Sir Ernest Holloway (24 April 1887 – 27 February 1961) was a British civil engineer. As Assistant Director of Works at the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

from 1934 to 1937, Deputy Director of Works from 1937 to 1939, Director of Works from 1939 until his retirement in 1947, he oversaw a massive program of construction of airbases and facilities for the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

and the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

. He died in 1961 at the age of 73.

Early life and war service

Ernest Holloway was born on 24 April 1887. He was educated at

King Edward's School, Birmingham King Edward's School (KES) is an independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by Edward VI of England, King Edward VI in 1552, it ...

, and studied engineering at the Central Technical Institute. Between 1902 and 1906, he received technical training under T. H. Shipton, and stayed on as his assistant when he completed his training. Between 1908 and 1915, he worked for the Rural District Councils of

Evesham Evesham () is a market town and parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon. It lies within the Vale of Evesha ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

and

Pebworth Pebworth is a village and civil parish in the county of Worcestershire, lying about 5 miles north-north-west of the town of Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire. Until 1931, the parish – which includes the hamlet of Broad Marston – was itself ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, where he worked on civil engineering projects, such as water supplies, sewers, bridges and roads. He oversaw five housing schemes in Gloucestershire, which involved the construction of roads and access to utilities. During the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Holloway served with the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

and the

(RAF), rising to the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. For his service, he was made an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

1919 New Year honours The 1919 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Jan ...

Civil Service career

After the war, Holloway join the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

as a civil engineer in the

, with responsibility for works in the South Eastern District area, with an annual budget of £300,000 (equivalent to £ in ). He was promoted to Superintending Engineer, Grade 2, in 1922, and from 1925 to 1928 worked on the £5,000,000 (equivalent to £ in ) Air Ministry Home Defence Expansion programme. Between 1928 and 1930 he was the Superintending Engineer, Grade 1, Coastal Area, responsible for construction of coastal stations, seaplane bases and training establishments. From 1930 to 1932, Holloway was the chief engineer for the

Air Defence of Great Britain The Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB) was a RAF command comprising substantial army and RAF elements responsible for the air defence of the British Isles. It lasted from 1925, following recommendations that the RAF take control of homeland air ...

. He then became the chief engineer for the RAF in the Middle East, overseeing works in Egypt, the Sudan, Yemen, Palestine and Jordan. He was Assistant Director of Works at the Air Ministry from 1934 to 1937, overseeing a £33,000,000 (equivalent to £ in ) programme that involved the construction of 50 new RAF bases. He became Deputy Director of Works in 1937, and Director of Works in 1939. As such he oversaw the wartime construction of bases for the RAF and the

. He retired in 1947.

Later life and legacy

For his services he was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

in the

1941 New Year Honours The 1941 New Year Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 31 December 1940.United Kingdom and Britis ...

, and promoted to

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

in the 1944 Birthday Honours. He died on 27 February 1961. He was survived by his wife and two daughters.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holloway, Ernest 1887 births 1961 deaths British people of World War II Civil servants in the Air Ministry English civil engineers Royal Air Force officers Royal Flying Corps officers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath British Army personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War I