J1AquB96KygKnAJlmSzcD5lhUv16RhmMvf9a7JlhKUSLNgy1a5NwflAxhrTIjqTjoI1ciuBji%2FarA1LH5lmzsdx4sIMPK7VdDHweQ62uQPDIqjK0PtF2lDjnRwppuu%2F9tkz4PxzJDqoY%2BOvNQ6g7JJJpIYArBIkjGQoEOIBd7d7FKKPBX%2F%2FBgVTxZ9QlDRQyPDbk8TILo%2BUNksFQ9hRFn%2Fx16P%2FsDtxJ4lbmqI%2ByVXWVRsu1fmXFhmuZdyUCa2nU9Gx9lJwo%2FvWn2gU%3D&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=407a0391a14230172da38561edcf28752a0ae0023bb545bb35045c47296687c9 |publisher=Companies House |accessdate=14 July 2018}}), with which he remained until retiring in 1961 at the age of 77. Ash was a pioneer of industrial building, realising the advantages of using pre-stressed, precast concrete components to speed building operations and devoting much of his time, with the Ministry of Education, to the development of the Intergrid construction system for educational buildings.

Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Selected Engineering Papers Vol. 233 Issue 1932 (1932) PART 1. E-ISSN|1753-7843

• Calcutta Port Extensions W C Ash (Paper No. 4842). pp. 324-360
• The Construction and Sinking of Monoliths at King George’s Dock, Calcutta James David Pearson with information by Mr Ash (Paper No. 4841). pp. 361-375
• Correspondence on 4841 & 4852 Calcutta Port Extensions. The Construction and Sinking of Monoliths at King George’s Dock Calcutta. W C Ash. pp. 398-411

The Institution of Civil Engineers. Selected Engineering Papers Vol. 1 Issue 122 (1932). E-ISSN 1753-7827

• An experiment on quay-walls at King George’s Docks, Calcutta. W C Ash

The Journal of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Vol. 1 Issue 2 (December 1935) E-ISSN|0368-2455

• Vizagapatam Harbour. Part I – General notes. Part II – Construction. W C Ash & O B Rattenbury pp.235-314
• Discussion. Vizagapatam Harbour. General notes. Constructions. Pp. 315-333

• Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland- Volume 3: 1890-1920 Edited by RC McWilliam & M Chrimes. ICE Publishing (2014) {{ISBN|978-0-7277-5834-7}}
• ROF Swynnerton - Bullets, Bombs & Roses by Graham Bebbington. Churnet Valley Books (2018) {{ISBN|978-0-9956-0398-1}}

{{reflist}}

• Institution of Civil Engineers – Minutes: [http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/content/article/10.1680/imotp.1932.13245 Minutes from the Institution of Civil Engineers]
• Port of Vizagapatam – History: [http://www.vizagport.com/AboutUs/History.aspx The Port of Vizagapatam – A History]
• Gilbert-Ash Website: [http://gilbert-ash.com/ gilbert-ash.com]

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Category:Engineers from Yorkshire

Category:British company founders

Category:British construction businesspeople

Category:Alumni of the University of London

Category:1884 births

Category:1968 deaths

Category:People from Sculcoates

Category:English civil engineers