Sir Henry Beyer Robertson (4 May 1862 – 2 June 1948) was a British industrialist. He was the son of

Henry Robertson Henry Robertson (11 June 1816 – 22 March 1888) was a Scottish mining engineer and prolific railway builder, industrialist and Liberal Party politician. He was head of Brymbo Steelworks, Wrexham. He was co-founder of Beyer-Peacock, with Char ...

, of Palé Hall,

Llandderfel Llandderfel is a village and a sparsely populated community in Gwynedd, Wales, near Bala, formerly served by the Llandderfel railway station. The community also includes the settlements of Glan-yr-afon, Llanfor, Cefnddwysarn and Frongoch. T ...

. Born in Shrewsbury, he was the son of

(11 June 1816 – 22 March 1888) and Elizabeth Dean (9 December 1821 – 14 March 1892, formerly of

Brymbo Hall Brymbo Hall, one of Britain's lost houses, was a manor house located near Brymbo outside the town of Wrexham, North Wales. The house, reputed to have been partly built to the designs of Inigo Jones,''Encyclopædia Britannica'', vol 24, 1911, p. ...

). He was christened Henry Beyer Robertson in respect of his German-born godfather,

Charles Beyer Charles Frederick Beyer (an anglicised form of his original German name Carl Friedrich Beyer) (14 May 1813 – 2 June 1876) was a celebrated German-British locomotive designer and builder, and co-founder of the Institution of Mechanical Engineer ...

. Beyer was one of the leading locomotive designers of his day and co-founder of one of the world's largest and most famous independent locomotive manufacturers, Beyer, Peacock & Company, based in

Gorton Gorton is an area of Manchester in North West England, southeast of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 36,055. Neighbouring areas include Levenshulme and Openshaw. A major landmark is Gorton Monastery, a 19th-century Hig ...

, Manchester. It was founded by three partners; Beyer, Henry Robertson, and

Richard Peacock Richard Peacock (9 April 1820 – 3 March 1889) was an English engineer, one of the founders of locomotive manufacturer Beyer, Peacock and Company. Early life and education Born in Swaledale, Yorkshire, Richard Peacock was educated at Leeds G ...

. Sir Henry would also later become a director in the firm. He was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into ...

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

, and Jesus College Cambridge. Robertson served in the

Royal Welsh Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers ( cy, Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales' Division, that was founded in 1689; shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated ...

from 1882 to 1883. He was a director of the Great Western Railway. His father was the engineer of many of the railways in Wales which had been taken over by the GWR. He was the head of

Brymbo Steelworks The Brymbo Steel Works was a former large steelworks in the village of Brymbo near Wrexham, Wales. In operation between 1796 and 1990, it was significant on account of its founder, one of whose original blast furnace stacks remains on the site ...

, and during the

First World 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 ...

ensured maximum production of iron and steel at Brymbo for munitions. He rescued the works from bankruptcy in the 1931 following the Great Depression. He successfully negotiated a contract to supply steel to

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

, for aero engine production, during Britain's rearming in response to Germany's growing military build up in the late 1930s. His father had rescued the original Brymbo Ironworks (founded by John Wilkinson) in the 1840s, and introduce steel-making in the 1880s. He was knighted in 1890 in recognition of his father, who died before he could be knighted. appointed Deputy Lieutenant, and nominated for Sheriff for

Merionethshire , HQ= Dolgellau , Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= , Status= , Start= 1284 , End= , Code= MER , CodeName= ...

. His father had died in 1888, just prior to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

's visit to Palé Hall in 1889, and it fell to Henry Beyer Robertson to play host. He and his wife had seven children. They had five daughters, Jean (born 1892), Mary (born 1893), Elizabeth (born 1894), Annie (born 1895), followed by two boys, Henry (born 1897), and Duncan (born 1900).Registry; BMD index

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Henry Beyer 1862 births 1948 deaths Knights Bachelor