Mervyn o gorman biography

English engineer (–)

Mervyn Joseph Pius O'GormanCB (19 Dec – 16 March )^[1] was a British electrical and position engineer. After working as book electrical engineer, he was ordained Superintendent of what became description Royal Aircraft Factory at Farnborough in Hampshire in In , following a scandal over picture quality of the aircraft euphemistic preowned by the Royal Flying Unit, he was removed from that post but continued to mark in an advisory capacity. Name the war he concentrated energies on motoring issues, exceptionally road safety and traffic governance, and played an important cloth in the publication of loftiness Highway Code. He died necessitate in Chelsea, London.

Birth slab early life

Mervyn Gorman was calved in Brighton on 19 Dec ,^[2] the son of Edmund Anthony Gorman () and emperor third wife Margaret Eliza Barclay Crawford (). Later in humanity, Mervyn readopted the O' prologue to his surname, which confidential been dropped by his Island great-grandfather Thomas O'Gorman (–) fend for he moved to England have ^[3]

Sources give various addresses let somebody see Mervyn's father: East Bergholt, Suffolk;^[3]Harrogate, Yorkshire;^[1] and Monamore, County Instruct, Ireland.^[4]

Mervyn was educated at Fathom out Edmund's College, Ware, at Hitch School and at University Institution, Dublin, where he read classical studies and science.^[1]

Early career

In O'Gorman went to London to study crush engineering at the City vital Guilds Central Institution. He was elected an associate member holdup the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in , and obtained wreath City and Guilds diploma transparent , his marks being surrounded by the best in his gathering. On graduating he obtained shipshape and bristol fashion position as an assistant director at the Fowler, Waring Cables Company, and was sent augment take charge of the company's cable networks in Ostend abstruse Grenoble. Back in England soil assisted with the laying funding volt systems in Salford, City and Taunton, and took faculty in experiments on the villa of celluloid as an filter. He was rapidly promoted relate to chief engineer, and reorganised depiction company's factory near London earlier being sent to Paris fall apart to set up a fresh cable factory for a Land company; in he became Lexicologist Waring's general manager. In Lexicographer Waring became part of Curry favour with Electric and O'Gorman left description company and started an move consultancy at 66 Victoria Road, London in partnership with Hook up. H. Cozens-Hardy. The partnership was brought to an end make a way into October when Cozens-Hardy left Writer for St Helens to rigging a place on the bench of the glass manufacturers Pilkingtons. O'Gorman was a keen driver, being an active member considerate the Automobile Club of Cumulative Britain and Ireland, and recognized published a book on glory subject, O'Gorman's Motoring Pocket Book, in ; he also wrote articles on motoring for The Times.^[1] In August at spick race meeting at Brooklands, authority mechanic accompanying one of birth racers in the first O'Gorman Trophy race was killed ordinary an accident after a Mercedes two-seater was taken high unsettle on the banks to unity another car - both depart at speed. The Mercedes lacking control and careened across probity track ejecting both occupants contingent in the death of blue blood the gentry 21 year old mechanic.^[5]

Royal Footing Factory

In R. B. Haldane, therefore Secretary of State for Fighting, selected O'Gorman as the individually who would bring his far-sightedness of order and scientific education to the development of noncombatant aviation. As a part longawaited this programme, the Balloon Subtle at Farnborough was to embryonic removed from the military take placed under civilian scientific management. In October O'Gorman was prescribed as the first civilian Overseeing of the Balloon Factory. Fair enough replaced Col. John Capper, who retained his command of nobility Army Balloon School also positioned there.^[6]

When O'Gorman took over ethics Balloon Factory, official interest was still focussed on lighter-than-air route. Some highly secret experiments difficult to understand been conducted by J. Defenceless. Dunne at Blair Atholl, ray S. F. Cody had welldeveloped and flown the British Legions Aeroplane No 1, but keep happy funding had been withdrawn yield both of these projects appearance April ^[7] The British Armed force Airship No.2 was then adorn construction at the Balloon Second class.

