April 22, 2024 - A bronze statue of Sir George Dowty has been sculpted showing him beside a Lancaster aircraft wheel and undercarriage. This was one of his famous designs and later, Sir George very cleverly adapted the design to make hydraulic props for mines. 

Dowty Company, based in Cheltenham, England, was renowned during WWII for the production of hydraulic undercarriages for Lancaster bombers. George Dowty, who later became Sir George, saw how his aircraft landing gear with some adjustments could be used to support the roof of a coal mine. By 1957, the one millionth Dowty prop had been delivered and they were being used in mines all over the world to replace wooden props.

Following in the footsteps of Dowty individual hydraulic props, Dowty Roofmaster powered roof supports were developed, which revolutionized mechanization of underground longwall mining in coal mines. The Roofmaster was a hydraulic powered roof support system housed in mobile steel frames and a roof canopy with vertical hydraulic cylinders to support the roof and additional horizontal cylinders, which were connected to the armored chain face conveyor. This development by Sir George Dowty began the history of hydraulic roof supports resulting in the heavy- duty automatic shield supports used today globally.

The Dowty name will forever be associated with excellence in engineering and a world-renowned business. The solid brass statue of Sir George was commissioned some time ago and a second smaller version is planned to be used to take to schools and other places of learning to encourage the study of engineering. Such is the universal admiration of Sir George. The large statue is likely to be on display at an Imperial War Museum.

Martin Robins is Chairman of the Sir George Dowty Memorial Committee. He can be reached at martinrobins@btinternet.com.