William Kirby Laing
| Kirby Laing | |
|---|---|
| Born | 21 July 1916 Carlisle |
| Died | 12 April 2009 (aged 92) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Civil, |
| Institutions | Institution of Civil Engineers (president), Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers (president) |
Sir William "Kirby" Laing, DL, JP, FREng (21 July 1916 – 12 April 2009) was a British civil engineer.
Laing was born in Carlisle in 1916. He is a member of the Laing Family, famous in the British construction industry for running John Laing plc. He is the son of Sir John Laing and the brother of Sir Maurice Laing. Kirby Laing learnt about the construction industry from his father and would visit the company's construction sites with him during the school holidays. Laing graduated from Emmanuel College at the University of Cambridge in 1937 and began work as a graduate engineer for John Laing plc. He was a member of the fifth generation of the Laing family to join the firm. During the Second World War Laing served in the Royal Engineers, receiving his commission as a Second Lieutenant on 2 January 1944. He resigned his commission as a Lieutenant in the Territorial Army Reserve of Officers on 13 July 1955, although he was permitted to retain the honorary title of Lieutenant.
In 1946 he became joint managing director of Laing (the parent company of John Laing plc) and from 1956 to 1976 he was chairman of the Laing Group. Whilst leading the company Laing built on their experience of power station and housing construction and expanded into road building. In 1976 his brother, Maurice, was made chairman and Kirby became deputy Chairman. Kirby retired as deputy chairman in 1980, having also been chairman of the Laing properties division. In 1968 Kirby had been elected a first class member of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers and would serve as their president in 1988. He also served as president of the Institution of Civil Engineers from November 1973 to November 1974 and is an honorary member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
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