William Howard Livens

Early life Livens' parents were Frederick Howard Livens (1854–1948) and Priscilla Abbott. They married on 9 October 1886 at the Upton Congregational Church. Frederick Howard Livens was Chief Engineer and later Chairman of Ruston and Hornsby in Lincoln. Frederick and Priscilla had three children, William Howard and two younger daughters.

In 1903, Livens was sent to Oundle School, a famous public school located in the ancient market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. While there, he enrolled in the Officer Training Corps (OTC) wherein he served with the rank of sergeant.

On leaving school in 1908, Livens went to Christ's College at the University of Cambridge from 1908 to October 1911. There he enrolled in the college OTC and served with the rank of private.

Livens trained as civil engineer, and was for a while an assistant editor for Country Life magazine.

First World War

Simplified diagram showing typical layout of Livens Projector embedded in the ground at an angle of 45°, with gas drum loaded ready for firing. The thin electric leads run from the fuse in the base of the tube, up the inside of the tube and from the barrel mouth to an electric generator. When the generator plunger is depressed the electric current sparks the fuse in the base of the tube, which ignites the propellant charge and the expanding gas pressure launches the bomb out of the tube.

Entry into service On 4 August 1914, on graduating from the Officer Training Corps, Livens applied for a commission in the Royal Engineers. and he was given a clerical post in the Motorcycle signalling section at Chatham. Livens' experience of the OTC and his enthusiasm for target shooting prepared him well for at least some aspects of Army life:

When he paraded for instruction in revolver shooting the sergeant in charge, not knowing his reputation as a shot, carefully explained to him how to load his weapon and take aim and the details of firing. The supposed tyro was then told to fire 10 rounds at the target and after each shot the sergeant kept repeating sympathetically: "Sorry, Sir, you're not yet on the target". After the 10 shots had been fired Livens mildly suggested a closer look at the target and all 10 shots had hit the inner bull!

Livens' inventive work was prompted by thoughts of revenge for perceived German atrocities. According to Simon Jones' book World War I Gas Warfare Tactics and Equipment, on learning of the sinking of the luxury liner RMS Lusitania in May 1915 with loss of 1,100 lives including, apparently, his wife, he vowed to kill an equal number of Germans. It was to this end that he began experimenting with gas and flame projectors of various types and continued in his work even after hearing that his wife had not, after all, been on board the Lusitania. This account cannot be literally true because Livens did not get married until 1916. Charles Foulkes, who became Livens' commanding officer and who later wrote Gas! The Story of the Special Brigade, mentions "a strong personal feeling" connected with the sinking of the Lusitania without being more specific. According to Who's Who in World War One by John Bourne, it was the first use of poison gas by the Germans at the Second Battle of Ypres on 22 April 1915 that prompted Livens' vengeful ambitions. This alternative account is consistent with Livens' later statement that he began his experimental work at the end of April 1915. Four of Livens' massive fixed flame projector – the "Livens Large Gallery Flame Projector" – were to be used on 1 July 1916 at the start of the Battle of the Somme. Constructed in underground chambers two were knocked out by German artillery before the offensive. The other two were effective in demoralising the German defenders. Impressive as it was, the limited range and the immobility of the weapon severely limited its usefulness except in specific circumstances such as those seen in its use at the Somme, and the project was only used once more in 1917. The remains of one of these projectors have been discovered and excavated in 2010.

Livens projector One day, during an attack on the Somme, Z company encountered a party of Germans who were well dug in. Grenades did not succeed in shifting them, so Livens threw in two five gallon oil drums; the burning oil was so effective that Livens' comrade, Harry Strange, wondered whether it would be better to use containers to carry flame to the enemy rather than relying on a complex flame thrower. Reflecting on the incident, Livens and Strange considered how a really large shell filled with fuel might be thrown. Although the key idea of throwing a large container of oil was due to Strange, it was Livens who went on to develop a large, but simple, mortar that could throw a three-gallon drum of oil which would burst when it landed...

Livens' new weapon was used for the first time on the morning of 23 July 1916: twenty oil projectors were fired just before an attack in the battle of the Somme at Pozières – the effect was limited. Next, thirty projectors were fired at the eastern corner of High Wood on 18 August with more encouraging results and another attack on 3 September was highly successful.

