William Beardmore
William Beardmore was a
Scottish industrialist born on
16 October 1856. He was educated at the
High School of Glasgow, Ayr Academy and the Royal Technical College (now part of
Strathclyde University) in
Glasgow. His father was co-founder of the Parkhead Forge (steel mills and supplier to the thriving shipbuilding and railway industries on the Clyde) in the east end of Glasgow. Beardmore served an apprenticeship in the business from the age of 15 while studying night classes. William's father died during his apprenticeship and the retirement of his father's business partner saw William's uncle become sole proprietor. William became a partner in
1880 and on his uncle's retirement six years later, he became the sole proprietor of the business and formed it into the limited company of
William Beardmore and Company in
1902.
In
1899, he bought the world famous yard of Robert Napier & Sons at
Govan, on the
Clyde, and diversified his business in the following years to include the production of vehicles, armaments including shells and tanks, aircraft, airships and motorcycles. The original forge business continued to produce a wide array of steel materials including armour plate, castings, axles, railway equipment, boiler plate and wheels.
In
1900, he purchased land on the north bank of the river Clyde at Dalmuir, adjacent to the famous yard of
John Brown and Company at
Clydebank. This he developed into one of the largest and most modern shipyards in the world but the post war decline in shipbuilding saw this yard close in
1936.
Beardmore sponsored Shackleton's
1907 Antarctic expedition which saw a large
glacier named after him (
Beardmore Glacier). He was a Member of the Institute of Naval Architects, of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, of the Iron and Steel Institute, and of the Institution of Shipbuilders and Engineers of Scotland and was created a baronet in
1914 and raised to the peerage as Lord Invernairn in
1921. William Beardmore died at home of heart failure on
9 April 1936, aged 79.
The Clydebank Story: Beardmore's shipyard [
1]
