The Master and Wardens were delighted to learn recently that our Honorary Liveryman, The Chief Royal Engineer, Lieutenant General Tyrone Urch CBE has been recognised by The Association for Project Management at its recent annual awards ceremony for his work in leading Defence’s support for the Covid 19 response in the UK, with receipt of the APM’s Outstanding Achievement Award. Further information may be found on the APM Website here. Many congratulations to General Ty and, as he says, the service personnel he has led from the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force in responding to the pandemic.

(Photo by Cpl Simon Lucas)

Liveryman Dr Jane Atkinson, Engineering & Automation Executive Director for Bilfinger UK, was appointed as a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in HM The Queen’s Birthday Honours List published on 10th October, for services to Chemical Engineering.

The Master, Wardens and all members of the Company, belatedly, send their warmest congratulations to Jane on this outstanding achievement.

Jane was amongst the female members of the Company celebrated on International Women in Engineers Day 2020 (see the 23 June Blog Post).  She was also named as ‘The Most Influential Woman in UK Engineering’ in 2019 in an annual list produced by the board appointments firm Inclusive Boards, in partnership with the Financial Times.

The Master was delighted to be able to congratulate Ms Sarah Haslam on being appointed as a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in HM The Queen’s Birthday Honours List published on 10th October, for services to engineering and the promotion of STEM careers for women, when she appeared before the Court on the afternoon of 14th October to make her declaration as a new Freeman of the Company.  The Wardens and all Court Assistants present joined him in offering her their warmest congratulations.

Sarah was joined by seven others who made their declaration as new Freemen of the Company at the same time:  Prof David Orr, Mrs Sue Threader, Dr Costa Franceskides, Dr Larissa Suzuki, Prof Bob Cryan, Mr Trevor Hirst and Eur Ing Tim Lai.  All were made most welcome.

At the same Court meeting four Freeman made their declarations as new Liverymen: Davinder Reehal, Ben Ralph, Paul Mayo and Komal Raghobur.  This was only possible due to a special ruling by the Court of Aldermen in response to the pandemic earlier in the year.  They will return at a later date, in person, to be clothed in the Company’s Livery.

The Master, Wardens and all members of the Company send their warmest congratulations to Liverymen Dawn Childs and Dick Elsy CBE who were yesterday announced as amongst 53 new Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering for 2020.   It is welcome recognition for their outstanding careers to date.

In addition, congratulations are offered to Billy Boyle, similarly elected FREng, and leader of the Owslstone Medical Team that won the 2019 MacRobert Prize awarded by the Academy and jointly funded by the Engineers Trust.

Last Saturday, 18 July 2020, HRH The Duke of Kent celebrated the 25th anniversary of his becoming a Freeman and Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Engineers.

It was at the Court meeting of 18 July 1995 that His Royal Highness was admitted to both the Freedom and Livery of the Company, during the Mastership of PM Lawrence Turner OBE.  In addition, he graciously agreed to serve as a Court Assistant; which he did for the next nine years – a commitment greatly appreciated and valued by a young, modern Livery Company.  Furthermore, it was The Duke who, on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen, presented the Company with its first Royal Charter on 27 April 2004.

The Master has conveyed his and all members’ very best wishes to His Royal Highness’ Private Secretary; and our delight at celebrating his ‘Engineers Company Silver Jubilee’.

The Royal Academy of Engineering has today announced the winner of the 2020 MacRobert Award.  The winner is:

JCB (Staffordshire) for developing and manufacturing the world’s first volume-produced fully electric digger (19C-1E), with zero exhaust emissions, improved productivity, outstanding noise and vibration characteristics and emission-free at point of use for use inside buildings. Rapid urbanisation is happening across the globe, but this is negatively impacting air quality and global warming initiatives. The JCB 19C-1E signals the beginning of a revolution in conscious construction, and is the only volume produced battery-powered excavator on the market. To date, the current fleet has saved the equivalent of 15,100kg in CO2 emissions across 5,616 hours of work.

In light of Covid-19 the Academy has arranged a panel discussion on the theme of  “Powering Net Zero Britain”, to be held 7 – 8 pm on Tuesday 21st July.    Amongst others on the Panel will be Tim Burnhope FREng, Chief Innovation and Growth Officer at JCB,  a member of the winning team.  Registrations for the event may be made through the Royal Academy Website here.

In these challenging times, the Worshipful Company of Engineers chalked up another first yesterday – it’s first Common Hall, or Annual General Meeting, held virtually.  72 attended and heard a comprehensive report on the previous year from the Master, Immediate Past Master, outgoing Chair of the Engineers Trust and the Honorary Treasurer.

It also provided an opportunity for 12 new Freemen to make their declarations as Freemen of the Company, ‘in front’ of many more members than would normally be the case at a Court meeting.  A screenshot of all 72 is too large to display, so just the new Freemen are shown.  The Master, Wardens and all Members congratulate: Edward Picton, Jonathan Rodgers, Stefan Kukula, Stephen Futter, Paul Mayo, Julie Wood, Neil Glover, Voytek Rzadkosz, Simon Evans, Komal Raghobur, Bryan Humphrey and Ian Raymond Joesbury on joining – you are all MOST WELCOME!