(1923 – 2011) Engineer and University Lecturer

Sir Bernard Crossland was an engineer and head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Queen’s University, Belfast. He was born on 20th October 1923 in Sydenham, London but would be brought up in Whitstable. He would then attend Simon Langton Grammar School in Canterbury before going on to become an apprentice at Rolls-Royce in Derby. As part of this, he attended Derby Technical College before being awarded a bursary that allowed him to go to University College, Nottingham. At the age of 20, he would graduate with an external degree from the University of London and then returned to Rolls-Royce. He would work under C.H. Bulleid on various problems and was awarded an MSc(Eng) for his work.

In 1945 he moved into teaching, becoming a lecturer at Luton Technical College. The following year he would move to the University of Bristol as an assistant lecturer in Mechanical Engineering. Here he would work as part of the department headed by Professor John Morrison and published several different papers with him. As a result of this, he would become a leading authority on high-pressure cylinders and pressure vessels. In 1950 he would develop a course on automatic control, which was one of the first such courses to be taught in Britain, and in 1953 he was awarded his PhD following the submission of a thesis on the effects of high pressure on the shear strength of metals.

In 1956 Crossland was promoted to Senior Lecturer but 3 years later he would leave the University of Bristol to become the head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Queen’s University in Belfast. He would remain in this position until 1982. During his time in this position, he would be involved in a great deal of change in the department and would also take on the position as Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science and Technology, between 1964 and 1967, and Pro-Vice Chancellor between 1978 and 1982.

In 1982 he became a special research professor, giving up the majority of his administrative responsibilities and focusing on research. This was following 2 years later by his early retirement but he would continue to act as a consultant and expert witness on many public enquiries, including the one into the 1987 King’s Cross Fire. In addition to this work, he would also be a member of numerous Northern Irish bodies, including the Northern Ireland Training Council and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1979. In 1990 he would be knighted for his services to Northern Ireland.

Sir Bernard Crossland died on 17th January 2011.