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Mechanical Design
This page intentionally left blank
Mechanical Design
Theory and Applications

Third Edition

P.R.N. Childs
Dyson School of Design Engineering
Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier
The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, United Kingdom
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herein).

Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in
research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary.
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods,
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products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein.

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ISBN: 978-0-12-821102-1

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CONTENTS

About the Author ix

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xiii

1 Design 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 The Design Process 3
1.3 Design Models 8
1.4 Design Optimization 21
1.5 Design Reviews 24
1.6 The Technology Base 24
1.7 Conclusion 26
References 26
Standards 27
Nomenclature 28
Worksheet 28

2 Journal Bearings 29
2.1 Introduction 29
2.2 Sliding Bearings 29
2.3 Design of Boundary-Lubricated Bearings 36
2.4 Design of Full-Film Hydrodynamic Bearings 39
2.5 Conclusion 61
References 62
Standards 62
Nomenclature 63
Worksheet 64
Answers 67

3 Rolling Element Bearings 69

3.1 Introduction 69
3.2 Bearing Life and Selection 69
 Contents
vi

3.3 Bearing Installation 99

3.4 Conclusion 107
References 107
Standards 108
Nomenclature 108
Worksheet 109
Answers 111

4 Shafts 113
4.1 Introduction 113
4.2 Shaft
Hub Connection 117
4.3 Shaft
Shaft Connection—Couplings 118
4.4 Critical Speeds and Shaft Deflection 119
4.5 Analysis of Transmission Shafting 131
4.6 Detailed Design Case Study 150
4.7 Conclusion 157
References 158
Standards 158
Nomenclature 159
Worksheet 160
Answers 164

5 Gears 165
5.1 Introduction 165
5.2 Construction of Gear Tooth Profiles 173
5.3 Gear Trains 176
5.4 Tooth Systems 186
5.5 Force Analysis 187
5.6 Simple Gear Selection Procedure 190
5.7 Condition Monitoring 203
5.8 Conclusion 204
References 204
Standards 205
Nomenclature 205
Worksheet 206
Answers 208

6 Spur and Helical Gear Stressing 209

6.1 Introduction 209
6.2 Failure Due to Contact Stresses 209
6.3 AGMA Equations for Bending and Contact Stress 211
6.4 Gear Selection Procedure 228
6.5 Conclusion 230
References 230
Contents
vii

Standards 231
Nomenclature 231
Worksheet 233
Answers 236

7 Belt and Chain Drives 237

7.1 Introduction 237
7.2 Belt Drives 238
7.3 Chain drives 271
7.4 Conclusion 284
References 284
Standards 285
Nomenclature 286
Worksheet 286
Answers 288

8 Clutches and Brakes 289

8.1 Introduction 289
8.2 Clutches 291
8.3 Brakes 307
8.4 Conclusion 330
References 331
Standards 332
Nomenclature 332
Worksheet 333
Answers 336

9 Springs 337
9.1 Introduction 337
9.2 Helical Compression Springs 339
9.3 Helical Extension Springs 354
9.4 Helical Torsion Springs 357
9.5 Leaf Springs 358
9.6 Belleville Spring Washers 361
9.7 Conclusion 366
References 366
Standards 366
Nomenclature 367
Worksheet 368
Answers 369

10 Fastening and Power Screws 371

10.1 Introduction to Permanent and Nonpermanent Fastening 371
10.2 Threaded Fasteners 372
 Contents
viii

10.3 Power Screws 386

10.4 Rivets 391
10.5 Adhesives 395
10.6 Welding 402
10.7 Snap Fasteners 403
10.8 Conclusion 408
References 408
Standards 408
Nomenclature 409
Worksheet 410
Answers 412

11 Tolerancing and Precision Engineering 413

11.1 Introduction 413
11.2 Component Tolerances 414
11.3 Statistical Tolerancing 428
11.4 Precision Engineering and Case Studies 439
11.5 Conclusion 445
References 445
Standards 446
Nomenclature 447
Worksheet 447
Answers 449

