Ernest Walter Hives, 1st Baron Hives (21 April 1886 – 24 April 1965), was the one-time head of the Rolls-Royce Aero Engine division and chairman of Rolls-Royce Ltd. Hives was born in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

to John and Mary Hives, living at 31 Christchurch Road from at least 1891 to 1901. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was closely involved with the design of the

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

engine as well as numerous later Rolls-Royce

jet engines A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include rocket, water jet, and hybrid propulsion, the term typicall ...

. He began his working life in a local garage. However, in 1903 he got a job working at C.S. Rolls' car company, after fixing Rolls' car.

Achievements

After becoming a chief test driver in 1908, he led the Rolls-Royce team in the Austrian Alpine Trial in 1913. During the First World War the company designed its first aero-engine, the

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

, and Hives developed it successfully; by 1916 he was Head of the Experimental Department. In 1919 the Eagle powered the twin-engined

Vickers Vimy The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft developed and manufactured by Vickers Limited. Developed during the latter stages of the First World War to equip the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), the Vimy was designed by Reginald Kirshaw "Rex" ...

bomber on the first direct flight across the Atlantic. In 1920 Hives was appointed

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

. Other notable engines were later developed under Hives' lead. Of these the

Buzzard Buzzard is the common name of several species of birds of prey. ''Buteo'' species * Archer's buzzard (''Buteo archeri'') * Augur buzzard (''Buteo augur'') * Broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') * Common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') * Eastern ...

was the most important, leading to the ‘ R’ series, which powered the

Supermarine S.6 The Supermarine S.6 is a 1920s British single-engined single-seat racing seaplane built by Supermarine. The S.6 continued the line of Supermarine seaplane racers that were designed for Schneider Trophy contests of the late 1920 and 1930s. Desi ...

seaplanes that won the

Schneider Trophy The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider, also known as the Schneider Trophy, Schneider Prize or (incorrectly) the Schneider Cup is a trophy that was awarded annually (and later, biennially) to the winner of a race for seaplanes and flying ...

in 1929 and 1931 for Rolls-Royce, and most importantly the famous

engine. In 1936 he became the general works manager of the factory and a year later was elected to the board. He lived at 37, St. Chads Rd., Derby until around 1937, then at 'Hazeldene', Duffield. In 1937, thinking war would soon be inevitable, he prepared the firm for a massive production increase in Merlin engines by splitting facilities between engineering and production and developing shadow factories. As the Merlin powered

Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griff ...

s and Lancasters (as well as the best forgotten

Fairey Battle The Fairey Battle is a British single-engine light bomber that was designed and manufactured by the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed during the mid-1930s for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a monoplane successor to the Hawker Hart and Hi ...

), this was a vitally strategic decision when war did come. Thanks to Hives no less than a hundred and sixty thousand Merlins were produced by 1945. His team directive was ''"Work till it hurts and

W. A. Robotham William Arthur Robotham (26 November 1899 - 1980) was a Rolls-Royce executive involved in the development of Rolls-Royce cars, during World War II of tanks and tank engines, and post-war of Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars complete with bodies and th ...

said that when he was attached to ''"this remarkable man"'' for a few (wartime) days ''I became completely exhausted and made absolutely no contribution towards easing his load''. After visiting the Hillingdon Merlin factory, the night train from Glasgow to London arrived at Trent at the unearthly hour of 5.20 a.m. so (if you couldn't sleep on the train like Hives) walking with him round the Derby factory before breakfast was a gruelling experience. Robotham was responsible to Hives for the Car Division, and Hives supported Robotham in developing and manufacturing the

Meteor A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as micr ...

tank engine. In 1941-42 Hives had decided 'to go all out for the

gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...

, to ensure the company a leading role in developing jet engines for civil and military aviation. In December 1942 when

Rover Rover may refer to: People * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Places * Rover, Arkansas, US * Rover, Missouri, US * ...

was having problems with

Frank Whittle Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, (1 June 1907 – 8 August 1996) was an English engineer, inventor and Royal Air Force (RAF) air officer. He is credited with inventing the turbojet engine. A patent was submitted by Maxime Guillaume in 1921 for ...

and his company

Power Jets Power Jets was a British company set up by Frank Whittle for the purpose of designing and manufacturing jet engines. The company was nationalised in 1944, and evolved into the National Gas Turbine Establishment. History Founded on 27 Januar ...

in developing their first gas turbine engine, the

Rolls-Royce Welland The Rolls-Royce RB.23 Welland was Britain's first production jet engine.Janes 1989, p.268. It entered production in 1943 for the Gloster Meteor. The name Welland is taken from the River Welland, in keeping with the Rolls-Royce policy of naming ...

