Charles Mitchell

1820–1895

CHARLES MITCHELL WAS neither the first nor the last Aberdonian to make his mark in the vibrant shipyards of

the Tyne in the nineteenth century. As a young man, his dedication, his engineering background, his formal education and above all his optimism led him to the North East where he formed a shipbuilding business which in the fullness of time became the renowned Swan Hunter organisation.

His schooling was first at Ledingham’s Academy in the (aptly-named) Correction Wynd, and then at Aberdeen Grammar School. An apprenticeship followed in the engineering and iron-founding firm of William Simpson and Co., believed to be forerunners of Hall Russell and Co. of Footdee (‘Fittie’). The exact details of Mitchell’s tertiary education are difficult to ascertain, but it is clear that he matriculated as an undergraduate at Marischal College in the University of Aberdeen, although there is no record of graduation. In the four ancient universities of Scotland, this was not uncommon, as attendance at classes in the eighteenth and early part of the nineteenth centuries was regarded as sufficient proof of willingness and integrity. Indeed the great Lord Kelvin never took his first degree at Glasgow.

During his apprenticeship, Mitchell worked long hours in the factory and the drawing office, attended classes, studied, yet found time to make model ships. By the late 1830s, he found himself attracted to the shipbuilding industry, and when asked by Andrew Leslie (then foreman boilermaker at Bowman, Vernon and Co, shipbuilders in Aberdeen) to teach him mechanical drawing, Mitchell found himself in the company of a like-minded individual. This relationship must have been beneficial, as both men, later, were to head up shipyards on the Tyne. Incidentally, Bowman, Vernon had built Aberdeen’s first iron ship

John Garrow, which had the further distinction of being the first iron ship to enter the Tyne.

In 1842, on completion of his apprenticeship, he left Aberdeen and joined another Aberdonian named Coutts who had set up a shipyard on the River Tyne in 1840. Together they worked on iron colliers including the QED, which is reputed to be the first such ship with water ballast tanks, but after two years headed for London, only returning to the north-east in 1852 when he was ready to set up his own shipyard. It has been reported that he spent a short time at sea as Chief Engineer on the QED, for experience. In London Charles Mitchell worked for Maudslay, Sons and Field, then one of the world’s finest yards, but possibly of greater importance, he rented rooms with a French-speaking family in order that he might be fluent in other languages. Holidays were spent on the Continent (something almost impossible in those days for most Scots), and Charles Mitchell, a gentleman in spirit, became an all-round engineer through his personal effort and integrity.

All people have to make decisions, and then work with them until success is achieved. Charles Mitchell’s return to the North East was like this; good for him and his family, and of long-lasting benefit to the United Kingdom. Clearly monies must have been saved as he set up a new shipyard at Low Walker on the Tyne in 1852, and continued with it till his death in 1895. Between the years 1853 to 1882, the Low Walker yard produced 450 ships of ever-increasing tonnage and sophistication – that is one every three weeks for twenty-nine years! Within two years of re-settling on the Tyne, Charles met, fell in love and married Anne Walber, the eldest daughter of William Swan of West Farm. They set up home in the lands around Walker, which then had wildlife incongruously living close to hard-working coal staithes. In later years the couple moved to the up-and-coming suburb of Newcastle known as Jesmond and were to build the pretentious Jesmond Towers. Their son Charles William Mitchell did not follow in his father’s footsteps, but became an artist of some renown, and indeed his portrait of his father can be seen in Aberdeen University.

The Russian connection was of great importance. In 1862, the shipbuilders on the Neva in St Petersburg decided on a complete reconstruction of their yards, which in time led to the setting up of the

Admiralty Shipyards, in which Charles Mitchell was to play a small but significant role. Following the obligatory due diligence, Charles left his son-in-law, Harry Frederick Swan in charge of the yard – what a challenge to a twenty-year-old former apprentice. In Walker, several armoured vessels were completed under an agreement whereby Mitchell completed the hulls and Sir William Armstrong’s company at Elswick, west of Newcastle supplied ordnance. This arrangement worked well and in 1882 the two companies combined to form Sir W G Armstrong, Mitchell and Co with works in Elswick, Low Walker as well as a small subsidiary in Italy. In all the new firm employed close on 15,000 men and in the closing years of the nineteenth century was to become a major supplier of warships to the world, being especially renowned for the ‘Elswick Cruisers’. Among the significant ships built at Walker were the pioneer cable-laying ships Hooper and Faraday, and shortly afterwards floating docks bound for Dutch service in Java, now Indonesia. Possibly the most important ship built at Walker was to be the Gluckauf, now regarded as the first oil tanker. However, by this time Charles Mitchell had taken a back seat in the operation and was involved in charitable developments in Tyneside and elsewhere. He funded the construction of St George’s Church in Jesmond, and then after careful consideration made some quite significant gifts to Aberdeen University which responded by naming the tower in the magnificent Marischall College after him and then naming the graduation hall as the Mitchell Hall. Mitchell was awarded an LL.D. in 1893 and was to have received the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen, but died in August 1895 just prior to the ceremony.