Index 451
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
P.R.N. Childs is the Professorial Lead in
Engineering Design at Imperial College
London. He is a fellow of the Royal Academy of
Engineering, the Institution of Mechanical
Engineers, and the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers. His general interests
include creativity tools and innovation, design
processes, fluid flow and heat transfer, sustainable
energy, and robotics. Prior to his current post at
Imperial, he was Director of the Rolls-Royce
supported University Technology Centre for
Aero-Thermal Systems, Director of InQbate,
and a Professor at the University of Sussex.
He has contributed to over 200 refereed jour-
nal and conference papers, and several books
including the Handbook on Mechanical Design
Engineering (Elsevier, 2013, 2019) as well as
monographs on rotating flow and temperature
measurement. He has been principal or coinves-
tigator on contracts totaling over d100 million.
His roles at Imperial include Professor at
Large for the Innovation Design Engineering
double master degree run jointly by Imperial
and the Royal College of Art and Enterprise
Champion in the Dyson School of Design
Engineering. He was the founding head of the
Dyson School of Design Engineering at
Imperial. He is Editor of the Journal of Power
and Energy, Professor of Excellence at MD-H,
Berlin, and Founder Director and former
Chairman at Q-Bot Ltd. He is Chairman of
BladeBUG Ltd.
He is very passionate about responsible busi-
ness, and the what, how, and why of education.
This page intentionally left blank
PREFACE
Engineering involves the application of technical
and mathematical principles in combination
with professional and domain knowledge to
deliver products, service, and systems to realize a
requirement or opportunity. This book aims to
present an overview of the design process and to
introduce the technology and selection of a
number of specific machine elements that are
fundamental to a wide range of mechanical engi-
neering design applications.
The first edition of this book was produced in
1998, with the second edition in 2004. The text
was expanded to the mechanical design engi-
neering handbook with editions in 2013 and
2018. This edition, which draws on the content
of the handbook, focuses on a series of key
machine elements relevant to students, including
bearings, shafts, gears, belts and chains, springs,
and fasteners. These technology elements serve
as building blocks for a significant quantity of
machine design and provide an excellent basis in
mechanical engineering education. Experience
from the previous editions has been used to pre-
serve features such as detailed worked examples
and flow charts illustrating step-by-step strategies
for developing a design for a specific machine
element.
The book includes 200 worksheet questions
and over 350 images, with line drawings com-
plemented by solid model illustrations to aid
understanding of the machine elements and
assemblies concerned. The context for engineer-
ing and mechanical design is introduced in the
first chapter, which also presents a blended
design process incorporating principles from sys-
tematic and holistic design as well as practical
project management. This chapter is followed by
nine chapters focusing on specific machine ele-
ments, and the book concludes with a chapter
on tolerancing relevant to combining machine
elements in practical designs.
This page intentionally left blank
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my special thanks to on the rolling element bearings and gear-stressing
Dr. Kamyar Hazeri for his assistance in the gen- chapters. Particularly, I would like to thank
eration of some of the images for this revised Caroline Childs for her patience and regular
edition and to Dr. Marc Masen for his guidance input on proofreading.
This page intentionally left blank

1
DESIGN
1.1 Introduction
The aims of this book are to present an overview
of the design process, and to introduce the technol-
ogy and selection of a number of specific machine
elements that are fundamental to a wide range of
mechanical engineering design applications. This
chapter introduces the design process from an
inventor’s perspective, the double diamond model,
and more formal approaches such as systematic,
total, and blended design. The chapter also presents
an overview of technologies, which serves as build-
ing blocks for machinery and mechanical design.
The term ‘‘design’’ is popularly used to refer to an
object’s esthetic appearance with specific reference to
its form or outward appearance as well as its func-
tion. For example, we often refer to designer clothes,
design icons, and beautiful cars. Examples of some
classically acclaimed vehicles are given in Figs. 1.1
and 1.2. In these examples, it is both visual impact,
appealing to our visual perception, and the concept
of function, that the product will fulfill a range of
requirements, which are important in defining the
so-called good design. In this section, we will con-
sider a number of definitions and explanations rele-
vant to design and engineering. Such definitions can
be helpful in understanding the context for the activ-
ities associated with design and engineering.
The word ‘‘design’’ is used as both a noun and
a verb and carries a wide range of context-
sensitive meanings and associations. We can, for
example, refer to a product or machine and say
that we like or rate the design. Alternatively, we
Mechanical Design
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-821102-1.00001-9
1
might refer to an activity and talk about designing
a product or machine.
Cox (2005) in his review on creativity in business
stated ‘‘Design is what links creativity and innova-
tion. It shapes ideas to become practical and attrac-
tive propositions for users or customers. Design
may be described as creativity deployed to a specific
end.’’ The word design has its roots in the Latin
‘‘designare,’’ which means to designate or mark out,
and such notions will be familiar to an engineer
developing a technical drawing or an architect pro-
ducing a plan for a building. Design can be taken
to mean all the processes of conception, invention,
visualization, calculation, refinement, and specifica-
tion of details that determine the form of a product,
service, or system. The design generally begins with
either a need or requirement or, alternatively, an
idea. It can end with a set of drawings or computer
representations and other information that enables a
product to be manufactured, or a service or system
to be realized and utilized. Generically, design can
be defined as the transformation of an existing state
to a preferred state. While recognizing that there is
no widely accepted single definition, to clarify what
the term design means, the following statement can
provide a basis:
Design is the process of conceiving, developing
and realising products, artefacts, processes, systems,
services, platforms and experiences with the aim of
fulfilling identified or perceived needs or desires
typically working within defined or negotiated
constraints.
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

