Brigadier-General Sir Henry Percy Maybury (17 November 1864 – 7 January 1943) was a British civil engineer.Glyn Valley Tramway Trust biography
/ref> He began his career as a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

engineer, working on many railways in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

before becoming the

county surveyor A county surveyor is a public official in the United Kingdom and the United States. United Kingdom Webb & Webb describe the increasing chaos that began to prevail within this same period in field of county surveying in England and Wales, with c ...

for

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. At the start of 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 ...

he was appointed to supervise roads used by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, holding 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 ...

rank of Brigadier-General. In recognition of his services in this theatre he was appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

and a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George by the British government and an officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

by the French. After the war he held various civil service positions, mainly within the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...

, and was elected president 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 ...

in 1933.

Early life

Maybury was born in

Uffington Uffington is the name of several places: ; England *Uffington, Lincolnshire :* Uffington and Barnack railway station :* Uffington Rural District *Uffington, Oxfordshire :* Uffington railway station (Uffington Junction) *Uffington, Shropshire ;Un ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

, fourth son of Charles Maybury, a farmer, and his wife Jane (''nee'' Matthews), and was educated at nearby

Upton Magna Upton Magna is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. (''Magna'' is Latin, meaning "great". Therefore, the translation of Upton Magna is "Great Upton".) Nearby are the villages of Uffington, Rodington and Withington, as well as the ...

. Upon finishing his studies Maybury began work at

Shrewsbury railway station Shrewsbury railway station is in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. Built in 1848, it was designated a grade II listed building in 1969. The station is north west of Birmingham New Street. Many services starting at or passing through the stati ...

in the office of RE Johnston, the chief engineer of the

Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway The Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway was an English railway company that built a standard gauge line between those places. It opened its main line in 1853. Its natural ally seemed to be the Great Western Railway. With other lines it formed a rout ...

, a joint venture between the Great Western and London and North Western railway companies, where he worked for five years.Article by J.S. Killick, revised by John Hibbs.Obituary. In 1884 he joined the

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

contracting firm of Johnson Brothers and Slay, where he became manager, and worked on the

Glyn Valley Tramway Glyn means "Valley" in Welsh and may refer to: *Glyn (name), including a list of people with the name *Baron Glyn, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom *Glyn baronets, created for members of the Glyn family *Glyn Ceiriog, a former slate ...

during the rebuilding in 1886. From 1892 until 1895 he served as the engineer and surveyor of the Ffestiniog Local Highways Board, followed by a similar appointment to the Malvern Urban District Council. From 1904 until 1913 Maybury served as the

for

during which time he was responsible for constructing new roads and classifying the existing network in light of the rapid increase in motor traffic following the revised speed limits of the

Motor Car Act 1903 The Motor Car Act 1903 (3 Edw.7, c. 36) was an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament that received royal assent on 14 August 1903, which introduced motor vehicle registration, driver licensing and increased the speed limit. Context The Act follo ...

. He carried out experiments on road surfaces at

Sidcup Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of Bromley and Greenwich. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the ...

to try to improve durability and reduce dust produced by the increased speed of traffic. In 1904 he also developed sewerage and drinking water schemes for

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The ...

County Borough and

Worcestershire County Council Worcestershire County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Worcestershire in England. The most recent elections to it were in 2021. Worcestershire County Council has its headquarters at County Hall in Worcester, w ...

. In 1910 he was invited to become a member of the Advisory Engineering Committee to the Roads Board, who had been impressed by his road surface trials, and served as their chief engineering officer upon leaving his position in Kent. He later became manager and secretary of the board. One of his innovations was to divide the road network intro three categories on the basis of which road maintenance grants would be distributed and he appointed a large staff of engineers to carry out this categorisation.

First World War

From the start of the

he was appointed by the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

to build and maintain roads at military camps in the United Kingdom. In 1916 he visited France to advise the British Army's Engineer-in-Chief on matters to do with road transportation and was asked to form a highway engineering service in France. This organisation was absorbed into the British Army later that year and Maybury was placed at the head of the Roads Directorate and commissioned as a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. Maybury had charge of the roads used by the Allied forces in France, under

Eric Geddes Sir Eric Campbell Geddes (26 September 1875 – 22 June 1937) was a Great Britain, British businessman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician. With a background in railways, he served as head of Military Transportation on the ...

