Ernest Walter Hives, 1st Baron Hives (21 April 1886 – 24 April 1965), was the one-time head of the Rolls-Royce Aero Engine division and chairman of Rolls-Royce Ltd. Hives was born in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers Thames and Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway serve the town. Reading is east ...

to John and Mary Hives, living at 31 Christchurch Road from at least 1891 to 1901. 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 opposi ...

he was closely involved with the design of the

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and leg ...

engine as well as numerous later Rolls-Royce jet engines. He began his working life in a local garage. However, in 1903 he got a job working at C.S. Rolls' car company, after fixing Rolls' car.

Achievements

After becoming a chief test driver in 1908, he led the Rolls-Royce team in the Austrian Alpine Trial in 1913. During the First World War the company designed its first aero-engine, the

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

, and Hives developed it successfully; by 1916 he was Head of the Experimental Department. In 1919 the Eagle powered the twin-engined Vickers Vimy bomber on the first direct flight across the Atlantic. In 1920 Hives was appointed MBE. Other notable engines were later developed under Hives' lead. Of these the Buzzard was the most important, leading to the ‘ R’ series, which powered the Supermarine S.6 seaplanes that won the Schneider Trophy in 1929 and 1931 for Rolls-Royce, and most importantly the famous

engine. In 1936 he became the general works manager of the factory and a year later was elected to the board. He lived at 37, St. Chads Rd., Derby until around 1937, then at 'Hazeldene', Duffield. In 1937, thinking war would soon be inevitable, he prepared the firm for a massive production increase in Merlin engines by splitting facilities between engineering and production and developing shadow factories. As the Merlin powered

Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dep ...

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

s and Lancasters (as well as the best forgotten

Fairey Battle The Fairey Battle is a British single-engine light bomber that was designed and manufactured by the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed during the mid-1930s for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a monoplane successor to the Hawker Hart and ...

), this was a vitally strategic decision when war did come. Thanks to Hives no less than a hundred and sixty thousand Merlins were produced by 1945. His team directive was ''"Work till it hurts and W. A. Robotham said that when he was attached to ''"this remarkable man"'' for a few (wartime) days ''I became completely exhausted and made absolutely no contribution towards easing his load''. After visiting the Hillingdon Merlin factory, the night train from Glasgow to London arrived at Trent at the unearthly hour of 5.20 a.m. so (if you couldn't sleep on the train like Hives) walking with him round the Derby factory before breakfast was a gruelling experience. Robotham was responsible to Hives for the Car Division, and Hives supported Robotham in developing and manufacturing the

Meteor A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as mi ...

tank engine. In 1941-42 Hives had decided 'to go all out for the

gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directio ...

, to ensure the company a leading role in developing jet engines for civil and military aviation. In December 1942 when

Rover Rover may refer to: People * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Places * Rover, Arkansas, US * Rover, Missouri, US * ...

was having problems with

Frank Whittle Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, (1 June 1907 – 8 August 1996) was an English engineer, inventor and Royal Air Force (RAF) air officer. He is credited with inventing the turbojet engine. A patent was submitted by Maxime Guillaume in 1921 fo ...

and his company Power Jets in developing their first gas turbine engine, the Rolls-Royce Welland, Hives met with Spencer Wilks of Rover and arranged to exchange Rover's gas turbine business for Rolls-Royce's Nottingham factory producing Rolls-Royce Meteor tank engines (which Rover were already producing). This exchange (effective 1 April 1943) gave Rolls-Royce (whose major product was piston aero engines) an entry into jet engine manufacture. Vice-Chief of Air Staff Sir

Wilfrid Freeman Air Chief Marshal Sir Wilfrid Rhodes Freeman, 1st Baronet, (18 July 1888 – 15 May 1953) was one of the most important influences on the rearmament of the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the years up to and including the Second World War. RAF career ...

, one of the masterminds behind the dramatic advances in British aircraft production before and during World War II, paid tribute to Hives's dedication in a letter to his wife: Hives became managing director in 1946 and chairman of Rolls-Royce from 1950 till 1957. He was Chairman of the National Council for Technological Awards from 1955 to 1960. He was appointed to the

Order of the Companions of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. Founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire, it is sometimes ...

in the 1943 Birthday Honours and on 7 July 1950 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Hives, of Duffield in the County of Derby. Robotham has a chapter on Hives (Chapter 21) in his own biography. He played a critical role in the UK Nuclear Submarine programme. When the highly irascible but utterly pivotal U.S. Admiral Rickover visited the UK in 1957 to inspect the British nuclear design team at Rolls-Royce, Rickover was "at his obnoxious worst". After one particularly difficult morning he was introduced to Lord Hives.

Personal life

He married Gertrude E Warwick (born 9 December 1890) in 1913. His son, Pilot Officer Edward Ernest Hives, was killed in action flying with

RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

in October 1940. He retired in 1957 and died on 24 April 1965, aged 79, at the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases in Queen Square, London.England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1965, page 549 He was succeeded in the barony by his son John. His younger daughter, Philippa Hives, married Judge Alexander Morrison in 1978.

Arms

References

Notes

Bibliography

*Lumsden, Alec. ''British Piston Engines and their Aircraft''. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. . * Pugh, Peter. ''The Magic of a Name - The Rolls-Royce Story - The First 40 Years''. Cambridge, England. Icon Books Ltd, 2000. * Furse, Anthony. ''Wilfrid Freeman: the genius behind Allied survival and air supremacy 1939 to 1945''. Staplehurst. Spellmount, 2000. * Hennessy, Peter and Jinks, James. ''The Silent Deep'' Allen Lane 2015 * * Watson, W.R. ''The Derbyshire village of Duffield, past and present''. Chevin Books, 1991. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hives, Ernest Walter 1886 births 1965 deaths Rolls-Royce people Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Members of the Order of the British Empire Royal Aeronautical Society Gold Medal winners 20th-century English businesspeople Barons created by George VI