Sir William "Kirby" Laing (21 July 1916 – 12 April 2009) was a British

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 ...

Career

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 ...

in 1916.. He was a member of the Laing Family, famous in the British construction industry for running John Laing plc. He was the son of Sir John Laing and the brother of Sir Maurice Laing. Kirby Laing learnt about the construction industry from his father and would visit the company's construction sites with him during the school holidays. Laing graduated from Emmanuel College at the

University of Cambridge , 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 ...

in 1937 and began work as a graduate engineer for John Laing plc. He was a member of the fifth generation of the Laing family to join the firm. 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 ...

Laing served in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

, receiving his commission as a

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

on 2 January 1944. He resigned his commission as a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the Territorial Army Reserve of Officers on 13 July 1955, although he was permitted to retain the honorary title of Lieutenant. In 1946 he became joint managing director of Laing (the parent company of John Laing plc) and from 1956 to 1976 he was chairman of the Laing Group. Whilst leading the company Laing built on their experience of

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

and housing construction and expanded into road building. In 1976 his brother, Maurice, was made chairman and Kirby became deputy chairman. Kirby retired as deputy chairman in 1980, having also been chairman of the Laing properties division. In 1968 Kirby had been elected a first class member of the

Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers The Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers was founded in England in 1771. It was the first engineering society to be formed anywhere in the world, and remains the oldest. It was originally known as the Society of Civil Engineers, being renamed fo ...

and would serve as their president in 1988.. He also served as president of the Institution of Civil Engineers from November 1973 to November 1974 and was an honorary member of the

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

.. Laing returned to military service by being invited to join the Engineer and Railway Staff Corps, an unpaid, voluntary Territorial Army unit which advises the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

on engineering matters. He joined as a

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 ...

on 14 October 1966, was commissioned

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

on 23 December 1967 and

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

on 17 May 1971. He became the corps' commanding officer on 12 January 1978 and retired from the army on 4 August 1997. In 1977 Laing was elected to the

Fellowship of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

. He was also president of the National Federation of Building Trades Employers and of the

London Master Builders Association London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

. He was also chairman of the

Construction Industry Research and Information Association Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

and the

National Joint Council of the Building Industry 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, ce ...

. In 1975 he chaired the government's Advisory Committee on Fixed Offshore Installations. He was a member of the

Royal Albert Hall Council Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

from 1970, served as their president from 1972 to 1992 and then remained their vice-president. Laing was made a

knight bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

on 8 June 1968, an honour which was conferred on him by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

on 5 November 1968. He served as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

and was made Deputy Lieutenant of London on 12 June 1978. Laing was made Deputy Lieutenant of

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

on 8 April 1987. He established the Kirby Laing Foundation as a charity to make grants and donations to charitable causes. Laing was married to Lady Isobel Laing and both were trustees of the foundation. His son

Martin Laing Sir John Martin Kirby Laing (born 18 January 1942) is a British entrepreneur in the construction industry. Martin Laing was executive chairman of John Laing plc, the firm founded by his great-great-grandfather James Laing (1816–1882), but res ...

became executive chairman of John Laing plc, but resigned in 2001 when the company faced major losses in its construction business, ending 152 years and six generations of family management.Daily Telegraph: "Chairman steps down from struggling Laing"
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References

Bibliography

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laing, Kirby Military personnel from Cumberland British civil engineers Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers Presidents of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers 1916 births Royal Engineers officers British Army personnel of World War II Deputy Lieutenants of Greater London Deputy Lieutenants of Hertfordshire English justices of the peace Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge People from Carlisle, Cumbria 2009 deaths Knights Bachelor Royal Engineers soldiers British Army officers Engineer and Railway Staff Corps officers