, Hives met with

Spencer Wilks Spencer Bernau Wilks (26 May 189110 March 1971) was a British manager and administrator in the motor manufacturing industry. He served variously in positions including Managing Director, Chairman, and President of the Rover Company from 1929 unt ...

of Rover and arranged to exchange Rover's gas turbine business for Rolls-Royce's Nottingham factory producing

Rolls-Royce Meteor The Rolls-Royce Meteor later renamed the Rover Meteor is a British tank engine that was developed during the Second World War. It was used in British tanks up to 1964. It was a result of co-operation between Leyland Motors and Rolls-Royce who betw ...

tank engines (which Rover were already producing). This exchange (effective 1 April 1943) gave Rolls-Royce (whose major product was piston aero engines) an entry into jet engine manufacture. Vice-Chief of Air Staff Sir

Wilfrid Freeman Air Chief Marshal Sir Wilfrid Rhodes Freeman, 1st Baronet, (18 July 1888 – 15 May 1953) was one of the most important influences on the rearmament of the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the years up to and including the Second World War. RAF caree ...

, one of the masterminds behind the dramatic advances in British aircraft production before and during World War II, paid tribute to Hives's dedication in a letter to his wife: Hives became managing director in 1946 and chairman of Rolls-Royce from 1950 till 1957. He was Chairman of the

National Council for Technological Awards The National Council for Technological Awards was a UK statutory body responsible for awarding Diplomas in Technology and Engineering undertaken in higher education colleges. It operated from 1955 to 1964 when its responsibilities devolved to the ...

from 1955 to 1960. He was appointed to the

Order of the Companions of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. Founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire, it is sometimes ...

in the

1943 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1943 were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by people of the British Empire. They were published on 2 June 1943 for the United Kingdom and Canada. The re ...

and on 7 July 1950 he was raised to the peerage as

Baron Hives Baron Hives, of Duffield in the County of Derby, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created 7 July 1950 for the Ernest Hives, Chairman of Rolls-Royce Ltd. the title is held by his grandson, the third Baron, who succeeded hi ...

, of Duffield in the County of Derby. Robotham has a chapter on Hives (Chapter 21) in his own biography. He played a critical role in the UK Nuclear Submarine programme. When the highly irascible but utterly pivotal

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Admiral Rickover visited the UK in 1957 to inspect the British nuclear design team at Rolls-Royce, Rickover was "at his obnoxious worst". After one particularly difficult morning he was introduced to Lord Hives.

Personal life

He married Gertrude E Warwick (born 9 December 1890) in 1913. His son, Pilot Officer Edward Ernest Hives, was killed in action flying with

RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

in October 1940. He retired in 1957 and died on 24 April 1965, aged 79, at the

National Hospital for Nervous Diseases The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (informally the National Hospital or Queen Square) is a neurological hospital in Queen Square, London. It is part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It was the f ...

Queen Square, London Queen Square is a garden square in the Bloomsbury district of central London. Many of its buildings are associated with medicine, particularly neurology. Construction Queen Square was originally constructed between 1716 and 1725. It was forme ...

.England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1965, page 549 He was succeeded in the barony by his son John. His younger daughter, Philippa Hives, married Judge Alexander Morrison in 1978.

Arms

References

Notes

Bibliography

*Lumsden, Alec. ''British Piston Engines and their Aircraft''. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. . * Pugh, Peter. ''The Magic of a Name - The Rolls-Royce Story - The First 40 Years''. Cambridge, England. Icon Books Ltd, 2000. * Furse, Anthony. ''Wilfrid Freeman: the genius behind Allied survival and air supremacy 1939 to 1945''. Staplehurst. Spellmount, 2000. * Hennessy, Peter and Jinks, James. ''The Silent Deep'' Allen Lane 2015 * * Watson, W.R. ''The Derbyshire village of Duffield, past and present''. Chevin Books, 1991. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hives, Ernest Walter 1886 births 1965 deaths Rolls-Royce people Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Members of the Order of the British Empire Royal Aeronautical Society Gold Medal winners 20th-century English businesspeople Barons created by George VI