In 1897, Sir W G Armstrong, Mitchell and Co merged with Sir Joseph Whitworth and Co and with no member of the Mitchell family being on the board, the name was omitted in the new appellation of Armstrong, Whitworth and Co Ltd. SOURCES: McGuire, D F Charles Mitchell, 1820–1895, Victorian Shipbuilder Newcastle upon Tyne, 1988

David Kirkaldy

ONE OF THE FIRS T truly dedicated researchers in metallurgy, David Kirkaldy, a Dundonian by birth, had his

early education in that city whilst living in fairly comfortable circumstances. On reaching the years of secondary education, he was sent to Merchiston Castle School near Edinburgh to prepare for matriculation at Edinburgh University. The school was in the grounds of the ancestral home of the Napiers of Merchiston, a family whose forbears included one of the greatest mathematicians of his age, John

Napier (1550–1617), a former student of St Andrews and the creator of logarithms. Kirkaldy’s delight at

being allocated Napier’s room for his study shows his early interest in scientific matters and his awareness of the intellectual tradition of his homeland.

In 1843, Kirkaldy moved to Glasgow and commenced an engineering apprenticeship under the engineer and shipbuilder Robert Napier. After four years on the shop floor, Kirkaldy entered the drawing office and within a few years was recognised as one of the finest ship draughtsmen to come from the Clyde. Not only could he record, understand and transmit technical detail on paper, but he had the ability to produce plans and even rough sketches which were a joy to behold. In 1855, Napiers built the wonderful iron paddle-steamer Persia for the company later to be known as the Cunard Line. The ‘as fitted’ plans of this ship, drawn in Kirkaldy’s home in North Kelvinside, Glasgow, were to be awarded medals at the Paris Exhibition of that year and later to be exhibited at the Royal Academy in London. They are now recognised as being amongst the finest of their kind in the world, and fittingly are in the possession of the

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. In later years David Kirkaldy was to admit that his work on the Persia’s plans had been ‘a greatly enjoyed indulgence’.

As the Napier Shipyard went from strength to strength, Kirkaldy rose through the ranks, reaching the ultimate position of Chief Draughtsman and Calculator. In the late 1850s, the shipyard was involved in quotations for advanced boilers and steam machinery and for early ironclads. As an aside, Robert Napier was the first major shipbuilder to break the monopoly of the Royal Dockyards and the shipyards of Southern England in building the Queen’s Ships. This breakthrough followed recognition by the Admiralty that Napier was building for truly prestigious customers, including the Royal Danish Navy.

With the daunting task of building HM S Black Prince (the sister-ship of HM S Warrior now preserved in

Portsmouth), the shipyard’s technical arm was moving into top gear. Among the first requirements were accurate predictions on the strength and qualities of puddled iron, wrought iron and the relatively new alloy known as steel. For three years Kirkaldy worked on tensile and other test experiments, and in 1861 published his preliminary findings in the Transactions of the Scottish Shipbuilders’ Association (now the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland). Shortly after in 1862, his great work Experiments

on Wrought Iron and Steel was published in London, bringing him international acclaim.

In 1861, Kirkaldy resigned from Robert Napier’s, moved to London and for over two years worked on the setting-up of proper metallurgical testing facilities at The Grove in Southwark. The role of the independent testing engineer was becoming appreciated in engineering circles and soon the testing house was overwhelmed with work. Within eight years the laboratory had to be moved to larger premises at 99 Southwark Street, London, an address they were to remain at until 1974. He had to endure some bitter attacks on his professionalism, as those whose work had been shown to be sub-standard used the ages-old complaint that decisions had been made either in conditions of unnecessary commercial privacy or in conditions that were organised to be sub judice. Such complaints, whilst hurtful, did not deter him in any way. He used almost all of his personal resources to design and manufacture what was then the ultimate in tensile testing machines, a monster of 116 tons. This machine was built practically fault-free through his care and attention to detail; it was able to make a wide variety of tests with surprising delicacy and accuracy. During the move from The Grove to Southwark Street, it had to be dismantled and transported this relatively short distance.

The machine carried out some remarkable tasks, starting with the testing of materials used in the building of Blackfriars Bridge in London. Later it would be involved in the aftermath of one of Britain’s greatest transport tragedies. On 28 December 1879, thirteen girders of the Tay Bridge fell into the River Tay, as the Burntisland to Dundee train crossed this wide estuary. All seventy-five passengers and crew were drowned and a full judicial enquiry was ordered. David Kirkaldy and his laboratory were instructed to examine the iron structure as well as the design of the ill-fated bridge. They did so and produced an illuminating and helpful report, making suggestions for improvements in tie links, riveting and material hardening. The business never looked back and by the early twentieth century, the Kirkaldy Testing House in south-east London was recognised in the structural engineering field as one of the leading arbiters for most metallurgical problems.

David Kirkaldy died in 1897, and his business was continued by his son William G Kirkaldy and ultimately by his grandson David W Kirkaldy until it closed in 1974. SOURCES: Kirkaldy, D ‘Results of an Experimental Enquiry into the Tensile Strength and other Properties of Wrought Iron and Steel’ Transactions of the Scottish Shipbuilders Association (1860–1)