William Howard Livens, (28 March 1889 – 1 February 1964) was an engineer, a soldier in 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 ...
and an inventor particularly known for the design of
chemical warfare
Chemical warfare (CW) involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from nuclear warfare, biological warfare and radiological warfare, which together make up CBRN, the military acronym ...
and
flame warfare
A flamethrower is a ranged incendiary device designed to project a controllable jet of fire. First deployed by the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century AD, flamethrowers saw use in modern times during World War I, and more widely in World ...
weapons. Resourceful and clever, Livens' successful creations were characterised by being very practical and easy to produce in large numbers. In an obituary,
Sir Harold Hartley said "Livens combined great energy and enterprise with a flair for seeing simple solutions and inventive genius."
Livens is best known for inventing the
Livens Projector
The Livens Projector was a simple mortar-like weapon that could throw large drums filled with flammable or toxic chemicals.
In the First World War, the Livens Projector became the standard means of delivering gas attacks by the British Army a ...
, a simple mortar-like weapon that could throw large drums filled with inflammable or toxic chemicals. In World War I, the Livens Projector became the standard means of delivering gas attacks and it remained in the arsenal of the British army until the early years of 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 ...
.
[The Use of Gas in the Field, 1940]
Early life
Livens' parents were Frederick Howard Livens (1854–1948) and Priscilla Abbott. They married on 9 October 1886 at the Upton Congregational Church. Frederick Howard Livens was Chief Engineer and later Chairman of
Ruston and Hornsby
Ruston & Hornsby was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, England founded in 1918. The company is best known as a manufacturer of narrow and standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of steam shovels. Other products included cars ...
in
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincoln ...
. Frederick and Priscilla had three children, William Howard and two younger daughters.
In 1903, Livens was sent to
Oundle School
Oundle School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. The school has been governed by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City ...
, a famous
public school
Public school may refer to:
* State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government
* Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...
located in the ancient market town of
Oundle
Oundle () is a market town on the left bank of the River Nene in North Northamptonshire, England, which had a population of 5,735 at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. It is north of London and south-west of Peterborough ...
in
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
, England. While there, he enrolled in the
Officer Training Corps
The Officers' Training Corps (OTC), more fully called the University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), are military leadership training units operated by the British Army. Their focus is to develop the leadership abilities of their members whilst ...
(OTC) wherein he served with the rank of
sergeant
Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
.
[Application for commission]
On leaving school in 1908, Livens went to
Christ's 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 ...
from 1908 to October 1911. There he enrolled in the college OTC and served with the rank of
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
.
He was captain of the Cambridge rifle team, he was a
crack shot
Crack frequently refers to:
* Crack, a fracture in a body
* Crack, a fracture (geology) in a rock
* Crack, short for crack cocaine
Crack may also refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Cracks'' (film), a 2009 independent thriller
* C ...
and made a record score in a competition with a team from
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
; he was also an excellent shot with a pistol.
[''Obituary'', by Dr Edward Hindle. ''The Times'' newspaper, 5 February 1964 p.15 column C.]
Livens trained as civil engineer, and was for a while an assistant editor for
Country Life magazine.
But, when 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 ...
started, he joined the British Army.
[
]
First World War
Entry into service
On 4 August 1914, on graduating from the Officer Training Corps, Livens applied for a commission 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 ...
.
He was enrolled 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 30 September 1914 and he was given a clerical post in the Motorcycle signalling section at
Chatham
Chatham may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions Canada
* Chatham Islands (British Columbia)
* Chatham Sound, British Columbia
* Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi
* Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...
. Livens' experience of the OTC and his enthusiasm for
target shooting
Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms ( firearms and airguns, in forms su ...
prepared him well for at least some aspects of Army life:
Weapons designs
Beginnings
Army life did not suppress Livens' creativity and he turned his mind to the problem of making better weapons. On his own initiative, he fitted out makeshift laboratories at his Chatham barracks bedroom and in the officers' garage. For a firing range he used vacant land near one of the old forts which overlooked the Thames estuary. Here he worked on developing flame throwers and small mortars to throw oil and gas.
