Herbert Haslegrave
Engineer who steered Loughborough to University
status and became its first Vice Chancellor,
Herbert Haslegrave, studied Mechanical
Engineering part-time from 1918 to 1923, and
then returned to lecture from 1931 to 1935, at
Bradford Technical College.
Herbert joined English Electric as an engineering
apprentice straight from Wakefield Grammar
School when he was 16. He studied part-time at
Bradford Technical College and attained First Class
Honours in his external London degree.
He won a Whitworth Scholarship, the highest
honour for a practical engineer, and went on to
Trinity Hall Cambridge, where he achieved a First
in the Mechanical Engineering Tripos, snaring
all 3 university prizes in his subject. Despite his
distinguished academic record, Herbert went back
to work at English Electric, as a designer based in
Stafford.
After a couple of years Herbert realised that he
had a vocation to technical education so he
obtained a Lecturer’s position at Wolverhampton & Staffordshire Technical College. After one year
he returned to lecture where he had first studied engineering, Bradford Technical College, staying
for 4 years.
In 1935 he moved to Loughborough
College to be Head of Continuing Education.
Over the next few years he became Principal of
3 Technical Colleges in succession: St Helen’s,
Barnsley Technical & Mining and then Leicester
College of Technology.
In 1953 he then returned
to Loughborough and set about reorganising
and raising standards, resulting in it becoming a
College of Advanced Technology in 1958.
Herbert continued his improvements, expanding
the curriculum, developing 4 new departments,
bringing in new staff and promoting participation
in sports. He invested in future growth by
convincing the Department of Education to
acquire adjacent land and began a building
programme. Under his dedicated direction,
Loughborough became the first CAT to be granted
its university charter in 1966, with Herbert as the
first Vice-Chancellor.
Herbert was economical with financial resources
but generous with his time for all his staff and
students.
Following his retirement in 1967, Herbert chaired
a government committee on the training of
technicians, resulting in the influential Haslegrave
Report. He also visited the USA and USSR as
a member of delegations examining technical
education.
In 1968 he was made an Honorary Doctor
of Technology by Loughborough University in
recognition of his outstanding contribution to
technical education.
He died in September 1999.
Photograph courtesy of Loughborough University