Sir Frederick Wilfrid Scott Stokes, (9 April 1860 – 7 February 1927) was the inventor in 1915 of the Stokes Mortar, which saw extensive use in the latter half of the First World War and was one of the first truly portable mortars. Stokes was born on 9 April 1860 in Liverpool, the son of Scott Nasmyth Stokes, a school inspector. He was educated at

St. Francis Xavier's College , motto_translation = Gentle In Manner; Resolute In Action , established = , religion = Catholic , faculty = 56 , enrollment = 700 , gender = Single-sex education, Boys school , language ...

and the Catholic University College, Kensington. Following an apprenticeship with the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

, he eventually became an assistant to William Shelford working on the designs for bridges for the Hull and Barnsley Railway. A

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

by trade, Stokes was appointed

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

and managing director of Ransomes & Rapier, an engineering company based in Ipswich, which manufactured

cranes Crane or cranes may refer to: Common meanings * Crane (bird), a large, long-necked bird * Crane (machine), industrial machinery for lifting ** Crane (rail), a crane suited for use on railroads People and fictional characters * Crane (surname), ...

. Between 1915 and 1918 Stokes worked for the Inventions Branch of the Ministry of Munitions where he invented the Stokes Mortar. The trench mortar was first used in 1915 during the Battle of Loos to fire a smoke shell. At first it was not liked but as the construction was improved it was widely used and eventually produced in two sizes. This mortar continued in use, its effectiveness being improved again and again by other British engineers. Stokes received a knighthood in 1917 for inventing the mortar which was named for him. He was also given several forms of monetary reward by the Ministry of Munitions for his invention including

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...

of £1 per Stokes mortar bomb. St Mary Magdalen, Mortlake, Wilfred Stokes (1860-1927)

Stokes married Iren Ionides in 1899. He is buried at St Mary Magdalen Roman Catholic Church, Mortlake. His brother Leonard Stokes was an architect. His nephew

Richard Stokes Richard or Dick Stokes may refer to: * Richard Stokes (politician), British soldier and politician * Richard Stokes (producer), British television producer * Richard Stokes (priest), English Anglican priest * Dick Stokes (hurler), Irish hurler * Dic ...

was a Labour MP and minister.

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1860 births 1927 deaths British people of World War I British inventors English civil engineers Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Engineers from Liverpool Weapon designers {{World-War-I-stub

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