[Awards to Inventors, 1922, p. 5]
Livens' inventive work was prompted by thoughts of revenge for perceived German atrocities. According to Simon Jones' book ''World War I Gas Warfare Tactics and Equipment'', on learning of the sinking of the luxury liner ''
RMS Lusitania
RMS ''Lusitania'' (named after the Roman province in Western Europe corresponding to modern Portugal) was a British ocean liner that was launched by the Cunard Line in 1906 and that held the Blue Riband appellation for the fastest Atlanti ...
'' in May 1915 with loss of 1,100 lives including, apparently, his wife, he vowed to kill an equal number of Germans. It was to this end that he began experimenting with gas and flame projectors of various types and continued in his work even after hearing that his wife had not, after all, been on board the ''Lusitania''. This account cannot be literally true because Livens did not get married until 1916.
Charles Foulkes, who became Livens' commanding officer and who later wrote ''Gas! The Story of the Special Brigade'', mentions "a strong personal feeling" connected with the sinking of the ''Lusitania'' without being more specific. According to ''Who's Who in World War One'' by John Bourne, it was the first use of
poison gas
Many gases have toxic properties, which are often assessed using the LC50 (median lethal dose) measure. In the United States, many of these gases have been assigned an NFPA 704 health rating of 4 (may be fatal) or 3 (may cause serious or perman ...
by the Germans at the
Second Battle of Ypres
During the First World War, the Second Battle of Ypres was fought from for control of the tactically important high ground to the east and south of the Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. The First Battle of Ypres had been fought the pre ...
on 22 April 1915 that prompted Livens' vengeful ambitions. This alternative account is consistent with Livens' later statement that he began his experimental work at the end of April 1915.
Special Gas Companies
Late in August 1915, Livens left Chatham to join one of the newly formed Royal Engineer Special Gas Companies where he was one of very few officers to have a background in engineering rather than chemistry. At the time, gas warfare was very primitive: heavy
cylinders
A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base.
A cylinder may also be defined as an infini ...
of poison gas were manhandled to the front trenches and their contents simply vented out through metal pipes relying on a breeze to carry the toxic cloud over the enemy trenches. But the wind could be fickle and change in its direction: the first British gas attack at the
Battle of Loos
The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. Th ...
was a disaster. Livens developed the use of long rubber hoses to carry the gas to an optimum location for release and of a manifold that reduced the number of parapet pipes by connecting four cylinders to a single pipe, these improvements helped make the system more reliable. Major-General Foulkes described him as a "go getter", but also as unfamiliar with military protocol; Foulkes later recalled Livens' part in the preparation of a gas attack on the
Hohenzollern Redoubt
The Hohenzollern Redoubt () was a strongpoint of the German 6th Army on the Western Front during the First World War, at Auchy-les-Mines near Loos-en-Gohelle in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. Named after the House of Hohenzollern, ...
:
![Livens Large Gallery Flame Projector 2021](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Livens_Large_Gallery_Flame_Projector_2021.png)
Livens was soon put in charge of Z Company, a special unit that was given the responsibility of developing a British version of the German flamethrower that had recently been deployed on the Western Front. Four of Livens' massive fixed flame projector – the "
Livens Large Gallery Flame Projector
Livens Large Gallery Flame Projectors were large experimental flamethrowers used by the British Army in World War I, named after their inventor, Royal Engineers officer William Howard Livens.
History
Four Livens Large Gallery Flame Projectors we ...
" – were to be used on 1 July 1916 at the start of the
Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...
. Constructed in underground chambers two were knocked out by German artillery before the offensive. The other two were effective in demoralising the German defenders. Impressive as it was, the limited range and the immobility of the weapon severely limited its usefulness except in specific circumstances such as those seen in its use at the Somme, and the project was only used once more in 1917. The remains of one of these projectors have been discovered and excavated in 2010.
Livens projector
One day, during an attack on the Somme, Z company encountered a party of Germans who were well dug in. Grenades did not succeed in shifting them, so Livens threw in two five gallon oil drums; the burning oil was so effective that Livens' comrade, Harry Strange, wondered whether it would be better to use containers to carry flame to the enemy rather than relying on a complex flame thrower. Reflecting on the incident, Livens and Strange considered how a really large shell filled with fuel might be thrown. Although the key idea of throwing a large container of oil was due to Strange, it was Livens who went on to develop a large, but simple, mortar that could throw a three-gallon drum of oil which would burst when it landed...
