Arthur Goddard Engineer
Encyclopedia
Arthur Goddard was born on 31 January 1921 the second son of John Newman Goddard. Arthur went to, the Little Sutton C of E School in Bromborough. After schooling he completed a Mechanical Engineering Certificate at a college in Liverpool.
Towards the end of the war the Rover Company suddenly needed an Engineer with experience in the Rolls Royce Merlin engine for their own Meteor project based on the Merlin engine for use in tanks. Rover's head of Engine Development had crashed his motor cycle and broken both his legs and was laid up for quite a while. Arthur was interviewed by Maurice Wilks
and got the job filling in. Once war had really ended in Europe in 1945, Maurice Wilks, eager to get back in the car game took Arthur straight off the Meteor project and put him onto Rover cars, and developing Rover’s new 4 and 6 cylinder IOE engines and then he moved onto vehicle testing in noise and vibration. This led to heading up the research areas of the company and being one of the few broadly experienced engineers in the company, rather than a specific specialist in one area.
project idea had been Maurice Wilks
from finding out how useful his old Wartime Jeep was at light farming and small jobs about the place. Wilks had found the Jeep particularly useful during the hard winter of 1947 but also great on beach at Anglesea where the Wilks family had a holiday home. The idea for the Land Rover as a vehicle for Rover to manufacture was first thought up at Anglesey
. The British Government was bringing in some strict rationing for steel supply for Car companies unless they concentrated very strongly on export. The Land Rover had huge potential on this front for Rover so the idea developed quickly. A team was made up of Engineers to get the ‘Land Rover’ project going, Maurice Wilks was the 'Technical director' Robert Boyle was 'chief engineer' and Arthur was 'assistant chief engineer', that was until a major difference of opinion between Robert Boyle and Arthur Goddard resulted in Arthur being replaced with Tom Barton (MR Landrover), Tom Barton was later given charge of land rover. Arthur, had been working on Rover cars in the area of noise and vibration. He and the team had not much off road vehicle experience and very little farming experience. Not only was part of the brief to develop the idea but also to find out as much as they could about farming machinery and potential uses for the new vehicle which was hugely successful from its launch at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show.
, Alec Issigonis
and Giulio Alfieri
.
He is currently Chief Engineer of his own family run business, Vehicle Components Pty Ltd in Brisbane, Australia that specialize in Off Road Trailer and Caravan hitches and suspension systems.
Detailed recollections from Arthur were published in the club magazine of The Land Rover Register 1948 to 1953, Full Grille in May 2009 and lead to a visit back to the Land Rover Factory by Arthur in April 2010, 62 to years to the day on which the Land Rover was launched.
Arthur's career with the Land Rover was covered in the August 2010 Edition of Classic & Sports Car
magazine.
Rover
Arthur began working on testing WW2 aero engines, for problems in operating at high altitude. He continued this field of work moving down to Coventry and working at Alvis in the Aero Engine research lab where they tested all kinds of War-time aircraft engines from both sides and all countries.Towards the end of the war the Rover Company suddenly needed an Engineer with experience in the Rolls Royce Merlin engine for their own Meteor project based on the Merlin engine for use in tanks. Rover's head of Engine Development had crashed his motor cycle and broken both his legs and was laid up for quite a while. Arthur was interviewed by Maurice Wilks
Maurice Wilks
Maurice Cary Ferdinand Wilks was an automotive and aeronautical engineer, and by the time of his death in 1963, was the chairman of the Rover Company, a British car manufacturer...
and got the job filling in. Once war had really ended in Europe in 1945, Maurice Wilks, eager to get back in the car game took Arthur straight off the Meteor project and put him onto Rover cars, and developing Rover’s new 4 and 6 cylinder IOE engines and then he moved onto vehicle testing in noise and vibration. This led to heading up the research areas of the company and being one of the few broadly experienced engineers in the company, rather than a specific specialist in one area.