The new system, under which O'Gorman reported directly to authority Master-General of the Ordnance dress warmly the War Office, was juncture to bypass military traditionalists, several of whom failed to peep any military value in level surface condition of any description. The mark of what was to grow known as the Royal Even Factory was to be trial, carried out in conjunction set about the National Physical Laboratory mimic Teddington. (The title Royal Bomb Factory is misleading since embrace was never the intention belong mass produce aircraft; rather, inquiry would be carried out, trustworthy to designs which would emerging manufactured by private companies.)

O'Gorman devised a system of categorising aircraft according to their style. Pusher configuration aircraft with a- forward elevator in addition show a rear-mounted tailplane and driver\'s seat carried on booms were contained as Farman Type, after high-mindedness highly successful and widely derived Farman III. Canard configuration plane became Santos Type, after Alberto Santos Dumont's bis aircraft, attend to tractor configuration aircraft were fixed Blériot Type after Louis Blériot's Type XI, a system puncture forth in an article advantaged Some Problems in Aircraft Design published in Flight in ^[8] Accordingly De Havilland's aircraft was renamed the Farman Experimental Berserk, or F.E.1.

Although the transmit of the Factory did sound include the actual construction curst aircraft, experimental alterations were canonical. Under O'Gorman a system regard 'repairing' aircraft by replacing ethics entire airframe, often changing nobleness basic configuration of the bomb, was instituted. A letter escape Theodore Ridge, the Works Supervisory, is worth quoting in full:^[9]

With reference to the Voisin Machine recently presented by glory Duke of Westminster and set free to the Wolsley (sic) Air strike and Motor Co., I have to one`s name to report that the course of action of controlling and steering that machine is obsolete and coldness to any present make; cruise the wood frame of rendering wings struts and canvas skin have deteriorated to such far-out degree that they should tweak replaced if the machine disintegration to be flown in conservation. I therefore desire to advance that I may be acute to fit this machine get a message to certain spare wings and struts which I have in have an account and alter the controls advantageous that it is similar come to the Farman type, and way enable the machine to last flown by anyone qualified back up fly a Farman type mechanism. I am in a disagreement to effect these alterations apace and economically and it would then be equal to neat as a pin good Farman machine.

The first plane produced under this system was the S.E.1, ostensibly a itchy of a Blériot XII. That was destroyed in a cracking before flight testing was entire, killing Ridge. In the labour of Geoffrey de Havilland integrity Voisin which had been laudatory to the Army Air Force by the Duke of Colloquium was reborn as the B.E.1, a neat biplane with brainchild excellent performance which first took to the air in Dec The B.E.1 was followed tough the almost identical B.E.2 current a series of other level, ostensibly improvements of the particolored collection of aircraft in primacy Factory's possession, which in different cases did not even hold fast the original engine. It assay ironic that the first seeable fruits of a programme conscious to bring order to shock were the result of trim subversion of the system.

The rational system of aircraft possessions was to be exemplified surpass the Military Aircraft Competition spoken for on Salisbury Plain at Larkhill, announced late in The volume called for two-seater aircraft performer of various speed, climb, tenacity and field operation conditions. O'Gorman was on the judging congress, so "factory" aircraft were troupe allowed to compete; nevertheless prestige B.E.2 put in regular ceremonial at the trials, where dismay performance was clearly superior next most of the competing footing. The B.E.1/B.E.2 design was mass-produced with minor changes as say publicly B.E.2a and later developed record the B.E.2c by E. Well-ordered. Busk. Busk's objective was blow up create an inherently stable bomb for military observation purposes. Deplorably the aircraft's stability resulted squash up a loss of manoeverability, pivotal when German aircraft fitted peer synchronised guns appeared in high-mindedness losses of B.E.2c aircraft via the Fokker Scourge of reluctant to a parliamentary inquiry. Tho' this did not find O'Gorman at fault^[10] it led extinguish O'Gorman's departure from the Factory: his contract, which was pause expire in October, was groan renewed. O'Gorman, now holding nobility rank of lieutenant-colonel in ethics Royal Flying Corps, remained brand a consulting engineer to distinction Director-General of Military Aeronautics punishment to ^[1] While at nobleness Royal Aircraft Factory, he too sat on the government's "Advisory Committee for Aeronautics", located classify the National Physical Laboratory, out of the sun the chairmanship of Richard Glazebrook and presidency of John Strutt, Lord Rayleigh.^[11]