Livens' new weapon was used for the first time on the morning of 23 July 1916: twenty oil projectors were fired just before an attack in the battle of the Somme at
Pozières
Pozières (; ) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Geography
The commune is situated on the D929 road, northeast of Amiens between Albert and Bapaume, on the Pozières ridge.
Southwest of the village on ...
– the effect was limited. Next, thirty projectors were fired at the eastern corner of
High Wood
The Attacks on High Wood, near Bazentin le Petit in the Somme ''département'' of northern France, took place between the British Fourth Army and the German 1st Army during the Battle of the Somme. After the Battle of Bazentin Ridge on 14 July ...
on 18 August with more encouraging results and another attack on 3 September was highly successful.
Following these attacks, Livens came to the attention of
General Gough who was impressed by his ideas and "
wangled" everything that he needed.
[Awards to Inventors, 1922, pp. 51–62] The new weapon was developed into the
Livens Projector
The Livens Projector was a simple mortar-like weapon that could throw large drums filled with flammable or toxic chemicals.
In the First World War, the Livens Projector became the standard means of delivering gas attacks by the British Army a ...
which consisted of a simple tube closed by a hemisphere at one end. It was half buried in the ground at an angle of 45 degrees and pointing in the required direction. It was then loaded with a single shot with an amount of propellant calculated to effect the desired range. Preparing a battery of projectors for an attack required a lot of preparation, this was not a serious problem in the conditions of static trench warfare and the weapon was so simple and inexpensive that hundreds – and on occasions thousands – of projectors could be fired simultaneously catching the enemy by surprise. Z Company rapidly developed the Livens Projector, increasing its range from the original , first to and they eventually produced an electrically triggered version with a range of .
The Livens Projector was modified to fire canisters of poison gas rather than oil. This system was tried in secret, at
Thiepval
Thiepval (; pcd, Tièbvo) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Thiepval is located north of Albert at the crossroads of the D73 and D151 and approximately northeast of Amiens.
Population
First World ...
in September 1916 and
Beaumont-Hamel
Beaumont-Hamel () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
During the First World War, Beaumont-Hamel was close to the front line, near many attacks, especially during the Battle of the Somme, one of the larg ...
in November.
The Livens Projector was able to deliver a high concentration of gas a considerable distance and each canister delivered as much gas as several chemical warfare artillery shells.
The Livens Projector was used in a series of gas attacks during October 1916 and a number of officers took a close interest in the results. Livens had witnessed some projector firings from the vantage of an aircraft and in his report he estimated that "...if the projectors were used on a large scale the cost of killing Germans could be reduced to sixteen shillings
hat is £0.80each."
[''Obituary'', by Major-General Foulkes. The Times newspaper, 11 February 1964 p.15 column A.] This report was sent to the
Ministry of Munitions
The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis of ...
and Livens was returned to England soon afterwards to help develop a standard projector and drum. The Livens Projector became a preferred means by which the British Army delivered a chemical attack and its production was given a high priority, the total for the Allies of the Great War eventually exceeded 150,000 units.
Livens, "who was always full of ideas" gave up the command of Z company and became a liaison officer between Foulkes' Special Brigade and the Ministry of Munitions in which role he remained for the last two years of the war.
Other weapons
Livens continued to improve his projector and to design other weapons for trench warfare, some of which were useful, others not. For example, he experimented with attempts to cut
barbed wire
A close-up view of a barbed wire
Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is t ...
using large quantities of explosives. A witness to one trial described
orange box
An orange box is a piece of hardware or software that generates caller ID frequency-shift keying (FSK) signals to spoof caller ID information on the target's caller ID terminal.
See also
* Blue box
A blue box is an electronic device tha ...
es filled with explosives and fired from a hole in the ground in the manner of a
shell fougasse. This system failed because the explosives tended to detonate ineffectually in mid-air – a sight that was described as being: "A most impressive picture of the Day of Judgement".
