SirErnest William Moir (9 June 1862 – 14 June 1933) was a British civil engineer and the firstMoir baronet. He is credited with inventing the first medicalairlock[1][2] while working on theHudson River Tunnel in New York in 1889.
The son of Alexander Mitchell Moir and of Scottish descent, he was born in London and was educated atUniversity College School. At a young age he showed a great interest in mechanics and became expert in mechanical and engineering work while in college. Aged about 15, Moir joined the engineering works of Messrs.Robert Napier and Sons in Glasgow where he served an apprenticeship as a mechanical engineer. He studied engineering atUniversity College London before joining the firm ofWilliam Arrol in Glasgow where he started in the drawing office.[citation needed] In his early career he also came into close contact withJohn Fowler,Benjamin Baker andJohn Wolfe Barry.[3]
Moir was the assistant toJames Henry Greathead (1844–96) on the building of the London (City) & Southwark Subway, later theCity & South London Railway[4] (and now part of theNorthern line) in the late 1880s. He was also involved in the construction of the southerncantilevers of theForth Bridge.
After British consulting engineering expertise was required at theHudson River Tunnel in New York City, Sir Benjamin Baker provided a report which facilitated $1.5 million of British investment, and in 1889 construction resumed with a contract let to British contractorS. Pearson & Son; Moir was originally resident engineer working for Sir William Arrol and designed an 80-ton steel tunnelling shield for each tunnel at Baker's directions. Moir became contractor’s agent (for S. Pearson & Son) in January 1890, working there until British engineering efforts were suspended in 1891.[5][6] While in New York from May 1890 Moir invented anairlock chamber for treatingdecompression sickness[5] when he noticed that about 25% of the workforce digging the Hudson River Tunnel were dying and was surprised to note that "nobody has seemed to care anything about it." He realised that the solution was recompression and his airlock was quickly applied throughout the industry. While Moir's treatment was effective it was too fast by modern standards but he began the process which would lead to the effective treatment of decompression sickness.[1][7][8][9]
Upon his return to the UK from New York, Moir worked on other S. Pearson & Son projects including theBlackwall Tunnel (1892–1897), for which he designed the steel tunnelling shield and other plant,[10] being praised byDavid Hay for his "originality, zeal, determination and genius" in carrying out the work. Later projects included expansion of theSurrey Commercial Docks andSeaham harbour, the Admiralty harbour atDover (officially opened in 1909),[11] andValparaiso harbour inChile.
He gained the rank of captain in the Royal Engineers (Volunteers) and was put on the Unattached List in 1908.[12] Among his patents was one for adiving bell in 1921.
DuringWorld War I Moir served on the Council of theMinister of Munitions for which service he was decorated with the award of Officer in theLegion of Honour.[citation needed] Described byDavid Lloyd George as "a man of exceptional ability and tact", initially Moir was responsible toEric Geddes for machine gun production. Later Lloyd George appointed Moir to theInventions Department of the Ministry of Munitions. Announcing this appointment to theHouse of Commons on 28 July 1915, Lloyd George stated:[13]
I have appointed Mr E.W. Moir, a distinguished engineer who has already given valuable assistance to my department on a voluntary basis, to take charge of the new branch, and he will not only have an expert staff, but also a panel of scientific consultants on technical and scientific points.
However, Moir quickly found that theWar Office was not inclined to co-operate fully with the Ministry. He wrote to Lloyd George about this in March 1915 which Lloyd George reprinted in full in hisWar Memoirs, using it as evidence of the difficulties and obstructiveness he had encountered as Minister of Munitions during the War.[13]
The Moir Baronetcy, of Whitehanger in the parish ofFernhurst in theCounty of Sussex, was created in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom on 11 July 1916 for him.[14]
Moir produced a design for concrete machine-gunpillboxes.[15] Designed to be constructed from a system of interlocking precast concrete blocks, with a steel roof, around 1500 Moir pillboxes were eventually produced (with blocks cast atRichborough in Kent) and sent to theWestern Front in 1918.[16]
Moir was the founder and head of Ernest William Moir & Co Ltd, engineers, and a Director ofS Pearson & Son Ltd and was President of the Junior Institution of Engineers (a forerunner, 1902–1970, of theInstitution of Incorporated Engineers, later theIET) in 1929.
During the 1920s, he also helped one of the first female civil engineers meetInstitution of Civil Engineers requirements that design engineers have site experience;Dorothy Donaldson Buchanan left London to work on theSilent Valley Reservoir project inNorthern Ireland,[17] and was supervised by Moir,[18] eventually becoming the first female member of the ICE in 1927.[19]
Moir married Margaret Bruce Pennycook (1862–1942) on 4 June 1887.[20]
Ernest William Moir died in 1933 aged 71 and is buried in the family plot atBrookwood Cemetery under a monument which isGrade II listed. This features a bronze profile portrait of Moir's son 2nd Lieutenant Reginald 'Rex' Moir (1893–1915) of theRoyal Engineers, who died ofmeningitis in the Officers' Hospital in London. The angel sculpture surmounting the pedestal is byLillian Wade.[6] He was succeeded to the title by his second son, Sir Arrol Moir (1894–1957), named afterWilliam Arrol, his first benefactor.
Moir was survived by his wifeMargaret, Lady MoirOBE, who described herself as "an engineer by marriage" as she had travelled with her husband on his many engineering projects. DuringWorld War I she organised the Weekend Relief Work Scheme whereby substitute workers covered for the women working in munitions factories allowing them time off. She herself worked as a relief lathe operator for 18 months.[21] Lady Moir was a co-founder of theWomen's Engineering Society in 1919.[18] and an early member and president of theElectrical Association for Women.[20]
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| New creation | Baronet (of Whitehanger) 1916–1933 | Succeeded by Arrol Moir |
