Sir Alan James Harris

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(8 July 1916 – 26 December 2000) was a British

civil Civil may refer to: *Civility, orderly behavior and politeness *Civic virtue, the cultivation of habits important for the success of a society *Civil (journalism) ''The Colorado Sun'' is an online news outlet based in Denver, Colorado. It lau ...

and

structural engineer Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research List of structural elements, structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants. Their work takes account mainly of ...

Early life and education

Harris was born in 1916 in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, and started working at the age of 16 taking evening classes in engineering at Northampton Engineering College now

City, University of London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" an ...

Career

From 1940 to 1946 Harris served with the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

as an officer in a Port Construction and Repair Company, landing at

Port-en-Bessin Port-en-Bessin-Huppain () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. The commune contains the two towns of Port-en-Bessin and Huppain. Population History The name ''Huppain'' stems from Norse/ ...

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

on D-Day + 1. He was officer in command of diving on Mulberry B at

Arromanches Arromanches-les-Bains (; or simply Arromanches) is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region of north-western France. Geography Arromanches-les-Bains is 12 km north-east of Bayeux and 10 km west of Courseulles-su ...

, working from a small fleet of French fishing boats, as a result of which he was awarded the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

. He later joined the Royal Engineers in the Territorial Army where he attained the rank of Colonel. After World War II Harris went to Paris to work for

Eugène Freyssinet Eugène Freyssinet () (13 July 1879 – 8 June 1962) was a French structural and civil engineer. He was the major pioneer of prestressed concrete. Biography Freyssinet was born in at Objat, Corrèze, France. He worked in the ''École Nationale d ...

, the pioneer of

prestressed Prestressed concrete is a form of concrete used in construction. It is substantially prestressed ( compressed) during production, in a manner that strengthens it against tensile forces which will exist when in service. Post-tensioned concreted is ...

and

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

and in 1949 became Freyssinet‘s representative in England. In 1955 Harris, his brother John, and James Sutherland set up the consulting business of Harris & Sutherland. Among other things, they designed aircraft hangars for

Heathrow Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...

and

Gatwick Gatwick Airport , also known as London Gatwick Airport (), is the secondary international airport serving London, West Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwick was the second-bu ...

airports. Later, they expanded their work to infrastructure projects and had branches in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Harris & Sutherland was acquired by

Babtie, Shaw and Morton Babtie, Shaw and Morton was a firm of civil engineers based in Glasgow, Scotland, and noted for its work on bridges, dams and reservoirs. History It took its name following the 1906 merger of Babtie & Bonn (a partnership founded by John Babtie ...

in 1997, and since 2004 has been part of

Jacobs Engineering Jacobs Solutions Inc. is an American international technical professional services firm based in Dallas. The company provides engineering, technical, professional, and construction services as well as scientific and specialty consulting for a ...

. Harris was a vice president of the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a Charitable organization, charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters ar ...

. He was President of the

Institution of Structural Engineers The Institution of Structural Engineers is a British professional body for structural engineers. In 2021, it had 29,900 members operating in 112 countries. It provides professional accreditation and publishes a magazine, '' The Structural Eng ...

in 1978-9 and was awarded its

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in 1984. Harris was appointed a professor of concrete structures at

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

in 1973.

Awards and honours

* Awarded CBE in

1968 Birthday Honours The 1968 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments to orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms to reward and highlight citizens' good works, on the occasion of the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. They were announced in suppleme ...

* Knighted for services to Civil Engineering in

1980 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1980 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

* The

Gold Medal of the Institution of Structural Engineers The Gold Medal of the Institution of Structural Engineers is awarded by the Institution of Structural Engineers for exceptional and outstanding contributions to the advancement of structural engineering. It was established in 1922. Recipients ...

in 1984. * Hon DSc by the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

in 1984. * Ordre du Mérite of France in 1975

Selected projects

* Prestressed concrete hangar at Heathrow Airport for BOAC maintenance headquarters 1950–55 * Spekeland Road Rail Depot

References

External links

Institution of Structural Engineers

Obituary in New Civil Engineer, 11 January 2001
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Alan Alumni of City, University of London Presidents of the Institution of Structural Engineers Structural engineers Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Commanders of the Order of the British Empire IStructE Gold Medal winners Knights Bachelor Engineering educators People from Plymouth, Devon 1916 births 2000 deaths