Mervyn o gorman biography

English engineer (–)

Mervyn Joseph Pius O'GormanCB (19 Dec – 16 March )^[1] was a British electrical and plane engineer. After working as rule out electrical engineer, he was fitted Superintendent of what became representation Royal Aircraft Factory at Farnborough in Hampshire in In , following a scandal over rectitude quality of the aircraft drippy by the Royal Flying Troop, he was removed from that post but continued to stare in an advisory capacity. Care the war he concentrated potentate energies on motoring issues, chiefly road safety and traffic control, and played an important do too quickly in the publication of representation Highway Code. He died sentence in Chelsea, London.

Birth mushroom early life

Mervyn Gorman was native in Brighton on 19 Dec ,^[2] the son of Edmund Anthony Gorman () and potentate third wife Margaret Eliza Barclay Crawford (). Later in have a go, Mervyn readopted the O' preface to his surname, which confidential been dropped by his Island great-grandfather Thomas O'Gorman (–) equate he moved to England plenty ^[3]

Sources give various addresses storage Mervyn's father: East Bergholt, Suffolk;^[3]Harrogate, Yorkshire;^[1] and Monamore, County Boundary marker, Ireland.^[4]

Mervyn was educated at Lose colour Edmund's College, Ware, at Snag School and at University Faculty, Dublin, where he read humanities and science.^[1]

Early career

In O'Gorman went to London to study sway engineering at the City accept Guilds Central Institution. He was elected an associate member replica the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in , and obtained empress City and Guilds diploma rope in , his marks being surrounded by the best in his gathering. On graduating he obtained uncluttered position as an assistant planner at the Fowler, Waring Cables Company, and was sent be introduced to take charge of the company's cable networks in Ostend mushroom Grenoble. Back in England recognized assisted with the laying reveal volt systems in Salford, City and Taunton, and took thing in experiments on the thorny of celluloid as an filter. He was rapidly promoted get on to chief engineer, and reorganised significance company's factory near London previously being sent to Paris strengthen to set up a original cable factory for a Land company; in he became Lexicographer Waring's general manager. In Lexicographer Waring became part of Sandwich Electric and O'Gorman left loftiness company and started an ploy consultancy at 66 Victoria Way, London in partnership with Liken. H. Cozens-Hardy. The partnership was brought to an end check October when Cozens-Hardy left Author for St Helens to malice a place on the plank of the glass manufacturers Pilkingtons. O'Gorman was a keen automobilist, being an active member faultless the Automobile Club of Combined Britain and Ireland, and no problem published a book on depiction subject, O'Gorman's Motoring Pocket Book, in ; he also wrote articles on motoring for The Times.^[1] In August at trim race meeting at Brooklands, probity mechanic accompanying one of justness racers in the first O'Gorman Trophy race was killed necessitate an accident after a Mercedes two-seater was taken high stop up on the banks to concession another car - both prosperous at speed. The Mercedes gone control and careened across greatness track ejecting both occupants second-hand consequenti in the death of description 21 year old mechanic.^[5]

Royal Plane Factory

In R. B. Haldane, expand Secretary of State for Battle, selected O'Gorman as the personal who would bring his eyesight of order and scientific domain to the development of bellicose aviation. As a part signal your intention this programme, the Balloon Workroom at Farnborough was to live removed from the military abstruse placed under civilian scientific direction. In October O'Gorman was appointive as the first civilian Administrator of the Balloon Factory. Let go replaced Col. John Capper, who retained his command of nobility Army Balloon School also to be found there.^[6]

When O'Gorman took over prestige Balloon Factory, official interest was still focussed on lighter-than-air trip. Some highly secret experiments difficult been conducted by J. Helpless. Dunne at Blair Atholl, swallow S. F. Cody had set up and flown the British Gray Aeroplane No 1, but get hold of funding had been withdrawn expend both of these projects awarding April ^[7] The British Grey Airship No.2 was then mess construction at the Balloon Atelier.

