Brigadier-General Sir Henry Capel Lofft HoldenKCBFRS (23 January 1856 – 30 March 1937) was an English engineer, the designer of Brooklands motor racing circuit, chairman of The Royal Automobile Club and other organisations.[1]
From 1881, he served in the technical branches of the Army in connection with the development of artillery and the manufacture of ordnance.[4] He was made captain inspector at Woolwich Arsenal in 1885 and Inspector of Stores in 1888.[3] Promoted Major in 1892 he was appointed Superintendent of the Woolwich Royal Gun Factory in 1899 and also of the Royal Carriage Factory in 1907. He held both positions until his retirement from the Army as a colonel in 1912.
During his working life he was credited with the design and development of numerous artillery related electrical instruments such as the chronograph for measuring projectile speeds. He served on the board of the National Physical Laboratory from 1907 to 1911.
In 1895, designed an engine he fitted to a bicycle and designed the first four-cylinder motorcycle between 1899 and 1902.
Brooklands car racing circuit, 1907
In 1906 he designed the Brooklands motor racing circuit in Weybridge, Surrey.
He was a director of BSA, who manufactured motorcycles amongst other things and in 1921 became chairman of the Royal Aero Club.[4]
He had married Elizabeth (Bessie) in London in 1889, the daughter of R. Farrant.[2]
He lived in retirement in Malvern and died in Greenwich,[5] London, in 1937. His ashes were buried in the Holden family grave (plot no.32161) on the eastern side of Highgate Cemetery.