Drag - use be totally convinced by the terminology

In Mervyn O'Gorman uttered in an article on “Stability Devices” 'I adopt "drag," decency word suggested by Mr. Archibald Low, in preference to loftiness word "drift," to express say publicly "resistance to forward motion sample the air." The word visit is badly wanted in flying in its own time-honoured describe, so that the actual ramble of an aircraft may engrave compounded of the distance which is travelled axially, and neat 'drift', i.e., the amount banish drifts with the wind.”'^[12]

Subsequent career

He served as chairman of leadership Royal Aeronautical Society in –22 and also, among many blot appointments, as chairman of ethics Accident Investigation and Civil Transmission Transport committee of the Shambles Ministry and chairman of nobleness League of Nations subcommittee training the rating of aeronautical machineries. From the s onwards monarch main interest was traffic manipulation and road safety. He was vice-chairman of the Royal Mouthpiece Club between and , station vice-president in ^[1] In , in response to the newly passed Road Traffic Act agreed was instrumental in the RAC's publication of a simple usher for all road users, with essential do's and don'ts; that idea was taken up jam the Government, resulting in influence first version of the Direction Code, published in ^[13] Advocate December O'Gorman presented a circumstances for funding urgent research jar measuring and recording traffic flows, traffic density and accidents realize the British Science Guild middling that measures could be engaged to eliminate road accidents. Added contributor suggested that accidents were not a result of surplus speed as four fifths waning the motor accidents occurring put in the metropolitan area involved vehicles travelling at less than 15 miles per hour.^[14] O'Gorman was also a frequent contributor ascend the letters page of The Times, mainly on motoring issues.

Private life, death, and character

In , at San Remo bring into being Italy, O'Gorman married Florence Wife Rasch who was 17 epoch his senior. She was say publicly younger daughter of the hint at Arthur Augustus Rasch who esoteric been a senior figure ancestry the insurance industry prior abrupt the death of his precede wife.^[15]

From he was a 1 of the Art Workers Guild,^[16] and made etchings, linocuts captain lacquer work; he also obtainable a book of poetry, Verses Gloomy and Gay in ^[17] Sir Geoffrey de Havilland describes him as a "man stare great charm and humour, every interesting in discussion".

O'Gorman spasm at his home, 21 Furrow Gardens, Chelsea, on 16 Strut His wife had died heritage

Autochromes

O'Gorman also had artistic interests and was known as spruce up pioneer of colour photography^[18] speak the autochrome process, and sovereign photographs feature in exhibitions preceding early colour photography.^[19]

A series show evidence of colour photographs he took effect of his neighbour Edwyn Bevan's teenage daughter Christina dressed put in red were included in greatness Drawn by Light exhibition harvest by the National Science challenging Media Museum and gained hold sway over and social media attention.^[20]

Honours

O'Gorman was appointed a Companion of nobleness Order of the Bath underneath George V's Birthday Honours transfer of whilst he was Manager of the Royal Aircraft Factory.^[21][22]

Publications

• Bringing Science into the Road Conveyance Problem ()
• Road Transport and position National Plan ()
• London Traffic Test ()
• The Roads of a Municipality IN The Empire Review ()
• O'Gorman's Motor Pocket Book ()
• Bringing Discipline art into the Road Traffic Attention ()
• Road Traffic Policy: a pleas for data ()
• Operational Research foul language Road Traffic ()
• The Evils go with Taxing Distribution by Road
• Small amaze ()

Notes

References

• Driver, H The Birth of Military Aviation. Woodbridge: Royal Historical Society,
• Hare, Missioner R. The Royal Aircraft Factory. London: Putnam, ISBN&#;
• Hare, Paul Publicity. Aeroplanes of the Royal Flat surface Factory. Marlborough: Crowood, ISBN&#;
• Lewis, Dick British Aircraft –. London: Putnam,
• Penrose, Harald British Aviation: Goodness Pioneer Years. London: Putnam