Sir William "Kirby" Laing (21 July 1916 – 12 April 2009) 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 ...

Career

Laing was born in

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

in 1916.. He was a member of the Laing Family, famous in the British construction industry for running

John Laing plc John Laing Group is a British investor, developer and operator of privately financed, public sector infrastructure projects such as roads, railways, hospitals and schools through public-private partnership (PPP) and private finance initiative (PF ...

. He was the son of Sir John Laing and the brother of Sir Maurice Laing. Kirby Laing learnt about the construction industry from his father and would visit the company's construction sites with him during the school holidays. Laing graduated from

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mo ...

, in 1937 and began work as a graduate engineer for John Laing plc. He was a member of the fifth generation of the Laing family to join the firm. During the

Second World War 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 ...

Laing 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 ...

, receiving his commission as a Second lieutenant on 2 January 1944. He resigned his commission as a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the Territorial Army Reserve of Officers on 13 July 1955, although he was permitted to retain the honorary title of lieutenant. In 1946 he became joint managing director of Laing (the parent company of John Laing plc) and from 1956 to 1976 he was chairman of the Laing Group. Whilst leading the company Laing built on their experience of

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

and housing construction and expanded into road building. In 1976 his brother, Maurice, was made chairman and Kirby became deputy chairman. Kirby retired as deputy chairman in 1980, having also been chairman of the Laing properties division. In 1968 Kirby had been elected a first class member of the

Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers The Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers was founded in England in 1771. It was the first engineering society to be formed anywhere in the world, and remains the oldest. It was originally known as the Society of Civil Engineers, being renamed fo ...

and would serve as their president in 1988.. He also 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 ...

from November 1973 to November 1974 and was an honorary member of the

American Society of Civil Engineers The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is a tax-exempt professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, it is the oldest national engineering soci ...

.. Laing returned to military service by being invited to join the

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, voluntary Territorial Army unit which advises 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 ...

on engineering matters. He joined as a

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

on 14 October 1966, was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel on 23 December 1967 and

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 17 May 1971. He became the corps' commanding officer on 12 January 1978 and retired from the army on 4 August 1997. In 1977 Laing was elected to the Fellowship of Engineering. He was also president of the

National Federation of Building Trades Employers National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

and of the London Master Builders Association. He was also chairman of the

Construction Industry Research and Information Association Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

and the National Joint Council of the Building Industry. In 1975 he chaired the government's Advisory Committee on Fixed Offshore Installations. He was a member of the Royal Albert Hall Council from 1970, served as their president from 1972 to 1992 and then remained their vice-president. Laing was made a

knight bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

on 8 June 1968, an honour which was conferred on him by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

on 5 November 1968. He served as a Justice of the Peace for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

and was made Deputy Lieutenant of London on 12 June 1978. Laing was made Deputy Lieutenant of

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

on 8 April 1987. He established the

Kirby Laing Foundation Kirby may refer to: Buildings * Kirby Building, a skyscraper in Dallas, Texas, United States * Kirby Lofts, a building in Houston, Texas, United States * Kirby Hall, an Elizabethan country house near Corby, Northamptonshire, England * Kirby House ...

as a charity to make grants and donations to charitable causes. Laing was married to Lady Isobel Laing and both were trustees of the foundation. His son

Martin Laing Sir John Martin Kirby Laing (18 January 1942 – 27 December 2023) was a British businessman in the construction industry. Martin Laing was executive chairman of John Laing plc, the firm founded by his great-great-grandfather James Laing (1816 ...

became executive chairman of John Laing plc, but resigned in 2001 when the company faced major losses in its construction business, ending 152 years and six generations of family management.Daily Telegraph: "Chairman steps down from struggling Laing"
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References

Bibliography

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laing, Kirby Military personnel from Carlisle, Cumbria British civil engineers Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers Presidents of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers 1916 births Royal Engineers officers British Army personnel of World War II Deputy lieutenants of Greater London Deputy lieutenants of Hertfordshire English justices of the peace

Kirby Kirby may refer to: Buildings * Kirby Building, a skyscraper in Dallas, Texas, United States * Kirby Lofts, a building in Houston, Texas, United States * Kirby Hall, an Elizabethan country house near Corby, Northamptonshire, England * Kirby Ho ...

Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge People from Carlisle, Cumbria 2009 deaths Knights Bachelor Royal Engineers soldiers Engineer and Railway Staff Corps officers