Sir Roger Gaskell Hetherington CB,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(10 February 1876 – 24 February 1952) 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 ...

and

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

Life

Roger Gaskell Hetherington was born in Sherborne, Dorset on 10 February 1876, the eldest son of William Lonsdale Hetherington and his wife, Mary Gaskell, daughter of John Dakin Gaskell, a barrister of Highgate, London. His father was assistant Master at Sherborne School when he was born, but the family soon after returned to Highgate. He entered

Highgate School Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is an English co-educational, fee-charging, independent day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgate ...

in 1889. After school he attended Trinity College, Cambridge, Hetherington served as an officer in the 4th ( Cambridge University) Volunteer Battalion of the

Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the First and Second World Wars, before bein ...

but resigned his commission as

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 24 November 1897. Hetherington returned to the British Army during the First World War when he was appointed temporary Inspector of Works in the Staff of the

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

with the honorary rank of Lieutenant on 14 April 1915. All his life he suffered from a weak heart and was never passed fit for active service. He relinquished that commission upon the completion of his service on 25 February 1919, retaining his rank. Hetherington married Honoria Ford on 24 April 1906. She was the youngest daughter of the solicitor Arthur Ranken Ford, who lived close (1 Broadlands Road) to Roger's parents in Highgate (3 Broadlands Road). They had a daughter and three sons, the second of whom was Sir Arthur Ford Hetherington (1911–2002) who was Chairman of British Gas plc. Hetherington had become a governor at Highgate School in 1917. He served the school as treasurer and chairman of governors from 1929 to 1944. He had an interest in education and was also chairman of the council of Wycombe Abbey School. Hetherington's career as a civil servant began in 1930 when he became the Chief Engineering Inspector at the

Ministry of Health Ministry of Health may refer to: Note: Italics indicate now-defunct ministries. * Ministry of Health (Argentina) * Ministry of Health (Armenia) * Australia: ** Ministry of Health (New South Wales) * Ministry of Health (The Bahamas) * Ministry of ...

, a post he would hold until 1944. He became an official adviser on water and the Director of Surveys for the ministry in 1941 in which capacity he served until 1952. Hetherington had been appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1918, a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

in 1932 and was made Knight Bachelor in 1945. On 24 June 1947, at a special general meeting of the Institution of Civil Engineers, he was elected their president for the November 1947 to November 1948 session.. Hetherington was only elected because the death of the president-elect

Sir Frederick Cook ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only ...

following his election in May. This was the second successive year that the ICE's president-elect had died before entering office. Hetherington died in 1952. His eldest son Roger Le Geyt Hetherington (1908–1990) was president of the ICE for 1972–73.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hetherington, Roger Gaskell 1876 births 1952 deaths British civil engineers Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Bachelor People educated at Highgate School Royal Engineers officers Civil servants in the Ministry of Health (United Kingdom) Suffolk Regiment officers