Oswald Longstaff Prowde

Oswald Longstaff Prowde (1882 - 5 November 1949) was an English civil engineer, particularly associated with irrigation projects, dams and other water-related projects.

Early life and education

Prowde was born in Melsonby in Yorkshire, the eldest son of Dr Edwin Longstaff Prowde, originally from Sunderland. He was educated at Pocklington School and in 1901 went to St John's College, Cambridge.[1] He studied mechanical sciences under Sir Alfred Ewing, graduating with honours in 1904.

Career

In 1905, he travelled to Egypt to work with the Cairo-based Government Irrigation Service as Surveyor of Contracts in Gharbia. He later became involved in using water for hydroelectric power generation, taking charge of the first heightening of the Aswan Low Dam. He was also resident engineer on the Gezira irrigation scheme, which included the Sennar Dam on the Blue Nile (he was awarded the Telford Medal by the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1927 for his paper on this project).[1][2][3][4] Prowde worked with Sir Murdoch MacDonald (an advisor to the country's Ministry of Public Works) on the development of the Aswan scheme and in 1927 became a partner in MacDonald's firm, Sir M MacDonald & Partners.[5] He was engaged in the second heightening of the Aswan Dam, which continued through to 1933.[5]

Later projects included work on land reclamation projects in Greece and Spain, the Brora hydroelectric projects in Scotland, and the River Great Ouse Flood Protection works and Whitehaven Harbour - both in England.[1]

He was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1926 Birthday Honours, and also received the Egyptian Orders of Ismail, the Nile and Medjidieh.[1]

He died in a London nursing home on Saturday 5 November 1949,[1] and was buried in St Mary Magdalene's churchyard in Faceby, a few miles from his Yorkshire birthplace.

References
  1. Chapple, Alfred. "Obituary: Oswald Longstaff Prowde (1885-1949)" (PDF). St John's Cambridge. Retrieved 15 May 2023.. From The Eagle, Easter 1950, pp. 205-207.
  2. Prowde, O L (1926). "The Gezira Irrigation Scheme, including the Sennar Dam on the Blue Nile". Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. 222 (1926): 81–89. doi:10.1680/imotp.1926.14156. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  3. Winchester, Clarence (1938). "Conquest of the Desert". Wonders of World Engineering. pp. 289–295. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  4. "The Sennar Dam and the Gezira Irrigation Scheme" (PDF). The Engineer. 26 September 1924. pp. 348–350. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  5. Farmer, Hugh. "Preece, Cardew and Rider – Consulting Engineers for Hok Un power station (9 January 2017)". The Industrial History of Hong Kong Group. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
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