Sir Horace William Alexander Francis

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

FREng Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng) is an award and Scholarship, fellowship for engineers who are recognised by the Royal Academy of Engineering as being the best and brightest engineers, inventors and technologists in the UK a ...

(born 31 August 1926) is a British civil engineer.

Personal life

Francis was born in Clydebank, Scotland on 31 August 1926 to Horace Fairie Francis and Jane McMinn Murray.'FRANCIS, Sir (Horace) William (Alexander)', Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012 ; online edn, Nov 2012
accessed 31 Dec 2012
He studied at Glasgow's

Royal Technical College The Royal College of Science and Technology was a higher education college that existed in Glasgow, Scotland between 1887 and 1964, and is the predecessor institution of the University of Strathclyde. Its main building on George Street now serve ...

, which is now part of

Strathclyde University The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal c ...

. He married, in 1949, Gwendoline Maud Dorricott and has two sons and two daughters.

Career

Francis worked on many construction projects in the United Kingdom and abroad including manufacturing facilities, bridges, power stations and offshore structures. He spent 25 years working with the engineering contractor Tarmac plc and was the company's chief operating officer and vice-chairman. Francis has also served as executive director of construction for the Trafalgar House conglomerate and as non-executive director of its oil and gas interests. He worked as a government advisor for approximately 30 years, serving on several advisory boards such as the

British Overseas Trade Board The British Overseas Trade Board was an export promotion agency of the UK Department of Trade and Industry from 1972 to 1988. It was set up in 1972 to replace the British Export Board.'The Penguin Dictionary of Economics' George Bannock, R. E. Ba ...

and the Export Credit Guarantee Department. Francis has also worked as a director of the

British Railways Board British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

between 1994 and 1997 and as chairman of the

Black Country Development Corporation The Black Country Development Corporation was an urban development corporation established in May 1987 to develop land in the Metropolitan Boroughs of Sandwell and Walsall in England. Its flagship developments included the Black Country Spine R ...

. On 1 November 1982, Francis was appointed major 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 ...

Engineer and Railway Staff Corps The Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps is a part of the Royal Engineers in the British Army Reserve. It is intended to provide advisers on engineering and logistics to the British Army at a senior level. Following its work creating the NHS Nighti ...

, an invitation-only, unpaid unit of 60 engineering and logistics professionals that provide advice to the British armed forces on specialist and technical matters. He was promoted to

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 colo ...

on 8 July 1986 and became

supernumerary Supernumerary means "exceeding the usual number". Supernumerary may also refer to: * Supernumerary actor, a performer in a film, television show, or stage production who has no role or purpose other than to appear in the background, more commonl ...

to the unit on 17 August 1992.

Later life

Francis is now semi-retired and works as director of Peakbeam Ltd and Longden Properties. He is a principal partner in Security Composites Limited, a thermoplastic manufacturer based in Shrewsbury, where he has developed a thermoplastic-based

formwork Formwork is molds into which concrete or similar materials are either precast or cast-in-place. In the context of concrete construction, the falsework supports the shuttering molds. In specialty applications formwork may be permanently i ...

for in-situ concrete works. Francis is an Honorary Life Vice-President of the Lighthouse Club, a national charity that provides for the families of construction workers killed or injured at work. He has been a member for over 40 years and served as president from 1990–5 and helped the club to introduce a corporate membership grade.

Honours

Francis was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1976 and was knighted on 25 July 1989 in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. He has been awarded two honorary doctorates, an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...

(LLD) from the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

in 1988, and an honorary

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

(DSc) from

Aston University Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston''. for post-nominals) is a public research university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first ...

in 1990. He is a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the Royal Academy of Engineering and of the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...

and served as president of the latter between November 1987 and November 1988. Francis is involved with the Civil Engineers Club, a social organisation for members of his profession, and awarded their inaugural Thomas Telford Trophy for the winner of the golf competition at the

Wentworth Club Wentworth Club is a privately owned golf club and country club in Virginia Water, Surrey, on the south western fringes of London, not far from Windsor Castle. The club was founded in 1922. Beijing-based Reignwood Group bought the club in Sept ...

in 1986. He was awarded the 1991

Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation The Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (formerly the Institution of Highways and Transportation) is a UK-based learned society (with worldwide membership) concerned specifically with the planning, design, construction, maintenan ...

Institution Award for excellence within the transportation profession.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, William Living people British civil engineers Scottish civil engineers Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers 1926 births Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor Engineer and Railway Staff Corps officers