2
Figure 1.1 Piaggio’s Vespa launched in 1946. The Vespa
was an early example of monocoque construction where
the skin and frame are combined as a single construction
to provide appropriate rigidity and mounting for the
vehicle’s components and riders.
Figure 1.2 The Audi TT, originally launched in 1998. Courtesy Audi.
Design
This process may draw upon and synthesize
principles, knowledge, and method skills and tools
from a broad spectrum of disciplines depending on
the nature of the design initiative and activity.
Design can also be regarded as ‘‘the total activity
necessary to provide a product or process to meet
a market need.’’ This latter definition comes from
the SEED (Sharing Experience in Engineering
Design, now DESIG the Design Education Special
Interest Group of the Design Society) model, see
Pugh (1990).
According to a Royal Academy of Engineering
document, engineering can be defined as
The discipline, art and profession of acquiring
and applying scientific, mathematical, economic,
social and practical knowledge to design and build
structures, machines, devices, systems, materials
and processes that safely realise solutions to the
needs of society.
This definition is not attributed to a single
source and ABET (2011), the Institution
of Mechanical Engineers and the National
Academy of Engineering (2004) all have
similar definitions for engineering involving
the application of scientific and mathematic
principles to design. The following statement
 Chapter 1
provides an indication of the scope of
engineering:
Engineering is the application of technical and
mathematic principles in combination with pro-
fessional and domain knowledge, in order to
deliver products, service and systems to realise a
requirement or opportunity.
The terms ‘‘engineering design’’ and
‘‘design engineering’’ are often used inter-
changeably. The inclusion of the word engi-
neering in both suggests that they involve the
application of scientific, technical, and mathe-
matical knowledge and principles. It may be
useful to think of ‘‘engineering design’’ sitting
alongside ‘‘engineering science’’ as the strand
of engineering that is concerned with applica-
tion, designing, manufacture, and building.
Design engineering suggests a process in
which engineering (scientific and mathemati-
cal) approaches are applied in the realization
of activities that began with a design concept
or proposal (Childs and Pennington, 2015).
However, such distinctions remain subtle and
subject to context. In launching the Dyson
School of Design Engineering at Imperial
Figure 1.3 A seven-speed sports transmission incorporating a wide range of machine elements considered in this book.
Courtesy Daimler AG, release date November 17, 2014.
3
College London, Childs defined design engi-
neering as follows (see Childs, 2019):
Design engineering is the fusion of design thinking,
engineering thinking and practice within a culture of
innovation and enterprise.
This book is principally concerned with
mechanical engineering design within the context
of applications of a mechanical engineering nature,
particularly those using a range of machine ele-
ments such as bearings, gears, shafts, belts and
chains, clutches and brakes, springs, and fasteners.
An example of an application showing the use of a
range of these machine elements for an automotive
transmission is given in Fig. 1.3.
1.2 The Design Process
Having a defined approach to undertaking design
can aid the activity, helping to ensure the process is
undertaken to a professional and high standard,
with, for example, thorough consideration of
what is required and ensuring that due consider-
ation is given to technical, esthetic, social, and eco-
nomic function. Many design processes have been
 Design
4