A variation of the Livens Projector prototype was also tested with a view to cutting wire; Major-General Foulkes later recalled: "After the shoot, as the spectators approached the target area to observe the effect that had been produced Livens noticed that one drum containing 100lb of ammonal had failed to explode, and he called out "Back everybody" as he led a hasty retreat. I think he considered this the highlight of his military career—the occasion when he barked out an order to an Army Commander (Gough) and was promptly obeyed!"
Livens' wire-cutting ideas, were characteristically simple but ultimately unsuccessful; but he was never put off if a weapon failed to come up to expectation.
Risks, decorations, demobilisation
Livens' work was dangerous and he showed no lack of physical courage. On one occasion, while testing a service gas mask against
Hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless chalcogen-hydride gas, and is poisonous, corrosive, and flammable, with trace amounts in ambient atmosphere having a characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs. The unde ...
(
H2 S); the gas penetrated almost immediately and Livens fell unconscious though he recovered quickly. During the war, Livens was awarded the Military Cross on 14 January 1916 and the Distinguished Service Order on 1 January 1918.
Livens was demobilised from the army on 11 April 1919.
Between the wars
After the First World War, Livens, being of independent means, no longer had any incentive to produce new inventions and his life was relatively uneventful. Just before the end of the First World War, Livens wrote a patent for an improved version of his projector and in mid-June 1919, Livens and his father jointly wrote a patent for an improved projectile – the principal enhancement being the construction of strong but light-weight casing by using
drawn manufacturing techniques.
In 1920, Livens applied to the
Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors
A Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors is a periodic Royal Commission of the United Kingdom used to hear patent disputes.
On 6 October 1919 a Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors was convened to hear 11 claims for the invention of the tank; ...
in respect of his wartime work on flamethrowers and the Livens Projector. He had to wait for a hearing, which was complicated by the fact that his old comrade Harry Strange also made a claim in connection with the invention. The hearing was delayed until 27 May 1922 by which time Livens had agreed that Strange should have a share of the "plunder" from any award that might be obtained. The hearing was detailed and a number of witnesses were called including the recently retired General Gough
and Charles Howard Foulkes who was then a colonel. Livens was awarded
£500 for his work on flamethrowers and
£4,500 for the Livens projector and its ammunition. (A considerable sum: £5,000 in 1922 is equivalent to £ in .)
Second World War
![D 024854 new](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/D_024854_new.jpg)
At the outbreak of war, Livens was offered the RAF rank of
air commodore. However, he did not enlist, preferring to make his contribution to the war effort as a civilian – in which role he was free to disagree with his seniors.
In 1940, as a
German invasion of Britain threatened, the British developed a number of innovative flame warfare weapons. Livens joined the team of developers working at the newly formed
Petroleum Warfare Department
The Petroleum Warfare Department (PWD) was a government department established in Britain in 1940 in response to the British anti-invasion preparations of World War II, invasion crisis during World War II, when Nazi Germany, Germany apparently w ...
under the directorship of Sir
Donald Banks
Major-General Sir Thomas MacDonald "Donald" Banks (31 March 1891 – 11 July 1975) was a British Army officer, senior civil servant and a founder member and first Chairman of the Guernsey Society.
Family
Banks was born in Guernsey on 31 Mar ...
. Banks described Livens "Colonel Livens was the typical inventor. His equipment as one remembers it was an old club blazer with numerous pockets out of which explosives of all kinds, fuses, wire and gadgets would emerge and hey presto! the most surprising detonation would occur in disconcerting places."
The Petroleum Warfare Department experimented with several proposed systems, including a number suggested by Livens. These included a system resembling his projector to send "flaming comets" onto the landing beaches, but the suggestion with the most promise was the
flame fougasse
A flame fougasse (sometimes contracted to fougasse and may be spelled foo gas) is a type of mine or improvised explosive device which uses an explosive charge to project burning liquid onto a target. The flame fougasse was developed by the Pet ...
and it was widely adopted.
