LIFE STORY OF LORD ARMSTRONG

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4313, 23 March 1901, Page 5 (Supplement)

LIFE STORY OF LORD ARMSTRONG

THE SELF-MADE CAREER, OF THE GREAT ELS WICK ENGINEER.

By the death of Lord Armstrong England has lost one of the greatest inventors of modern times ; one whose discoveries have revolutionised, and changed the entire conditions of modem warfare. To Lord Armstrong, more than to any ether great, man of the day, England is j indebted for a large share of her greatness and power, and the close of his brilliant career, coming as it does at the end of a brilliant century, is full of pathetic significance. STARTED LIFE AS A LAWYERS CLERK. His life-story is practically the career of the great firm of Elswick, of which little George Armstrong laid 1 the foundation stone over eighty years ago when he contracted the "destructive habit of pulling, his toys to pieces in order to see how they were made. - Like mafiy other distinguished meal, Lord Armstrong at the beginning of his life was destined for the law, and it was while on his holidays as a lawyer’s clerk that he first discovered that Nature meant him for other tilings than sitting on a high stool. His one ideal of a holiday was fishing the streams of Northumberland and Yorkshire, for hewas an enthusiastic angler, and during these quiet hours he thought out many fish-ing-tackle improvements, notably one for carrying live bait. HIS FIRST GREAT INVENTION

It was while engaged in one of these fishing excursions that the idea of utilising water-power to such an extent that it would revolutionise mechanics was bom. The suggestion grew and developed in young Armstrongs mind till it led to the study of hydrostatics. The outcome was the hydraulic crane—an engine cf far greater pojver and - utility than any thing of the kind previously existing.

This was launched upon tho world doubtfully, but it was an instantaneous success, and the career of young Armstrong was 1 from that moment 'defended. The law was readily forsaken, and the inventor of the hydraulic crane ttfrned his attention wholly to the manufacture and improvement of hydraulic machinery. , , It was primarily for this purpose that the now world-famous Elswick Mills were established, but a greater future was in store for theto. During the dark days of the Crimean War, it gtruck Mr Armstrong that the guns of the period were dreadfully overweighted and out of all proportion to the carrying power of the projectile. < THE ARMSTRONG GUN.

Forthwith he set himself to work to improve upon them, and! within a month after he first entertained the idea he submitted his plans to the War Office. It took two .years to unravel the redtap el which was bound tightly round them;' then at the end of that time the plans were approved of and accepted. The main principle of the invention was the coiling of one wrought-iron tube over another to form a complete barrel. By this means the old thirty-two pounder, which weight 57cwt., could he manufactured to weigh only 26cwt., it could be discharged with five pounds of powder instead of ten pounds, and it carried 9000 yards instead of 3000. ; ■ The secret! was sufficient to make Lord Armstrong a millionaire, but he preferred patriotism to. millions, and he offered his invention to the Government free I BARONETCY AND A PEERAGE. The offer was accepted, on the understanding that tbe Els wick Works would supply the guns, and ordnance was first manufactured there in 1857; when a grateful country conferred the order of knighthood upon the inventor* and! appointed him Chief Engineer of ' Rifled Ordnance at a salary of £2,000 a year. Some little time before this the’ hy-dro-electrio machine was invented and placed upon the market. ’ It originated from tbe observance of tbe fact that electricity , could be produced by the escape of steam through chalk cement. Though many scientific, men had experimented with a view to discovering this phenomenon, the problem was left to Lord Armstrong to solve. Upon, his discovery he based the hydro-electric machine, and the fame of his invention secured for him the Fellowship of the Royal Society. Nor have foreign Powers been slow to recognise the genius of our gun-master, the whole world, Austria, Italy, Holland,” and Brazil conferred orders upon limit. was in Jubilee year that Sir W. G. Armstrong was raised to thd peerage as Baron Armstrong, and this was 1 conceded by politicians on all sides to be a distinction that was thoroughly deserved. Looking back half a century to the time of the establishment of the great Ann, it is curiously interesting to note the rapid and gigantic growth of what was at its inception % purely private concern. In place of the original five and a half acres of ground, tho firm now hold 250, and the factories and workshops cover a mile and a half of ground along the banks of the Tyne. ELS WICK WORKS. ; Thirty-five thousand pounds are paid every week for wages alone; and the time-sheets show a ■ roll-call of 30,000' names. The consumption of coal and coke makes a big hole in. a, coal mine every year, 1,231,819 tons being a fair average. For tbe same period oyer 240,000,000 cubic feet of gas are paid for to light the works. ■ , , \ Besides turning out hundreds of ships of war and thousands of guns, the firm of Elswicfc manufactures peaceful imple-ments-—pumps, cranes, etc., and in ihe course of the year thousands, of orders are received for this class of work.

By-thehvay, speaking of orders reminds one of the enormous correspondence dealt with. In the order depart- ■ ment alone last year nearly - AS, OOO letters were received, and an, ordinary let-ter-hook containing .1250 .pages, is filled every week with copies of replies. Among this large number, as may be supposed, there are many received which are curiously interesting. ■ . FREAK INVENTORS. Since the beginning of the South African war hundreds of inventqrs have written reespecting fearful and! wonderful kil-ling-machines of all shapes.and; descriptions, which they would like to place upon the market for the benefit of mankind. Amateur journalists have wririem to inquire minute particulars of the manufacture of the largest gun ever made, with apologies for troubling; and an erratic individual not long ago wanted an estimate for the, building of forty ironclads and twice as many ■ cruisers. Does he hope one day to be President of the United States?. Although employing more workmen than any' other firm in the world, Lord Armstrong was singularly free from the worry and dissensions; of strikes, and, no doubt, this I was due to his wonderful personality, I which made rich and poor alike look upon him as a personal friend. “■ j He was a generous, philanthropic, and : sympathetic employer, and as, such his loss will be felt by every inhabitant of .Newcastle, .where.he always made his ■ home. ■ ; ' i The city is richly indebted to hislibl erality, a lecture hall for the Newcastle | Literary Society, an operating tljegtre * ?

for the infirmary, £IO,OOO. to the muselum, a mechanics’ institute, and Armstrong Park are a few among hia innumerable benefactions. THE INVENTOR AT HOME.

In later years Lord Armstrong seldom visited, his famous Ehwick Works, and took a keen delight ih planting trees and in Building. ' '- : 7 ; His beautiful, home, Craigsidc, is one of the most romantically situated houses in England. It lies in the midst ,of wild mountainous scenery, hemmed in by frowning crags and tall thick trees. The house itself is one of the. most modern iu the kingdom, and was almost entirely built to Lord Armstrong’s own design. .. ; . .

The magic of electricity is everywhere and the telephone is round in every room The conservatories are rich with many huge tropical; ferns, palms, • and flowering plants, and : these can be hydraulically moved* from, .place to place. In 1881 Lord. Armstrong, entertained the Prince and Princess of .Waite hero, when they visited Newcastle .for the opening of the new docks at Gable Dene for the Tyne Commissioners, and: ithe Royal visitors were charmed with the. fairy-like palace. ■ ■ U-.