Wilfred Cracroft Ash

Wilfrid Cracroft Ash (2 February 1884 - 9 December 1968) was a co-founder of the construction company Gilbert-Ash along with Paul Gilbert and is noted for technological inventions in prestressed concrete. He was engineer-in-chief and designer of the new harbour for Vizagapatam 1928-1935 and engineer-in-chief for the largest ordinance factory in the world in Swynnerton, Staffordshire 1940-1945.
Personal
Born at Sculcoates, Yorkshire East Riding, UK to an engineer father William Ash and mother Pheobe. Ash was educated at Ipswich Endowed School, Heidelberg University (where he enjoyed dueling) and London University where he read engineering and got a first. He studied under B L Hurst (1903-1907). In 1909 he married Beatrice Millicent Baxter (born 1885/6 Portsmouth Hampshire) in Portsmouth (?). He had two children by Beatrice, Marjory Yvonne born 1915, Calcutta, India and Maurice Antony born 1917 Calcutta, India, the environmentalist, writer and planner. His wife Beatrice died in childbirth 1917. He married for the second time (Edith) Maud Harper in 1926 and they had one son, Michael Edward Ash who was born in 1927, and who invented 'Easy Serve' Draught Guinness and pioneered the whole nitro beer category.
Career
In his early years Ash was engaged on the gun batteries at Portsmouth harbor. In 1907 he joined the Indian Civil Service and in 1909 became a member of the Institute of Civil Engineers. He was posted to Calcutta in 1910(?) Where he was responsible for the completion of the King George's Docks. He then designed the new Harbour for Vizagapatam 1928-1935 for which he was also engineer-in-chief and moved there in 1928 to supervise its construction. A unique feature of this scheme was the sinking of two ships to form a revetment to contain the silting of the harbour area. The docks were completed in 1935. Ash retired from the India Civil Service in 1938. On the outbreak of the Second World War Ash became a consultant to Sir Alexander Gibb and Partners, later joining the ministry of supply, and was engineer-in-chief for the construction of the then largest ordnance factory in the world at Swynnerton, Staffordshire, where 1,700 buildings were erected in only nine months. At the peak of the war this factory employed a total of 25,000 workers. It made a most important contribution as an arsenal of the weapons of war to victory over the Nazis in 1945. Ash also acted as consultant for the floatation of the Phoenix Units which formed the Mulberry Harbours in the invasion of France, the construction of aircraft storage unit site, Hullavington Barracks, Wiltshire and the construction of R.A.F Wormingford near Colchester 1942-1943. In 1946 he joined Paul Gilbert and with him became a founder director of the construction company Gilbert-Ash Limited, with whom he stayed until retirement at the age of 77 (1961). Ash was a pioneer of industrial building and early on realised the advantages of using pre-stressed, precast concrete components to speed building operations, devoting much of his time to the development, with the ministry of education, of Integrated system of construction for educational buildings.
Publications
Article: Vizagapatam Harbour. Part I - General notes. Part II - Construction.
Article: Correspondence. Vizagapatam Harbour Calcutta Port Extensions.
Corrigenda. Calcutta Port Extensions.
Correspondence on 4841 & 4842. Calcutta Port Extensions.
The Construction and Sinking of Monoliths at King George's Dock, Calcutta. Article: Discussion Vizagapatam Harbour. General notes. Construction.
Discussion of 4841 & 4852 Calcutta Port Extensions. The construction and Sinking of Monoliths at King George's Dock Calcutta.
An experiment on quay-walls at King George's Dock, Calcutta. (The Institution of Civil Engineers. Selected engineering papers) 1932

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