, director-general of transportation. The directorate was responsible for 40,000 men and 4,000 miles of roads plus associated works such as quarries. Maybury was mentioned in dispatches four times for his work during the war and was appointed a Companion of the

and an Officer of the

in 1917. He retired from the army in 1919.

Later career and honours

In 1919 he was created a commander and then knight commander of the Order of St Michael and St George and was appointed Director General of the Roads Department of the

, a position he would hold for the next nine years. In this role Maybury developed new arterial highways and modernized existing roads, providing a considerable means of employment during a period of depressed economic output. He served as president of the newly formed

Institute of Transport The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) is a professional body representing the transport and logistics industries worldwide. It is a membership-based organisation with over 30,000 members in over 30 countries. This i ...

in 1921 and as a Justice of the Peace for Kent in 1922. Upon retiring from the ministry in 1928 he was made a Knight Grand Cross 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 o ...

and given the

freedom of the borough The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

of Shrewsbury. Maybury was elected as president of the

in 1933, an annual accolade awarded to the profession's most regarded engineers. He had been a member of the institution since 1910 and also served as president of the Institute of Quarrying. He was appointed to the twelve member

London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee The London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee was established in 1924 to advise the Minister of Transport on issues concerning traffic and transport in the London Traffic Area. It was abolished in 1965. The purpose of the Committee, a ...

when it was formed in 1928 and had responsibility to advise the

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

on the

London Traffic Area The London Traffic Area was established by the London Traffic Act 1924 to regulate the increasing amount of motor traffic in the London area. The LTA was abolished in 1965 on the establishment of the Greater London Council. The traffic area ex ...

. He served as the committee's representative on the

London Passenger Transport Board The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport in London and its environs from 1933 to 1948. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and brand was Lond ...

from its formation in 1933 to his death. Maybury was chairman of the Lights on Vehicles; Taxation and Regulation of Road Vehicles; Licensing and Regulation of Public Service Vehicles and Traffic Signs committees of the Ministry of Transport. In 1936 he chaired the committee for the Development of Civil Aviation in the United Kingdom. In 1927 he officially opened Maybury Road in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, named in his honour, in his capacity as Director General of the Ministry of Transport.Maybury: The Gazetteer for Scotland
/ref> In 1928 the Paviors' Company, to which he had been elected in 1918, founded a professorship in highways engineering at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

named after himself. For 1936 he was appointed President of the Shropshire Horticultural Society and he had been President of the Shropshire Society in London. Maybury also held a number of commercial directorships up to his death, including chairmanship of the British Quarrying Company and trustee of the West Midlands Savings Bank. Maybury ran a private engineering consultancy based in

Aldwych Aldwych (pronounced ) is a street and the name of the area immediately surrounding it in central London, England, within the City of Westminster. The street starts east-northeast of Charing Cross, the conventional map centre-point of the city ...

. He was president of the

Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers The Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers was founded in England in 1771. It was the first engineering society to be formed anywhere in the world, and remains the oldest. It was originally known as the Society of Civil Engineers, being renamed fo ...

at the time of his death.

Personal life

Maybury was twice married. He first married, in 1885, Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Sheldon of

, Shropshire. By her he left a son and two daughters. She died in 1929. He married, secondly, in August 1942, when aged 77, his personal secretary, Katharine Mary, daughter of Samuel William Pring of Winchester,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

. He died, at his home, Four Winds, at Mousecroft Lane, Shrewsbury, on 7 January 1943, aged 78, of

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...

and cerebral haemorrhage. He was cremated at Perry Barr Crematorium, Birmingham. The National Portrait Gallery holds ten portraits of Maybury in its photographical collection.National Portrait Gallery collection
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maybury, Henry British civil engineers British Army generals of World War I 1864 births 1943 deaths Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers Engineers from Shropshire People associated with transport in London Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Bath Royal Engineers officers Civil servants in the Ministry of Transport (United Kingdom)