Wilfred Stokes
Sir Frederick Wilfred Scott Stokes (born April 9, 1860 in Liverpool , England, † February 7, 1927 in Ruthin , Wales) was a British engineer . He developed the 1915 Stokes mortar (Engl. Stokes Mortar ), a novel angle fire gun .
The son of Scott Nasmyth Stokes, a school inspector, studied at St. Francis Xavier's College and Catholic University College in Kensington, London . He later was the head of Ransomes & Rapier , a crane building company in Ipswich . During the First World War he worked for the British Ministry of Munitions on the development of a new type of high-speed gun. The mortar was in principle not a really new weapon in the British Army. Development Goal Stokes' it was but a German mortar to develop equivalent mortar. The mortar should be lighter than its German counterpart. The redesign resulted in a completely new avenue for more modern infantry support weapons. The basic concept of the Stokes mortar can still be found today in modern grenade launchers .
Wilfred Stokes was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire , the second highest class of the British Order of Knights , for his contribution to the development of the Stokes mortar in 1917 .
Stokes had been married to Iren Ionides since 1899. His nephew Richard Stokes was a Labor MP and Minister.
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- "Sir Wilfred Stokes - Inventor of a famous trench mortar" (Obituaries). The Times (London). Tuesday, February 8, 1927. (44500), col D, p. 7. (English)
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Stokes, Wilfred |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Stokes, Frederick Wilfred Scott |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British engineer and inventor of the Stokes mortar |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 9, 1860 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Liverpool |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 7, 1927 |
| Place of death | Ruthin , Wales |