Guy Anson Maunsell (1 September 1884 – 20 June 1961) was theBritish civil engineer responsible for the design of theMaunsell Forts used by theUnited Kingdom for the defence of theThames andMersey estuaries duringWorld War II.
Maunsell was born in 1884 inSrinagar,Kashmir inBritish India, one of three children of a military family. His father, Edward Henry Maunsell (1837–1913) was ofAnglo-Irish ancestry, and was acaptain in the5th Dragoon Guards and15th Hussars. His mother, Rosalie Harriet Anson (1852–1922), was born inGuernsey; the couple had married inBombay Cathedral in 1878. He was related distantly to General SirFrederick Richard Maunsell (1828–1916) of the Royal Bengal Engineers. Young Guy was sent to school in England atEastbourne College between 1897 and 1903, and studiedcivil engineering at the Central Institution of theCity & Guilds of London Institute, South Kensington.
Although he graduated with first class honours in 1906, he did not find immediate employment and travelled the country makingwatercolour paintings. The next year, he became an assistant to Swiss engineerAdrien Palaz (1863–1930), professor of Industrial Electricity at theUniversity of Lausanne, where he learned the latest techniques associated withreinforced concrete. In 1909 he secured a job withEaston Gibb & Son who were engaged in the construction of theRosyth Dockyard.[1] In July 1914, Maunsell moved toR. Thorburn and Sons as their chief agent and was responsible for building twoTNT factories for the British Government.
In 1917, Maunsell was conscripted as a commissioned officer in theRoyal Engineers and spent a year on theWestern Front. Recalled to England, he worked as chief engineer atJohn Ver Mehr's yard inShoreham, engaged with the construction of concrete tugs and barges known as theShoreham Creteships. He was also involved with the concrete and steel towers for theAdmiralty M-N Scheme, which were intended to close theStrait of Dover toU-boats. A single tower remains today as the lighthouseNab Tower.[2]
In 1955 he founded the businessG. Maunsell & Partners in the United Kingdom which pioneered the use ofpre-stressed concrete for major bridges. TheHammersmith Flyover, completed in 1961, made early use of this new construction method and many more such structures followed. The company expanded toAustralia,Hong Kong and theMiddle East and in time merged withOscar Faber & Partners to form Faber Maunsell, and ultimately became part of the US-basedAECOM Group.
He died at Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England on 20 June 1961.[3]
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