Following these attacks, Livens came to the attention of General Gough who was impressed by his ideas and "wangled" everything that he needed. The new weapon was developed into the Livens Projector which consisted of a simple tube closed by a hemisphere at one end. It was half buried in the ground at an angle of 45 degrees and pointing in the required direction. It was then loaded with a single shot with an amount of propellant calculated to effect the desired range. Preparing a battery of projectors for an attack required a lot of preparation, this was not a serious problem in the conditions of static trench warfare and the weapon was so simple and inexpensive that hundreds – and on occasions thousands – of projectors could be fired simultaneously catching the enemy by surprise. Z Company rapidly developed the Livens Projector, increasing its range from the original , first to and they eventually produced an electrically triggered version with a range of . This report was sent to the Ministry of Munitions and Livens was returned to England soon afterwards to help develop a standard projector and drum. The Livens Projector became a preferred means by which the British Army delivered a chemical attack and its production was given a high priority, the total for the Allies of the Great War eventually exceeded 150,000 units. and the Distinguished Service Order on 1 January 1918.

Livens was demobilised from the army on 11 April 1919. and in mid-June 1919, Livens and his father jointly wrote a patent for an improved projectile – the principal enhancement being the construction of strong but light-weight casing by using drawn manufacturing techniques.

In 1920, Livens applied to the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors in respect of his wartime work on flamethrowers and the Livens Projector. He had to wait for a hearing, which was complicated by the fact that his old comrade Harry Strange also made a claim in connection with the invention. The hearing was delayed until 27 May 1922 by which time Livens had agreed that Strange should have a share of the "plunder" from any award that might be obtained. The hearing was detailed and a number of witnesses were called including the recently retired General Gough Livens was awarded £500 for his work on flamethrowers and £4,500 for the Livens projector and its ammunition. (A considerable sum: £5,000 in 1922 is equivalent to £ in .)

Second World War A demonstration of a flame fougasse somewhere in Britain. A car is surrounded in flames and a huge cloud of smoke. .

At the outbreak of war, Livens was offered the RAF rank of air commodore. However, he did not enlist, preferring to make his contribution to the war effort as a civilian – in which role he was free to disagree with his seniors.

In 1940, as a German invasion of Britain threatened, the British developed a number of innovative flame warfare weapons. Livens joined the team of developers working at the newly formed Petroleum Warfare Department under the directorship of Sir Donald Banks. Banks described Livens "Colonel Livens was the typical inventor. His equipment as one remembers it was an old club blazer with numerous pockets out of which explosives of all kinds, fuses, wire and gadgets would emerge and hey presto! the most surprising detonation would occur in disconcerting places."

The Petroleum Warfare Department experimented with several proposed systems, including a number suggested by Livens. These included a system resembling his projector to send "flaming comets" onto the landing beaches, but the suggestion with the most promise was the flame fougasse and it was widely adopted.

A flame fougasse comprised a 40-gallon light steel drum filled with petroleum mixture and a small, electrically detonated explosive as a propellant charge. The barrel was dug into the roadside with a substantial overburden and camouflaged. When the Ammonal-based propellant charge was detonated, it caused the barrel to rupture and shoot a flame wide and long.

Tens of thousands of flame fougasse barrels were deployed. Almost all were removed before the end of the war, although, incredibly, a few were missed and their remains have lasted to the present day.

The flame fougasse has remained in army field manuals as a battlefield expedient ever since.

Personal life

Livens married Elizabeth Price some time during 1916, and they had three daughters. On 22 July 1947, Livens later married Arron Perry at St Paul's Church, Winchmore Hill in north London.

In 1924, Livens invented a small dishwasher suitable for use in a domestic setting. It had all the features of a modern dishwasher, including a front door for loading, a wire rack to hold crockery and a rotating sprayer.

In his leisure time, Livens enjoyed sailing small boats and was a member of the Royal Thames Yacht Club. Livens became interested in Spiritualism. He attended a number of séances, including on 15 November 1932 witnessing a séance with the famous medium Rudi Schneider, although in this case it was a null result – nothing happened. Livens was an honorary vice-president of the Spiritualist Association of Great Britain

Livens died at a London hospital on 1 February 1964. His remains were cremated at Golders Green Crematorium on Saturday 8 February with the request that donations to Cancer Research should be made in place of flowers. He was survived by his three daughters and left an estate with a value estimated at £82,561 (about £ in ).

Medals On 24 July 2018, the auction house Spink announced the sale of his group of five gallantry and campaign medals at the direction of his daughter. The group realised £14,400 including costs.

Notes and references

Footnotes