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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, England, and the county town of Berkshire. It is the United Kingdom's largest town, with a combined population of 355,596. Most of Reading built-up area, its built-up area lies within the Borough ...
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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
he was closely involved with the design of the
Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...
engine as well as numerous later Rolls-Royce
jet engines A jet engine is a type of reaction engine, discharging a fast-moving jet (fluid), jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition may include Rocket engine, rocket, Pump-jet, water jet, and ...
. 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. He was widely known as "Hs", and signed thus.


Achievements

After becoming a chief test driver in 1908, he led the Rolls-Royce team in the Austrian Alpine Trial in 1913. During the 1914-18 First World War the company designed its first aero-engine, the
Eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...
, and Hives was involved in its development. In 1916 he was Head of the Experimental Department. In 1919 the Eagle powered the twin-engined
Vickers Vimy The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft developed and manufactured by Vickers Limited. Developed during the latter stages of the First World War to equip the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), the Vimy was designed by Rex Pierson, Vickers ...
bomber on the first direct flight across the Atlantic. In 1920 Hives was appointed MBE. Other engines were later developed under Hives' lead. Of these the
Buzzard Buzzard is the common name of several species of birds of prey. ''Buteo'' species * Archer's buzzard (''Buteo archeri'') * Augur buzzard (''Buteo augur'') * Broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') * Common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') * Easte ...
was the most important, leading to the ‘ R’ series, which powered the Supermarine S.6 seaplanes that won the
Schneider Trophy The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider, also known as the Schneider Trophy, Schneider Prize or (incorrectly) the Schneider Cup is a trophy that was awarded first annually, and later biennially, to the winner of a race for seaplanes and ...
in 1929 and 1931 for Rolls-Royce, and most importantly the
Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...
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. about 5 miles north of Derby. In 1937 he prepared the firm for a 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 with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...
s,
Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...
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 Ha ...
), this was a vitally strategic decision when war did come, and 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 Hillington Merlin factory, the night train 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 meteor, known colloquially as a shooting star, is a glowing streak of a small body (usually meteoroid) going through Earth's atmosphere, after being heated to incandescence by collisions with air molecules in the upper atmosphere, creating a ...
tank engine. In 1941-42 Hives had decided 'to go all out for the
gas turbine A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of Internal combustion engine#Continuous combustion, continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas gene ...
', 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 Name * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Stage name * Rover (musician), French singer-songw ...
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 co-creating the turbojet engine. A patent was submitted by Maxime Guillaume in 1921 fo ...
and his company
Power Jets Power Jets was a British company set up by Frank Whittle for the purpose of designing and manufacturing jet engines. The company was nationalised in 1944, and evolved into the National Gas Turbine Establishment. History The origins of Powe ...
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 The Rolls-Royce Meteor later renamed the Rover Meteor is a British tank engine that was developed during the Second World War. It was used in British tanks up to 1964. It was a result of co-operation between Leyland Motors and Rolls-Royce who bet ...
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. He was par ...
, 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 (distinction), order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. It was founded on the same date as the Order of the Brit ...
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. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
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. He retired in 1957 and died on 24 April 1965, aged 79, at the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases in
Queen Square, London Queen Square is a garden square in the Bloomsbury district of central London. Many of its buildings are associated with medicine, particularly neurology. Construction Queen Square was originally constructed between 1716 and 1725. It was forme ...
. He was succeeded in the barony by his son John. Another 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.Watson W.R. 1991, p. 140. Another son was Group Captain Benjamin (Benjy) Hives who was a pilot in the Royal Air Forc

amongst other appointments was a Flying Instructor at the RAF College, Cranwell, and training students, some of whom later became Air Marshals. He died in November 2019. His younger daughter, Philippa Ann Hives, married Alexander Morrison (judge), 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