Sir John Maurice Laing (1 February 1918 – 22 February 2008) was a senior executive of British construction company

John Laing plc John Laing Group plc is a British investor, developer and operator of privately financed, public sector infrastructure projects such as roads, railways, hospitals and schools through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and Private Finance Initiativ ...

. He was the first president of the

Confederation of British Industry The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is a UK business organisation, which in total claims to speak for 190,000 businesses, this is made up of around 1,500 direct members and 188,500 non-members. The non members are represented through the 1 ...

in 1965–66.

Early life

Laing was born in

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, the younger son of Sir John Laing. The family were strict

Christian Brethren The Open Brethren, sometimes called Christian Brethren, are a group of Evangelicalism, Evangelical Christianity, Christian churches that arose in the late 1820s as part of the Assembly Movement within the Plymouth Brethren tradition. They origina ...

. Laing's father had been running the family construction firm, John Laing & Son, since 1910, and Laing worked for the firm in his school holidays. The headquarters of the business moved from Carlisle to

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18, ...

in 1926, and Laing was educated at

St Lawrence College, Ramsgate St Lawrence College is a co-educational independent school situated in Ramsgate, Kent and has been established as a "public school" ever since it was founded. History The college was founded in 1879 as South Eastern College (colours: gold ...

. In 1935, aged 17, he began to work full-time with his father at the family firm. Meanwhile, his elder brother, Sir

William Kirby Laing Sir William "Kirby" Laing (21 July 1916 – 12 April 2009) was a British civil engineer. Career Laing was born in Carlisle in 1916.. He was a member of the Laing Family, famous in the British construction industry for running John Laing plc. ...

, studied engineering at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. After working as a trainee, he began managing the construction of new airfields and

barrage balloon A barrage balloon is a large uncrewed tethered balloon used to defend ground targets against aircraft attack, by raising aloft steel cables which pose a severe collision risk to aircraft, making the attacker's approach more difficult. Early barra ...

stations in 1938.

World War II

Despite his reserved occupation, and against his father's wishes, he joined the

RAF 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 ...

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 initially served in the ranks, and was a

Leading Aircraftman Leading aircraftman (LAC) or leading aircraftwoman (LACW) is a junior rank in some air forces. It sits between aircraftman and senior aircraftman, and has a NATO rank code of OR-2. The rank badge is a horizontal two-bladed propeller. The ra ...

when he was commissioned as a

Pilot Officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

RAFVR The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF) ...

on 30 October 1943; he was promoted Flying Officer in April 1944. His wife's poor health due to

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

delayed his training, but he qualified as a pilot in South Africa, and flew the second British glider across the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

Business career

Laing returned to construction in 1945. The company was floated on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

in 1953, and John Laing retired in 1957. Having climbed up the management structure of the firm, Maurice took the number 2 position in 1966, supporting his brother Kirby as chairman. The buildings and structures built by the firm ranged from the first 52 miles of the M1 – the first motorway in the UK – built in 1958 and 1959 to connect

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

and

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

; through

nuclear power station A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces elec ...

s; to the new

Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The curren ...

and

London Central Mosque The London Central Mosque (also known as the Regent's Park Mosque) is an Islamic place of worship located on the edge of Regent's Park in central London. Design and location It was designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd, completed in 1977, and ...

. Laing swapped positions with his brother in 1976, becoming chairman of the Laing Group. He separated the company's property division from its construction division, creating a separate company, Laing Properties, which was floated in 1978. He became the group's life president when he retired in 1982. Despite his opposition, the property company was taken over by P&O in 1992. He was a member of the

National Economic Development Council National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

from 1962 until 1966, and was a director of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

from 1963 to 1980. He was the last president of the British Employers' Federation in 1964. Following its merger with the

Federation of British Industries The Federation of British Industries (FBI) was an employers' association in the United Kingdom. Founded by the Midlands industrialist Dudley Docker in 1916 as the United British Industries' Association, but renamed later that same year, it was ini ...

and National Association of British Manufacturers, Laing was the first president of their successor, the CBI, in 1965. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the 1965

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

. He was also a governor of the

Administrative Staff College Henley Business School is a business school which now forms part of the University of Reading. It was formed by merging the previously independent Henley Management College (formerly the Administrative Staff College) with the existing business ...

and of the National Institute of Social and Economic Research, and president of the

Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing ...

. He was also president of the

London Bible College The London School of Theology (LST), formerly London Bible College, is a British interdenominational evangelical theological college based in Northwood within the London Borough of Hillingdon. History During the 1930s A. J. Vereker, secreta ...

. He enjoyed sailing in later life, regularly competing in the

Fastnet race The Fastnet Race is a biennial offshore yacht race organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club of the United Kingdom with the assistance of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes and the City of Cherbourg in France. The race is named after the Fastnet ...

. He was rear-commodore and a trustee of the

Royal Yacht Squadron The Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) is a British yacht club. Its clubhouse is Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. Member yachts are given the suffix RYS to their names, and are permitted (with the appropriate warrant) to we ...

, president of the

Royal Yachting Association The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is a United Kingdom national governing body for sailing, dinghy sailing, yacht and motor cruising, sail racing, RIBs and sportsboats, windsurfing and personal watercraft and a leading representative for inl ...

, and admiral of the

Royal Ocean Racing Club The Royal Ocean Racing Club is a club in London with a further clubhouse and office in Cowes, Isle of Wight. It was established in 1925 as the Ocean Racing Club, as a result of a race to the Fastnet Rock from Cowes, finishing in Plymouth. It rece ...

and of the

Island Sailing Club An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

based in

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floa ...

. Because of this love of sailing and yachting, Maurice Laing donated a sum of money to the Ocean Youth Club (later the Ocean Youth Trust) in 1990 to build a boat to help educate young people and disabled members of society in the fine art of yacht sailing. The subsequent boat was named John Laing after his father and is still taking on young people to teach, while also participating in many Tall Ship's Races, a two-year round the world voyage and a 5-month British Army expedition to the Antarctic.

Personal life

Laing married Hilda Richards in March 1940. He was survived by his wife and their son, John, who runs the Rufford Foundation, a private grant-making organisation.

References

Obituary—Sir Maurice Laing: Leading member of the well-known family of builders, he was the CBI's first president
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 25 February 2008
Sir Maurice Laing: Firebrand head of the Laing construction company who became the first president of the CBI
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 26 February 2008
Sir Maurice Laing: Industrialist and first president of the CBI whose family construction business built the first motorway in Britain
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 28 February 2008
Obituary, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 19 March 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laing, Maurice 1918 births 2008 deaths English industrialists Royal Air Force officers Knights Bachelor Businesspeople awarded knighthoods People educated at St Lawrence College, Ramsgate People from Carlisle, Cumbria People associated with the Bank of England Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Air Force pilots of World War II 20th-century English businesspeople