Land Rover
Arthur says the Land RoverLand Rover
Land Rover is a British car manufacturer with its headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom which specialises in four-wheel-drive vehicles. It is owned by the Indian company Tata Motors, forming part of their Jaguar Land Rover group...
project idea had been Maurice Wilks
Maurice Wilks
Maurice Cary Ferdinand Wilks was an automotive and aeronautical engineer, and by the time of his death in 1963, was the chairman of the Rover Company, a British car manufacturer...
from finding out how useful his old Wartime Jeep was at light farming and small jobs about the place. Wilks had found the Jeep particularly useful during the hard winter of 1947 but also great on beach at Anglesea where the Wilks family had a holiday home. The idea for the Land Rover as a vehicle for Rover to manufacture was first thought up at Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
. The British Government was bringing in some strict rationing for steel supply for Car companies unless they concentrated very strongly on export. The Land Rover had huge potential on this front for Rover so the idea developed quickly. A team was made up of Engineers to get the ‘Land Rover’ project going, Maurice Wilks was the 'Technical director' Robert Boyle was 'chief engineer' and Arthur was 'assistant chief engineer', that was until a major difference of opinion between Robert Boyle and Arthur Goddard resulted in Arthur being replaced with Tom Barton (MR Landrover), Tom Barton was later given charge of land rover. Arthur, had been working on Rover cars in the area of noise and vibration. He and the team had not much off road vehicle experience and very little farming experience. Not only was part of the brief to develop the idea but also to find out as much as they could about farming machinery and potential uses for the new vehicle which was hugely successful from its launch at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show.
Girling
Arthur moved to Girling Brakes in 1957 to become Technical Director where he stayed until 1970. He then moved out to Australia as Managing Director of Automotive and Girling Australia, manufacturers of braking components for Australian vehicle manufacturers. Arthur's experience was sought in an Australian Government Enquiry in 1975 in regards to the standard of Australian manufactured vehicles brakes in comparison to those from vehicles manufactured in other countries, which lead to a change in the standard of braking for Australian vehicles. Throughout his career he has worked with many leading Automotive engineers including, Spen KingCharles Spencer King
Charles Spencer “Spen” King was a significant figure in the Rover Company and, after their takeover, in the British Leyland Motor Corporation.After leaving school in 1942, he was first apprenticed to Rolls-Royce...
, Alec Issigonis
Alec Issigonis
Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, CBE, FRS was a Greek-British designer of cars, now remembered chiefly for the groundbreaking and influential development of the Mini, launched by the British Motor Corporation in 1959.- Early life:Issigonis was born into the Greek community of Smyrna ...
and Giulio Alfieri
Giulio Alfieri
Giulio Alfieri was an Italian automobile engineer, affiliated with Maserati in Modena, Italy since 1953, where he was central to the development of racing and production cars in the 1950s and 1960s.Alfieri was born in Parma...
.
He is currently Chief Engineer of his own family run business, Vehicle Components Pty Ltd in Brisbane, Australia that specialize in Off Road Trailer and Caravan hitches and suspension systems.
Rediscovery
Arthur's story was rediscovered by a chance meeting by Australian early Land Rover Enthusiasts in 2009, 61 years after the Land Rover was introduced.Detailed recollections from Arthur were published in the club magazine of The Land Rover Register 1948 to 1953, Full Grille in May 2009 and lead to a visit back to the Land Rover Factory by Arthur in April 2010, 62 to years to the day on which the Land Rover was launched.
Arthur's career with the Land Rover was covered in the August 2010 Edition of Classic & Sports Car
Classic & Sports Car
Classic & Sports Car is the market-leading magazine for enthusiasts buying, maintaining, restoring or dreaming about classic cars.Launched in 1982 Classic and Sports Car is a British monthly magazine published by Haymarket Magazines providing coverage of all types of classic cars, from mainstream...
magazine.
External links
- http://www.vehiclecomponents.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=92&Itemid=82