A flame fougasse comprised a 40-gallon light steel
drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...
filled with petroleum mixture and a small, electrically detonated explosive as a propellant charge. The barrel was dug into the roadside with a substantial
overburden
In mining, overburden (also called waste or spoil) is the material that lies above an area that lends itself to economical exploitation, such as the rock, soil, and ecosystem that lies above a coal seam or ore body. Overburden is distinct from tai ...
and camouflaged. When the
Ammonal
Ammonal is an explosive made up of ammonium nitrate and aluminium powder, not to be confused with T-ammonal which contains trinitrotoluene as well to increase properties such as brisance. The mixture is often referred to as Tannerite, which is ...
-based propellant charge was detonated, it caused the barrel to rupture and shoot a flame wide and long.
Tens of thousands of flame fougasse barrels were deployed. Almost all were removed before the end of the war, although, incredibly, a few were missed and their remains have lasted to the present day.
The flame fougasse has remained in army field manuals as a battlefield expedient ever since.
Personal life
Livens married Elizabeth Price some time during 1916, and they had three daughters.
Livens' wife died on 18 July 1945 after a long illness. On 22 July 1947, Livens later married Arron Perry at
St Paul's Church, Winchmore Hill
St Paul's Church, Winchmore Hill, London N21 - geograph.org.uk.
St Paul's Church is a Church of England church in Winchmore Hill, London Borough of Enfield. It was originally consecrated in 1828 as a chapel-of-ease to the Church of All Saints, E ...
in north London.
In 1924, Livens invented a small
dishwasher
A dishwasher is a machine that is used to clean dishware, cookware, and cutlery automatically. Unlike manual dishwashing, which relies heavily on physical scrubbing to remove soiling, the mechanical dishwasher cleans by spraying hot water, ...
suitable for use in a domestic setting. It had all the features of a modern dishwasher, including a front door for loading, a wire rack to hold crockery and a rotating sprayer. According to family tradition, Livens built a prototype for the benefit of the family. When it was tried out by their maidservant, she was later found in tears with water flooding across the floor; at that point the experiment was abandoned.
In his leisure time, Livens enjoyed sailing small boats and was a member of the
Royal Thames Yacht Club
The Royal Thames Yacht Club (RTYC) is the oldest continuously operating yacht club in the world, and the oldest yacht club in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are located at 60 Knightsbridge, London, England, overlooking Hyde Park. The club ...
. Livens became interested in
Spiritualism
Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...
. He attended a number of
séance
A séance or seance (; ) is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word ''séance'' comes from the French word for "session", from the Old French ''seoir'', "to sit". In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, spe ...
s, including on 15 November 1932 witnessing a séance with the famous medium
Rudi Schneider
Rudi Schneider (July 27, 1908 – April 28, 1957), son of Josef Schneider and brother of Willi Schneider, was an Austrian Spiritualist and physical medium. Underwood, Peter. (1978). ''Dictionary of the Supernatural''. Harrap. Roach, Mary. (2005) ...
, although in this case it was a null result – nothing happened. Livens was an honorary vice-president of the
Spiritualist Association of Great Britain
The Spiritualist Association of Great Britain (the SAGB) is a British spiritualist organisation. It was established ion 10th July 1872.
History
The SAGB grew out of the Marylebone Spiritualist Association (founded 1872). The story of the assoc ...
and later he was a great friend of
Lord Dowding
Air Chief Marshal Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, (24 April 1882 – 15 February 1970) was an officer in the Royal Air Force. He was Air Officer Commanding RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain and is generally ...
who had similar interests. Livens was briefly interested in photography, and he patented inventions relating to photography in the 1950s, Livens.
Livens died at a London hospital on 1 February 1964. His remains were cremated at
Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £135,987 in 2021), ...
on Saturday 8 February with the request that donations to
Cancer Research
Cancer research is research into cancer to identify causes and develop strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure.
Cancer research ranges from epidemiology, molecular bioscience to the performance of clinical trials to evaluate and ...
should be made in place of flowers.
He was survived by his three daughters and left an estate with a value estimated at £82,561 (about £ in ).
Notes and references
;Footnotes
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;Bibliography
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External links
Worldscapes: Chemical & Biological Warfare*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Livens, William Howard
1889 births
1964 deaths
Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge
British Army personnel of World War I
British people of World War II
Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
Parapsychologists
Recipients of the Military Cross
Royal Engineers officers
20th-century British inventors