Sir Edward Walter Parkes DL

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 ...

(19 May 1926 – 25 September 2019) was

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

City University London City, University of London, is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, and a member institution of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute, and became a university when The City Univ ...

from 1974 to 1978 and of the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

from 1983 to 1991.

Life

Parkes was born in 1926. Parkes attended

King Edward's School, Birmingham King Edward's School (KES) is an independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by Edward VI of England, King Edward VI in 1552, it ...

, and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

, where he obtained a first class degree in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

.Burke's Peerage, accessed 24 July 2009 Other posts included Head of the Department of Engineering at

Leicester University , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

in the 1960s and Chairman of the UK University Grants Committee in the early 1980s. From 1989 to 1991 he was Chairman of the

Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals Universities UK (UUK) is an advocacy organisation for universities in the United Kingdom. It began life in the early 20th century through informal meetings of vice-chancellors of a number of universities and principals of university colleges and ...

. He was also appointed 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 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 ...

in 1982. Edward and Margaret Parkes commissioned Leicester based architect

James Gowan James Gowan (18 October 1923 – 12 June 2015) was a Scottish-born architect known for his post-modernist designs of the "engineering style" which influenced a generation of British architects. Life Gowan was born in Pollokshields, Glasgow in ...

to design them a holiday home on land they had bought above

St David's Cathedral St Davids Cathedral ( cy, Eglwys Gadeiriol Tyddewi) is situated in St DavidsBritain's smallest city in the county of Pembrokeshire, near the most westerly point of Wales. Early history The monastic community was founded by Saint David, Abbot ...

in Wales. The resulting ''Round House'' was listed after it was completed in 1967. Parkes was knighted in 1983.The London Gazette 22 April 1983
page 5510 There is a portrait in oils by

Michael Noakes Michael Noakes (28 October 1933 – 30 May 2018) was an English artist and portrait painter.

at City University.BBC Your Paintings
Sir Edward Parkes (image and details) Parkes died in September 2019 at the age of 93.Who's Who: Parkes, Sir Edward (Walter)
/ref>

Private life

He married the educationalist Margaret Parr (1925-2007) and they had two children. Margaret Parkes

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 ...

died in 2007 having changed the UK's educationa system to include Design and Technology.The Times 30 August 2007
Margaret Parkes.

References

1926 births 2019 deaths Academics of the University of Leicester Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Deputy Lieutenants of West Yorkshire English mechanical engineers Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Knights Bachelor People educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham Presidents of City, University of London Vice-Chancellors of the University of Leeds {{UK-academic-stub