proposed over the years with consultancies, engi-

neering corporations, and industry bodies as well as
academic groups developing their own brand of
approaches (e.g., see Clarkson and Eckert, 2005).
Commonly cited methods include the educational
approach CDIO (conceive, develop, implement,
operate), total design, double diamond, concurrent
engineering, six sigma, multidisciplinary design
optimization (MDO), and gated reviews. Design
processes can be broadly categorized as activity-
based, involving generation, analysis, and evaluation,
and stage-based, involving distinct phases of, for
example, task clarification and conceptual design.
It is also widely recognized that experienced practi-
tioners approach design in a different manner to
novice designers (e.g., see Björklund, 2013), and
this has resulted in the use of some approaches
in education that are distinct from commercial
engineering practice.
Probably from your own experience you will
know that design can consist of examining a need
or opportunity and working on the problem by
means of sketches, models, brainstorming, calcula-
Figure 1.4 The traditional and familiar ‘‘inventor’s’’
tions as necessary, and development of styling as approach to design.
appropriate; making sure the product fits together
and can be manufactured; and considering costs.
The process of design can be represented schemati- Although Figs. 1.4 and 1.6 at first sight suggest
cally to levels of increasing formality and complex- design occurring in a sequential fashion, with one
ity. Fig. 1.4 represents the traditional approach task following another, the design process may
associated with lone inventors. This model com- actually occur in a step forward, step back fashion.
prises the generation of the ‘‘bright idea,’’ drawings, For instance, you may propose a solution to the
and calculations giving form or shape to the idea design need and then perform some calculations or
and judgment of the design and reevaluation if judgments, which indicate that the proposal is inap-
necessary, resulting in the generation of the end propriate. A new solution will need to be put for-
product. The process of evaluation and reworking ward and further assessments made. This is known
an idea is common in design and is represented in as the iterative process of design and forms an
the model by the iteration arrow taking the design essential part of refining and improving the product
activity back a step so that the design can be proposal. The nonlinear nature of design is consid-
improved. Fig. 1.5 illustrates the possible results ered by Hall and Childs (2009).
from this process for a bicycle lock. Note that the flow charts shown in Figs. 1.4
Fig. 1.6 shows a more prescribed description and 1.6 do not represent a method of design
of a design process that might be associated with but rather a description of what actually occurs
engineers operating within a formal company within the process of design. The method of
management structure. The various terms used design used is often unique to the engineering
in Fig. 1.6 are described in Table 1.1. or design team. Design methodology is not an
 Chapter 1
5

Figure 1.5 The LiteLok bicycle lock. Courtesy (A) Neil Barron, (B) and (C) LiteLok Ltd.

exact science, and there are indeed no guaran- aspects simultaneously. An example of design
teed methods of design. Some designers work following the process identified in Fig. 1.6 is
in a progressive fashion, others work on several given in the following example in order to

6
Figure 1.6 The design process illustrating principal phases and some of the iterative steps involved in the process.
introduce some of the typical activities that
might occur.
Example 1.1
Following some initial market assessments,
the board of a plant machinery company
has decided to proceed with the design of
Design
a new product for transporting pallets
around factories and warehouses. The
board has in mind a forklift truck but does
not wish to constrain the design team to
this concept alone. The process of the
design can be viewed in terms of the labels
used in Fig. 1.6.
 Chapter 1
7

Table 1.1 Design phases.

Phase Description
Recognition of Often design begins when an individual or company recognizes a need or identifies a potential market, for a
need product, device, or process. Alternatively, ‘‘need’’ can be defined as when a company decides to reengineer
one of its existing products (e.g., producing a new car model). The statement of need is sometimes
referred to as the brief or market brief.
Definition of This involves all the specification of the product or process to be designed. For example, this could include
problem inputs and outputs, characteristics, dimensions, and limitations on quantities.
Synthesis This is the process of combining the ideas developed into a form or concept, which offers a potential
solution to the design requirement. The term synthesis may be familiar from its use in chemistry where it is
used to describe the process of producing a compound by a series of reactions of other substances.
Analysis This can involve the application of engineering science using subjects explored extensively in traditional
engineering courses such as statics and dynamics, mechanics of materials, fluid flow, and heat transfer. These
engineering ‘‘tools’’ and techniques can be used to examine the design to give quantitative information such
as whether it is strong enough or will operate at an acceptable temperature. Analysis and synthesis
invariably go together. Synthesis means putting something together and analysis means resolving something
into its constituent parts or taking it to pieces. Designers have to synthesize something before it can be
analyzed. The famous chicken and the egg scenario! When a product is analyzed some kind of deficiency or
inadequacy may be identified requiring the synthesis of a new solution prior to reanalysis and repetition of
the process until an adequate solution is obtained.
Optimization This is the process of repetitively refining a set of often-conflicting criteria to achieve the best compromise.
Evaluation This is the process of identifying whether the design satisfies the original requirements. It may involve
assessment of the analysis, prototype testing, and market research.

