Douglas Hume - a personal story

About this book

Introduction This book is neither a biography nor an autobiography; it is largely my brother Douglas Hume’s reminiscences, along with the illustrated story of the Company’s birth, survival and progress. Douglas also expresses his forthright views in the debate on the future of electricity generation and renewable energy sources, key features in the Howden engineering philosophy and experience. Although not involved in the Company, my role has been to act as researcher and editor and latterly as author, so the writing of the book has been a combined effort. Douglas and I had many conversations together in his home in Scotland and there was a constant exchange of emails between us to-and-fro across the Irish Sea to my home in Northern Ireland. Most of the chapters have a brief introduction by me and then continue in Douglas’ own words in parenthesis throughout the book, while I have written the Foreword and the family history in Chapters 3, 4 & 5; we combined to write the yachting story, as we were brought up ‘on the sea’ together. I also wrote the final chapter which is an account of Howden after Douglas had left. Owned by Charter plc since 1997, Howden still trades under the Founder’s name and continues to flourish and expand for a world-wide market. An illusory ‘captive market’ My brother is of the generation of Scottish businessmen who began their working lives during the decade that saw the decline of the British Empire following the Second World War. From the 1920s, the Empire had been under increasing pressure and by the mid-1950s Britain’s so-called ‘captive market’ had proved to be largely illusory, with home based manufacturing facing intense competition. James Howden & Company survived this period because it had already established a global market for its products in the years before and after the war. In the following decades, the Company continued to expand, until the more difficult years of the 1980s, when the long term decline in the home market of coal fired power plant, mining and iron & steel saw manufacturing jobs throughout Scotland falling from 604,000 to 402,000. The impact on Howden jobs was severe; however, they remained one of the few large engineering companies that kept their headquarters in Scotland during the time my brother was in charge. Douglas starts his story with his birth and upbringing and there are chapters on some of the important and light-hearted events in his family, business and sporting life, along with several contributions from friends and colleagues, all of which gives a rounded picture of his life and work. **To June** From when I first met my darling wife June, it was clear that she had a certain galvanising quality within her: not a destructive, ambitious drive, but a steady certainty that her husband could achieve whatever he put his mind, heart and soul to! One of my friends and colleagues writes that the story of Howden would not be complete without recognising June’s profound influence, in so many ways, both in my life and the Company. Throughout the 54 happy years of our marriage, June kept me ‘in top gear’: I said this at her funeral in April 2004, when fifteen of the family spoke movingly about her. While it was a sad occasion, it was also a loving and ever-to-be-cherished farewell. She was a wonderful wife, companion and help-mate. John O’Donohue writes that in the Celtic tradition, there is a beautiful understanding of love and friendship, which is called anam cara, literally ‘soul friend’. In the early Celtic Church, a person who acted as teacher, companion and spiritual guide was your anam cara. This was also someone to whom you could reveal the hidden intimacy of your life and with whom you could share your innermost self, your mind and your heart. It’s a lovely thought and it exactly sums up the relationship June and I had through all the ups and downs of life together. JDHH All the proceeds from this book will go to the June and Douglas Hume Memorial Fund This charity was originally created in memory of June, who died at home in 2004 after a three year struggle with cancer. When Douglas died in April 2009, his name was added. The Fund distributes grants to help anyone with a terminal illness who needs to purchase equipment so they can spend their last days at home. Donations can be made to the June and Douglas Hume Memorial Fund