Sir Charles Langbridge Morgan

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 ...

(1 January 1855 – 9 November 1940) was a British

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

. A railway engineer, he spent his early career on several railway construction projects before joining the

Great Eastern Railway The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...

where his responsibilities included construction of

Liverpool Street station Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a major central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It i ...

. Morgan became chief engineer of the

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR (known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton)) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at ...

in 1896 and directed improvements to

London Victoria station Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named after the nearby Victoria Street, the mai ...

and

Grosvenor Bridge Grosvenor Bridge, originally known as, and alternatively called Victoria Railway Bridge, is a railway bridge over the River Thames in London, between Vauxhall Bridge and Chelsea Bridge. Originally constructed in 1860, and widened in 1865 and ...

. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Morgan was a lieutenant-colonel in 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 ...

, carrying out "special engineering duties" in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

for the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

. He later served as the army's deputy director of railways, on the advisory expert committee to the

Ministry of Munitions The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis o ...

and on the Disposal Board of the Disposal and Liquidation Commission.

Railway career

Morgan was born on 1 January 1855 in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He was educated privately in Australia and England before commencing a

pupillage A pupillage, in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan and Hong Kong, is the final, vocational stage of training for those wishing to become practising barristers. Pupillage is similar to an apprenticeship, during which ba ...

under Edward Wilson in June 1870. Morgan completed this in 1877 and was employed as a chief engineering assistant in Wilson's firm, Messrs E Wilson & Company on railway engineering works. This included acting as resident engineer during the construction of the Banbury and Cheltenham Railway and as assistant engineer on the construction of several West Midland lines of the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

. Morgan was appointed assistant engineer to the

in 1883, under chief engineer John Wilson. Morgan had responsibility for maintenance of the entire network including the renewal of a large number of bridges and the company's expansion with new London approach lines, including the construction of the first

. In 1896 he became chief engineer of the Newhaven Harbour Company, in February of the same year succeeding Frederick Banister as chief engineer of the

(LB&SCR). At LB&SCR Morgan was responsible for the construction of the line between Stoat's Nest and

Earlswood Earlswood is a suburb of Redhill, Surrey, Redhill in Surrey, England, which lies on the A23 road, A23 between Redhill (in the direction of London) and Horley (next to Gatwick Airport). Earlswood Common is a local nature reserve that separates ...

which freed the line from dependence upon the South Eastern Railway and renovation of the company's portion of Victoria station in London. He upgraded the section between Victoria and

Balcombe Balcombe is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. It lies south of London, north of Brighton, and east-northeast of the county town of Chichester. Nearby towns include Crawley to the northwest and Ha ...

quadruple track A quadruple-track railway (also known as a four-track railway) is a railway line consisting of four parallel tracks with two tracks used in each direction. Quadruple-track railways can handle large amounts of traffic, and so are used on very bu ...

, rebuilding most of the stations along that 32-mile section, and widened the

over the Thames. Morgan retired in 1917 and was appointed to the board of directors, transferring to the board of the Southern Railway after the mergers mandated by the

Railways Act 1921 The Railways Act 1921 ( 11 & 12 Geo. 5. c. 55), also known as the Grouping Act, was an act of Parliament enacted by the British government, and was intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, by "grou ...

War work

During the

he served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

as a Lieutenant-Colonel. Morgan's son also served in the war, as an officer of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. During the war the elder Morgan undertook "special engineering duties" for the

and

. On 6 April 1917 he was appointed the British Army's Deputy Director of Railways, a position equivalent to appointment as assistant director of supplies and transport in the Army Service Corps, and also served as Commissioner of the

Newhaven Newhaven is a port town in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England, lying at the mouth of the River Ouse. The town developed during the Middle Ages as the nearby port of Seaford began drying up, forcing a new port to be established. A ...

and Seaford Sea Defences in

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

. He was also a member of the Advisory Expert Committee of the

. Morgan was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

in 1918. After the war Morgan served as a member of the Disposal Board of the Disposal and Liquidation Commission, a government body formed to dispose of surplus war material, a body he was still a member of (with the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

) on 29 December 1922 when it was announced that he would receive a knighthood in the

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

. The knighthood was conferred by King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

on 15 February 1923. Morgan was a member of the Territorial Army

Engineer and Railway Staff Corps The Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps is a part of the Royal Engineers in the British Army Reserve. It is intended to provide advisers on engineering and logistics to the British Army at a senior level. Following its work creating the NHS Nightin ...

, an unpaid volunteer unit which provides technical expertise to the British Army. He resigned his commission as lieutenant-colonel in this corps on 18 February 1925; he had permission to retain his rank and to continue to wear the uniform.

Personal life

He married Mary Watkins on 14 March 1883 in

Redfern, New South Wales Redfern is an Southern Sydney, inner southern suburb of Sydney located south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Local government in Australia, local government area of the City of Sydney. Strawberry Hills is a locality ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

(to which her parents had immigrated). They had two sons, one also called

Charles Langbridge Morgan Charles Langbridge Morgan (22 January 1894 – 6 February 1958) was a British playwright and novelist of English and Welsh parentage. The main themes of his work were, as he himself put it, "Art, Love, and Death", and the relation between t ...

who became a playwright and novelist, and two daughters. Their grandchildren included

Shirley Paget, Marchioness of Anglesey Elizabeth Shirley Vaughan Paget, Marchioness of Anglesey, (''née'' Morgan; 4 December 1924 – 21 January 2017), better known as Dame Shirley Paget, was a British public servant and writer. Early life and education She was born in Chelsea, ...

and Roger Morgan. From November 1923 to November 1924 Morgan served as 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 ...

, an organisation he had joined as an associate member on 9 January 1883.. He had been appointed a member on 30 April 1889, served in the institutions council since November 1912 and held the position of vice-president since November 1919. Morgan died on 9 November 1940 at Hove, Sussex.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Charles Langbridge 1855 births 1940 deaths British civil engineers Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers Presidents of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British Army personnel of World War I Royal Engineers officers Engineer and Railway Staff Corps officers London, Brighton and South Coast Railway people Royal Army Service Corps officers