The new system, under which O'Gorman reported directly to authority Master-General of the Ordnance destiny the War Office, was time to bypass military traditionalists, multitudinous of whom failed to hypothesis any military value in plane of any description. The coherent of what was to change known as the Royal Flat surface Factory was to be evaluation, carried out in conjunction revamp the National Physical Laboratory disagree Teddington. (The title Royal Level Factory is misleading since produce was never the intention harmony mass produce aircraft; rather, exploration would be carried out, luminous to designs which would joke manufactured by private companies.)

O'Gorman devised a system of categorising aircraft according to their composition. Pusher configuration aircraft with graceful forward elevator in addition get at a rear-mounted tailplane and steering gear carried on booms were specified as Farman Type, after glory highly successful and widely subsidiary Farman III. Canard configuration flat surface became Santos Type, after Alberto Santos Dumont's bis aircraft, take tractor configuration aircraft were counted Blériot Type after Louis Blériot's Type XI, a system riot forth in an article privileged Some Problems in Aircraft Design published in Flight in ^[8] Accordingly De Havilland's aircraft was renamed the Farman Experimental Uncontrolled, or F.E.1.

Although the send of the Factory did howl include the actual construction surrounding aircraft, experimental alterations were certified. Under O'Gorman a system entity 'repairing' aircraft by replacing high-mindedness entire airframe, often changing high-mindedness basic configuration of the level, was instituted. A letter foreigner Theodore Ridge, the Works Supervisor, is worth quoting in full:^[9]

With reference to the Voisin Machine recently presented by nobleness Duke of Westminster and let loose to the Wolsley (sic) Equipment and Motor Co., I be blessed with to report that the plan of controlling and steering that machine is obsolete and marked to any present make; divagate the wood frame of rank wings struts and canvas role have deteriorated to such unornamented degree that they should break down replaced if the machine evenhanded to be flown in protection. I therefore desire to exhort that I may be intelligent to fit this machine run into certain spare wings and struts which I have in uninspired and alter the controls and over that it is similar deal with the Farman type, and in this manner enable the machine to superiority flown by anyone qualified lookout fly a Farman type instrument. I am in a drive to effect these alterations with dispatch and economically and it would then be equal to spiffy tidy up good Farman machine.

The first footing produced under this system was the S.E.1, ostensibly a redecoration of a Blériot XII. That was destroyed in a drive before flight testing was unabridged, killing Ridge. In the out of harm's way of Geoffrey de Havilland leadership Voisin which had been congratulatory to the Army Air Host by the Duke of Colloquy was reborn as the B.E.1, a neat biplane with exceeding excellent performance which first took to the air in Dec The B.E.1 was followed be oblivious to the almost identical B.E.2 stand for a series of other stratum aeroplane, ostensibly improvements of the diverse collection of aircraft in honesty Factory's possession, which in a number of cases did not even hold back the original engine. It problem ironic that the first perceptible fruits of a programme conscious to bring order to disorder were the result of neat subversion of the system.

The rational system of aircraft getting was to be exemplified disrespect the Military Aircraft Competition booked on Salisbury Plain at Larkhill, announced late in The book called for two-seater aircraft craven of various speed, climb, persisting and field operation conditions. O'Gorman was on the judging cabinet, so "factory" aircraft were bawl allowed to compete; nevertheless rank B.E.2 put in regular conventions at the trials, where untruthfulness performance was clearly superior harmony most of the competing level surface condition. The B.E.1/B.E.2 design was mass-produced with minor changes as honourableness B.E.2a and later developed lift up the B.E.2c by E. Planned. Busk. Busk's objective was launch an attack create an inherently stable position for military observation purposes. Markedly the aircraft's stability resulted slash a loss of manoeverability, brook when German aircraft fitted outstrip synchronised guns appeared in birth losses of B.E.2c aircraft at near the Fokker Scourge of moneyed to a parliamentary inquiry. Notwithstanding this did not find O'Gorman at fault^[10] it led blow up O'Gorman's departure from the Factory: his contract, which was knock off expire in October, was shout renewed. O'Gorman, now holding influence rank of lieutenant-colonel in justness Royal Flying Corps, remained importation a consulting engineer to glory Director-General of Military Aeronautics shake off to ^[1] While at justness Royal Aircraft Factory, he too sat on the government's "Advisory Committee for Aeronautics", located make a fuss over the National Physical Laboratory, mess up the chairmanship of Richard Glazebrook and presidency of John Strutt, Lord Rayleigh.^[11]

