Sir Bradford Leslie KCIE (1831-1926) was an English civil engineer who specialised in bridges and was a pupil of

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...

. His most notable achievement was the 1887 Jubilee Bridge.

Early life

Leslie was born in London on 18 August 1831 the son of

Charles Robert Leslie Charles Robert Leslie (19 October 1794 – 5 May 1859) was an English genre painter. Biography Leslie was born in London to American parents. When he was five years of age he returned with them to the United States, where they settled in Phi ...

a noted painter and illustrator. His younger brother George was also later a painter and illustrator and his older brother Robert Leslie became a marine artist. Educated at the

Mercers' School The Mercers' School was an independent school in the City of London, England, with a history going back at least to 1542, and perhaps much further. It was operated by the Worshipful Company of Mercers and was closed in 1959. History After the dis ...

in London at the age of 16 Leslie was apprenticed to

, the usual fee of 1,000 guineas was waived in consideration of his father painting some pictures for Brunel. Leslie became a specialist at bridge building and in 1851 was assistant engineer on the Chepstow Bridge, his next position was resident engineer on the Saltash Bridge. Before the Saltash Bridge was completed he returned to London to undertake inspection of material for the steamship Great Eastern and at the launch of the ship he acted as an assistant to Brunel.

India

Jubilee Bridge (Naihati-Bandel) by Piyal Kundu

Brunel was a consulting engineer to the

Eastern Bengal Railway The Eastern Bengal Railway (full name: "Eastern Bengal Railway Company"; shortened EBR) was one of the pioneering railway companies that operated from 1857 to 1942, in Bengal and Assam provinces of British India. History Formation The Eastern ...

and Leslie was sent to India as engineer in charge of bridges and viaducts. He supervised the building of the Eschamutter and Koormar river bridges before returning to Britain in 1861 to design bridges for railway lines in South Wales. He soon returned to India as chief engineer of the Eastern Bengal Railway and in 1876 Leslie became agent and chief engineer to the East India Railway Company. His greatest achievement in India was the Hooghly Bridge (known as the Jubilee Bridge when it opened in 1887) for which he was appointed a Knight Commander Order of the Indian Empire. He also designed an unusual floating pontoon bridge which straddled the Hooghly in Calcutta for 70 years and the Gorai River railway bridge near Kushtia in Bangladesh.

Later years

While in India Leslie lost his wife, three daughters and a son-in-law all within three years and after repeated attacks of malaria Leslie returned home to England with two orphan granddaughters in 1887. The ship ''Tasmania'' was wrecked off Corsica and while carrying one of his granddaughters to safety he fell and injured his knee, it was to trouble him for the rest of his life. The injury was not helped by an accident when he was 84 when he was knocked down by a bicycle as he left his London home and broke a thigh. Despite the injuries he continued to work and in 1895 he became the chairman of the Southern Punjab Railway Company in London. In 1899 he went on a brief return visit to India to discuss a replacement for his floating bridge which was now inadequate for the increased usage, in 1918 when he was 88 he submitted a new design. In 1901 he entered into partnership with Lt Col

Arthur John Barry Lieutenant Colonel Arthur John Barry (1859-1943) was an English civil engineer and architect of the late 19th and early 20th century. Early life Arthur John Barry was the fourth child of the architect Charles Barry, Jr. and his wife Harrie ...

as Barry and Leslie. Barry had been the Chief Engineer in charge of the construction of the Jubilee Bridge.Frederick Arthur Crisp ''Visitation of England and Wales'', Volume 14, London (1906) He died at his London home on 21 March 1926 aged 95.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leslie, Bradford 1831 births 1926 deaths Engineers from London English civil engineers Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire People educated at Mercers' School