Christopher Hinton, Baron Hinton of Bankside

The Lord Hinton of Bankside
Born 12 May 1901
Tisbury, Wiltshire
Died 22 June 1983 (aged 82)
London
Nationality British
Fields Nuclear
Known for Calder Hall
Notable awards Wilhelm Exner Medal (1956)
Albert Medal (1957)
Rumford Medal (1970)
James Watt International Medal (1973)
Order of Merit (1976)

Christopher Hinton, Baron Hinton of Bankside OM KBE FRS FREng[1] (12 May 1901 – 22 June 1983) was a British nuclear engineer, and supervisor of the construction of Calder Hall, the world's first large-scale commercial nuclear power station.

Career

Hinton was born at Tisbury, Wiltshire, on 12 May 1901 at Tisbury, Wiltshire. He attended school in Chippenham where his father was a schoolmaster, and left school at 16 to become an engineering apprentice with the Great Western Railway at Swindon. At 22 he was awarded the William Henry Allen scholarship of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a first class honours degree.[2]

Hinton then worked for Brunner Mond, later part of ICI, where he became Chief Engineer at the age of 29. At Brunner Mond he met Lillian Boyer (d. 1973) whom he married in 1931. They had one daughter, Mary (1932-2014), who married Arthur Mole, son of Sir Charles Mole, director-general of the Ministry of Works.

During World War II, Hinton was seconded to the Ministry of Supply and became Deputy Director General, running ordnance factory construction and in charge of the Royal Filling Factories.

In 1946, Hinton was appointed Deputy Controller of Production, Atomic Energy, and in 1954 when the Atomic Energy Authority was formed, was appointed Member for Engineering and Production as Managing Director of 'Industrial Group Risley' which comprised the Risley headquarters and laboratories at Culcheth, Capenhurst, Windscale, Springfields and Dounreay plus factories at Springfields, Capenhurst, Windscale, Calder, Dounreay and Chapelcross.

Hinton's department was responsible for the design and construction of most of Britain's major nuclear plants, including Windscale, Capenhurst, Springfields and Dounreay. In 1957, Hinton became the first chairman of the Central Electricity Generating Board. He retired in 1964.

In 1965 he worked for six months in the Ministry of Transport and afterwards became a Special Adviser to the World Bank. He served as Chairman of the International Executive Committee of the World Energy Conference, 1962-1968.

He was created Baron Hinton of Bankside, of Dulwich in the County of London, a life peer, on 28 January 1965, and served as Chancellor of the University of Bath 1966 - 1979.[3] He was appointed to the Order of Merit in 1976.

The Hinton Cup

During his time at the Central Electricity Generating Board he commissioned the Hinton Cup, a piece of silverware that would be presented annually to the power station that displayed good housekeeping in the workplace. The citation to go with the cup reads 'This cup is presented to the Power Station judged to have reached the highest attainment in economy and efficiency of operation and maintenance with particular reference to attractiveness and good housekeeping'. The cup was first won by Meaford A power station in 1959 and was last won by West Burton Power Station prior to the divestment of the Central Electricity Generating Board.

Hinton Cup
The Hinton Cup For Good Housekeeping
Power Station Year
01 Meaford 1959-1960
02 Stella North 1960-1961
03 South Denes 1961-1962
04 Darlington 1962-1963
05 Marchwood 1963-1964
06 Rheidol 1964-1965
07 Huddersfield 1965-1966
08 Poole 1966-1967
09 Elland 1967-1968
10 West Burton 1968-1969
11 South Denes 1969-1970
12 Staythorpe 1970-1971
13 Thornhill 1971-1972
14 Sizewell A 1972-1973
15 Willington B 1973-1974
16 Trawsfynydd 1974-1975
17 Ratcliffe-on-Soar 1975-1976
18 Oldbury on Severn 1976-1977
19 Keadby 1977-1978
20 Fawley 1978-1979
21 Sizewell 1979-1980
22 Eggborough 1980-1981
23 Cottam 1981-1982
24 Pembroke 1982-1983
25 Drax 1983-1984
26 Thorpe Marsh 1985-1986
27 Ratcliffe-on-Soar 1986-1987
28 Rugley A & B 1987-1988
29 West Burton 1988-1989

Awards and achievements

Academic offices
New institution Chancellor of the University of Bath
1966–1980 		Succeeded by
Sir Frank Kearton
Professional and academic associations
Preceded by
Harold Norman Gwynne Allen		 President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers
1966 		Succeeded by
Hugh Graham Conway
Business positions
New title Chairman of the Central Electricity Generating Board
1957–1964 		Succeeded by
Sir Stanley Brown

References

  1. 1 2 Gowing, M. (1990). "Lord Hinton of Bankside, O. M., F. Eng. 12 May 1901-22 June 1983". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 36: 218. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1990.0031.
  2. ↑ "Papers and correspondence of Christopher Hinton, Baron Hinton of Bankside".
  3. ↑ "Previous Chancellors". University of Bath.
  4. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 39150. p. 856. 16 February 1951.
  5. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 40960. p. 11. 1 January 1957.
  6. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 43566. p. 1162. 2 February 1965.
  7. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 46872. p. 5299. 9 April 1976.
  8. ↑ http://www.bath.ac.uk/ceremonies/hongrads/older.html

External links

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