Solution Is a particular energy source/fuel to be used?

Recognition of need (or market brief)—The com-
pany has identified a potential market for a
new pallet-moving device.
Definition of problem—A full specification of
the product desired by the company should be
written. This allows the design team to identify
whether their design proposals meet the original
request. Here a list of information needs to be
developed and clarified before design can pro-
ceed. For example, for the pallet-moving device
being explored here, this would likely include
aspects for consideration such as
What sizes of pallet are to be moved?
What is the maximum mass on the pallet?
What is the maximum size of the load on the pallet?
What range of materials are to be moved and are
they packaged?
What is the maximum height the pallet needs to be
lifted?
What terrain must the pallet-moving device operate on?
What range is required for the pallet-moving device?
What lifetime is required?
Are there manufacturing constraints to be
considered?
What is the target sales price?
How many units can the market sustain?
Is the device to be automatic or manned?
What legal constraints need to be considered?
This list is not exhaustive and would require
further consideration. The next step is to quantify
each of the criteria. For instance, the specification
may yield that standard size pallets, see Fig. 1.7,
are involved, the maximum load to be moved is
1000 kg, the maximum volume of load is 2 m3,
the reach must be up to 3 m, use is on factory
floor and asphalt surfaces, the device must be
capable of moving a single pallet 100 m and must
be able to repeat this task at least 100 times before
refueling or recharging as necessary, the design life
for the product is 7 years, production is in a
European country, the target selling price is
20,000 Euros, the production run is 3000 units

8
Figure 1.7 Pallet dimensions and terminology (see BS ISO 509).
per year, the device is to be operated by a person,
and the design must be compliant to ISO
(International Organization for Standardization)
and target country national standards (e.g., see BS
ISO 509, BS ISO 6780, BS EN ISO 445, BS EN
13545, BS ISO 18334, BS 5639-1, and BS ISO
2330).
Synthesis—This is often identified as the for-
mative and creative stage of design. Some initial
ideas must be proposed or generated in order for
them to be assessed and improved. Concepts can
be generated by imagination, experience, or by
the use of design techniques such as morphologi-
cal charts. Some evaluation should be made at
this stage to reduce the number of concepts
requiring further work. Various techniques are
available for this, including merit and adequacy
assessments.
Analysis—Once a concept has been proposed,
it can then be analyzed to determine whether
constituent components can meet the demands
placed on them in terms of performance, manu-
facture, cost, and any other specified criteria.
Alternatively, analysis techniques can be used to
determine what size components need to be to
meet the required functions.
Optimization—Inevitably, there are conflicts
between requirements. In the case of the forklift
truck, size, maneuverability, cost, esthetic appeal,
Design
ease of use, stability, and speed are not necessarily
all in accordance with each other. Cost minimiza-
tion may call for compromises on material usage
and manufacturing methods. These considerations
form part of the optimization of the product pro-
ducing the best or most acceptable compromise
between the desired criteria. Optimization is con-
sidered further in Section 1.4.
Evaluation—Once a concept has been proposed
and selected, and the details of component sizes,
materials, manufacture, costs and performance
worked out, it is then necessary to evaluate it.
Does the proposed design fulfill the specification?
If it appears to, then further evaluation by potential
customers and use of prototype demonstrators
may be appropriate to confirm the functionality of
the design, judge customer reaction, and provide
information of whether any aspects of the design
need to be reworked or refined.
1.3 Design Models
The process of design has been the focus of
research and development for many years, and a
number of design models and methodologies have
been formalized. Design methodology is a frame-
work within which the designer can practice with
thoroughness. Taking a standard approach to
undertaking design can be useful in helping to
 Chapter 1
9

