Name Sir McAlpine, Deposed date 1934 | Coronation date 1918 | |
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Died 3 November 1934 (aged 87) Born 13 February 1847 (age 87) Newarthill, North Lanarkshire, Scotland Similar Douglas McAlpine, Sir Robert McAlpine, John West (Royal Navy officer) | ||
Sir Robert McAlpine, 1st Baronet (13 February 1847 – 3 November 1934), nicknamed "concrete Bob", founded the British construction firm which is now known as Sir Robert McAlpine.
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Career
He left school at the age of 10 to work in a coal mine, but became an apprentice bricklayer. He was involved in the building of roads, public buildings and other works, some of the tunnelling for the Glasgow Subway and the Singer Sewing Machine factory in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire. Overseas, in 1918 McAlpine was contracted to expand the harbour in Heraklion, Crete. The power station built for the purpose was later used to provide the town's electricity.
Construction company
McAlpine built up the large building and civil engineering firm in 1869 that bears his name; it continues to exist today. He was also a pioneer in the use of concrete and labour-saving machinery.
The company built Methil Harbor and docks in Scotland between 1908 and 1913 in very harsh weather conditions. The volume of work indicates that in less than five years, the 6.78-hectare dock, the 1,288-meter wharf, and a 549-meter-long and 37-meter-wide canal were connected by 40 kilometers of railroads to each other and the outside world.
The company also built railroads, factories and power plants, and played a huge role in supplying the British Army during World War I: many barrack camps, hospitals and barracks were built in the hinterland and behind the front.
The company has also been involved in the construction of hydroelectric power stations and reservoirs, as mentioned in the song, such as the 14 billion liter Alwen Reservoir in Wales. MacAlpine's soldiers built the first Wembley Stadium (!) Between 1922 and 1923, which eventually served the sports and music lovers until 2000, but also included the Tilbury Dock in London, the Mersey Tunnel.
During World War II, MacAlpine used to construct airports and temporary ports of call for Mulberry landings at Normandy landings. The company continued to make large investments after the war, constantly requiring manual workers, including, in addition to the Irish, a large number of Central and Eastern European workers, and later workers from areas of the former British colonial empire.
Baronet
He was made a baronet in June 1918. He was first of the McAlpine baronets.
Family
Robert McAlpine was married twice. On 12 June 1868, he married Agnes Hepburn (d. 1888). They had five sons: Robert (1868–1934), William Hepburn (1871–1950), Thomas Malcolm (1877–1967), Alfred David (1881–1944) and Granville (1882–1928) and two daughters, Agnes and Ethel. His daughter Agnes became the second wife of Louis Marie Charles Fradin de Belabre in 1905. De Belabre had a son and two daughters from his first marriage to Janetta Alexandra West, a grand daughter of Admiral Sir John West, but she had died in 1903. Agnes de Belabre and Louis had one daughter, Yolande born in 1908, but divorced in 1915. On 21 August 1889, he married Florence Margaret Palmer and had one son: Archibald Douglas (1890–1981) and two daughters, Emma and Roberta. Roberta married Richard Lloyd George and was the mother of Owen Lloyd George, 3rd Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor.