Geoffrey Morse Binnie FRS FEng (13 November 1908 – 5 April 1989) 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 ...

and writer particularly associated with dams and reservoirs. Binnie was the third generation of his family to enter civil engineering (his grandfather was Sir Alexander Binnie, and father William Binnie). He was educated at

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...

and Zurich University. On graduation, he became a pupil of Swiss engineer Dr Henry Edward Gruner, working on a hydro-electric scheme, Sernf-Niederenbach, in the Alps, and then on a larger project, Albbruck-Dogern on the River Rhine. He joined the Binnie & Partners firm of consulting engineers in 1931. From 1932 to 1936, he worked on the 88m high Jubilee Dam in Hong Kong, the then highest dam in the British Empire. Upon his return to the UK, he worked on the construction of Eye Brook Reservoir near

Corby Corby is a town and civil parish in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, northeast of Northampton. In 2021 it had a population of 68,164. From 1974 to 2021, it was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

, Northamptonshire. In 1939, he was appointed a Partner in the family firm. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served 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 ...

. After the war, he worked on various water supply projects in the UK and overseas, including the Kalatuwawa Dam, near Hanwella, which supplies water to

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

in Sri Lanka. Other major projects included: * Dukan Dam, on River Tigris, Iraq *

Mangla Dam The Mangla Dam () is a multipurpose dam situated on the Jhelum River, lying in the Mirpur District of Pakistan administered Azad Kashmir and the Jhelum District in Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. It is the List of largest dams, sixth-large ...

, on the

Jhelum River The Jhelum River is a major river in South Asia, flowing through India and Pakistan, and is the westernmost of the five major rivers of the Punjab region. It originates at Verinag and flows through the Indian-administered territory of Jammu ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, today still the world's 16th largest dam. *the W. A. C. Bennett Dam, part of the Peace River Project,

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada Binnie retired in December 1972, but remained active on various committees concerned with dams and barrages, including the Severn Barrage Committee from 1977 to 1979. He also researched the history of water and dam engineering; his first book ''Early Victorian Water Engineers'' was published in 1981, and in 1987, his second book, ''Early Dam Builders in Britain'' was published.

Honours

He was a Fellow 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 ...

(ICE) and was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1975. During his career, his ICE honours and awards included the Telford Premium (1938), George Stephenson Medal (1959), Telford Gold Medal (1968), the Smeatonian Society's John Smeaton Gold Medal (1974) and the Newcomen Society's Dickinson Medal (1976).

Legacy

His life and work is commemorated by an annual lecture organised by the British Dam Society.ICE Associated Societies newsletter, Spring/Summer 2011 (Accessed: 19 July 2013)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Binnie, Geoffrey 1908 births 1989 deaths Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge British civil engineers Fellows of the Royal Society Presidents of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers People educated at Charterhouse School