ensure important aspects are addressed and leverage 2. conceptual design

prior experience. Following a formalized approach
or model is not necessarily going to mean that
a high-quality design outcome is guaranteed.
Nevertheless, a model or formal approach can aid
management of the activity. Various approaches to
the design process are introduced here, including
systematic design, double diamond, CDIO, and
total design. In the section on ‘‘Total and blended
design’’ an updated model is presented. blending
aspects of project management such as contempo-
rary topics of need and opportunity analysis, virtual
realization, sustainability, and responsible business.
Systematic design
A systematic approach to design has been devel-
oped and proposed by Pahl and Beitz (1996)
who divide their model into four phases:
1. product planning and clarifying the task
3. embodiment design
4. detail design
The activities associated with systematic design are
outlined in Table 1.2. Although the activities take
place in phases, iteration does occur between each of
the activities. For example, information arising from
work on the requirements list can serve to help clar-
ify the task and opportunity defined in the original
requirement that gave the initial impetus for the proj-
ect concerned. Similarly, work toward a concept will
result in new information that can help clarify the
requirement list. Similar iterations with an activity
informing and resulting in flows of information and
clarification of what actually needs to be done, can
occur between each of the activities defined in
Table 1.2. The intended outcome is for the arising
insights and information to enable optimization of
the requirement, layout, and production.

Table 1.2 Systematic design stages, activities, and phases.

Stage Activity Systematic design phase
Requirement Plan and clarify the task Product planning and clarifying the
Analyze the market opportunity task
Requirements list Formulate a product proposal Product planning and clarifying the
Elaborate a requirements list task
Concept Identify essential problems Conceptual design
Establish function structures
Search for working principles
Combine and firm up in concept variants
Evaluate against technical and economic criteria

Preliminary layout Develop the construction structure for the solution Embodiment design
Preliminary form design, material selection, and calculations
Select the best preliminary layouts
Refine and improve layouts
Evaluate against technical and economic criteria

Definitive layout Define the construction structure for the solution Embodiment design
Eliminate weak spots
Check for errors
Prepare preliminary part lists and product documents

Product Prepare production and operating documents Detail design

documentation Elaborate detail drawings and part lists
Complete production-ready component, assembly, transport, and operating
instructions

Solution/product Production Production


10
The approach taken in systematic design
acknowledges that due to the complex nature of
modern technology, it is now rarely possible for a
single person to undertake the design and devel-
opment of a major project on their own. Instead,
a large team will be involved in the activity, and
this introduces the challenges of organization and
communication within a larger network. The
aim is to provide a comprehensive, consistent,
and clear approach to systematic design.
Design models and methodologies encourage
us to undertake careful marketing and specifica-
tion. Because of their sequential presentation,
‘‘design starts with a need’’ or ‘‘design starts with
an idea,’’ they inherently encourage us to under-
take tasks sequentially. This is not necessarily the
intention of the models, and indeed this approach
is countered within the descriptions and instruc-
tions given by the proponents of the model, who
instead encourage an iterative feedback working
methodology.
A criticism of the systematic and other design
models is that they tend to be encyclopedic with
consideration of everything possible. As such, their
use can be viewed as a checklist against which a
personal model can be verified. A further criticism
of design models is that they are overly serialistic as
opposed to holistic and that because of the serious
manner in which the models are portrayed and
documented, they can have a tendency to put the
intuitive and impulsive designer off!
Double diamond
The Design Council (2007, 2019) reported a
study of the design process in 11 leading compa-
nies and identified a four-step design process
called the ‘‘double diamond’’ design process
model, involving phases of discovery, definition,
development, and delivery. The process involves
progression from identification of an initial prob-
lem toward concepts and solutions via two phases
of divergent and convergent activity as illustrated
in Fig. 1.8.
Design
In the discovery divergent phase, many differ-
ent ideas and aspects can be encouraged to
emerge and be considered, for example, using
various types of brainstorming. In a divergent
phase, the emphasis is sometimes on the quantity
of ideas in order to have many items from which
to make a selection and to enable consideration
of what the competition might consider. In a
convergent phase, the emphasis is on selection
and refinement of an idea and its embodiment
and definition with consideration of details. The
development phase also involves divergent activ-
ity with simultaneous consideration of different
options to fulfill the functional requirements of
the product, service, or system concerned, be it
technical, esthetic, social, or economic or some
combination. In the divergent development
phase, use can be made of modeling and analysis
of different options. In the final delivery conver-
gent phase, the emphasis is on refinement and
detailing of each aspect in order to provide the
final outcome for the product, service, or system
concerned.
Conceive, design, implement, operate
The conceive, design, implement, operate
(CDIO) framework is widely used in design and
engineering education and was developed in
recognition of a divergence between academic
culture and practical engineering requirements.
The framework explicitly recognizes the impor-
tance of holistic considerations for effective
design outcomes with the application of both
engineering practice skills such as design, manu-
facture, personal, professional, interpersonnel,
and business in combination with disciplinary
knowledge from the sciences and mathematics as
well as the humanities (see Crawley, 2001).
In the CDIO framework, attention is given to
each of the principal phases and the develop-
ment of skills needed in order to address the
holistic requirements for the product, service, or
system concerned. Each of the phases relates and
 Chapter 1
11