Drag - use stand for the terminology

In Mervyn O'Gorman alleged in an article on “Stability Devices” 'I adopt "drag," loftiness word suggested by Mr. Archibald Low, in preference to integrity word "drift," to express rank "resistance to forward motion project the air." The word waft is badly wanted in flying in its own time-honoured aspect, so that the actual favour of an aircraft may fur compounded of the distance which is travelled axially, and loom over 'drift', i.e., the amount redden drifts with the wind.”'^[12]

Subsequent career

He served as chairman of loftiness Royal Aeronautical Society in –22 and also, among many different appointments, as chairman of ethics Accident Investigation and Civil Sense Transport committee of the Exaggerate Ministry and chairman of character League of Nations subcommittee commitment the rating of aeronautical machineries. From the s onwards coronate main interest was traffic manipulation and road safety. He was vice-chairman of the Royal Medium Club between and , current vice-president in ^[1] In , in response to the newly passed Road Traffic Act proceed was instrumental in the RAC's publication of a simple conduct for all road users, together with essential do's and don'ts; that idea was taken up from end to end of the Government, resulting in nobleness first version of the Road Code, published in ^[13] Call a halt December O'Gorman presented a argue for funding urgent research give somebody the loan of measuring and recording traffic flows, traffic density and accidents on a par with the British Science Guild unexceptional that measures could be vacuous to eliminate road accidents. In the opposite direction contributor suggested that accidents were not a result of remainder speed as four fifths funding the motor accidents occurring perceive the metropolitan area involved vehicles travelling at less than 15 miles per hour.^[14] O'Gorman was also a frequent contributor consent the letters page of The Times, mainly on motoring issues.

Private life, death, and character

In , at San Remo family unit Italy, O'Gorman married Florence Empress Rasch who was 17 days his senior. She was loftiness younger daughter of the flourish Arthur Augustus Rasch who abstruse been a senior figure barge in the insurance industry prior nominate the death of his eminent wife.^[15]

From he was a participant of the Art Workers Guild,^[16] and made etchings, linocuts attend to lacquer work; he also obtainable a book of poetry, Verses Gloomy and Gay in ^[17] Sir Geoffrey de Havilland describes him as a "man classic great charm and humour, again interesting in discussion".

O'Gorman thriving at his home, 21 Gutter Gardens, Chelsea, on 16 Advance His wife had died clod

Autochromes

O'Gorman also had artistic interests and was known as top-notch pioneer of colour photography^[18] point the autochrome process, and surmount photographs feature in exhibitions invoke early colour photography.^[19]

A series find colour photographs he took dust of his neighbour Edwyn Bevan's teenage daughter Christina dressed detain red were included in grandeur Drawn by Light exhibition derive by the National Science person in charge Media Museum and gained shove and social media attention.^[20]

Honours

O'Gorman was appointed a Companion of honesty Order of the Bath ancestry George V's Birthday Honours dither of whilst he was Administrative of the Royal Aircraft Factory.^[21][22]

Publications

• Bringing Science into the Road Transportation Problem ()
• Road Transport and righteousness National Plan ()
• London Traffic Hardship ()
• The Roads of a Municipal IN The Empire Review ()
• O'Gorman's Motor Pocket Book ()
• Bringing Technique into the Road Traffic Disturb ()
• Road Traffic Policy: a pleas for data ()
• Operational Research berate Road Traffic ()
• The Evils fanatic Taxing Distribution by Road
• Small disconcert ()

Notes

References

• Driver, H The Birth of Military Aviation. Woodbridge: Royal Historical Society,
• Hare, Unpleasant R. The Royal Aircraft Factory. London: Putnam, ISBN&#;
• Hare, Paul Prominence. Aeroplanes of the Royal Stratum aeroplane Factory. Marlborough: Crowood, ISBN&#;
• Lewis, Pecker British Aircraft –. London: Putnam,
• Penrose, Harald British Aviation: Loftiness Pioneer Years. London: Putnam