Figure 1.8 Schematic illustrating the double diamond design process. Courtesy the Design Council. (2019). What is the
framework for innovation? Design Council’s evolved Double Diamond ,https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/news-opinion/what-
framework-innovation-design-councils-evolved-double-diamond. (last accessed October 13, 2020).

feeds into each other. In the conceive stage,
consideration is given to customer’s needs, tech-
nology availability, regulations, and the business
requirements in order to develop an outline
concept. In the design phase, attention is given
to the production of detailed plans, technical
drawings, and algorithms as appropriate to the
specific challenge. In the implement phase, pro-
duction issues are addressed with attention given
to manufacturing practicalities and planning,
coding and testing, and validation. In the operate
phase, attention is given to delivery of the prod-
uct, service, or system and the realization of the
expected value from the investment, along with
consideration of maintenance and servicing, and
future evolutions for the product and associated
business.
Total and blended design
The ‘‘total design’’ model was originally proposed
by the SEED program (1985) and Pugh (1990),
comprising core activities of design: marketing,
specification, conceptual design, detailed design,
and marketing/selling. This model was developed
from extensive industrial consultation and experi-
ence, and the phases associated with total design
 Design
12

Table 1.3 Original phases associated with total design.

Phase Description
Market Assessment of sales opportunity. Produce a brief. A brief is a short statement that serves to define the overall
need or opportunity and general requirements for the product, service, or system. Terms widely used for
such a short statement include brief, design brief, market brief, and statement of need.
Specification Specification involves the formal statement of the required functions, features, and performance of the
product or process to be designed. Recommended practice from the outset of design work is to produce a
product design specification that should be formulated from the brief. The product design specification is the
formal specification of the product to be designed. It acts as the control for the total design activity because it
sets the boundaries for the subsequent design.
Conceptual The early stages of design where the major decisions are to be made is sometimes called conceptual design.
design During this phase, a rough idea is developed as to how a product will function and what it will look like. The
process of conceptual design can also be described as the definition of the product’s morphology, how it is
made up, and its layout.
Detailed design The detailed design phase consists of the determination of the specific shape and size of individual
components, what materials should be used, how they fit together, and the method of manufacture.
Manufacture The manufacture phase, although identified as distinct within the structure, is typical of other phases in which
it influences all the others. The design of any item must be such that it is feasible to manufacture it! The
materials selected must be compatible with the manufacturing facilities and skills available and at
acceptable costs to match marketing requirements.
Market roll-out Market roll-out can be expected to match the expectations of the initial market assessment. This phase too
has an impact on other phases within the design core. Information such as customer reaction to the product,
any component failures or wear, and damage during packaging and transportation should be fed back to
influence the design of product revisions and future designs.

are presented in Table 1.3. Since its inception, the
importance of various aspects not explicit in the
original formulation has emerged such as opportu-
nity and need analysis, virtual modeling, and digital
twins as well as sustainability.
An important aspect in the development
of any product, service, system, or indeed almost
any activity is project management. One of the
major tools used in modern project management
is the V model, enabling consideration and defi-
nition of who has to do what and when in a
project. The V model along with other project
management tools such as PRINCE2 (Projects
IN Controlled Environments) places emphasis
on verification of what you are doing in one
activity against the relevant related activity or
activities. A version of the V model is illustrated
in Fig. 1.9 illustrating principal phases and how
they progress as a function of time. Further
information on the V model can be found in the
General Directive 250, Software Development
Standard for the German Federal Armed Forces,
V-Model (Software Life Cycle Process Model),
1992, and Bröhl (1993). Tasks in the V model
are linked to a relevant activity to help ensure
that the project delivers against the intent. For
example, system specification is linked with
acceptance testing. The form of the V model
provides an impression that activities progress
and flow neatly from one phase to another. It
should be noted that practical project manage-
ment frequently diverts from this apparent ideal
with major differences in timescales and atten-
tion to multiple aspects of a project in order to
address issues that arise.
As indicated in the discussion in this chapter,
there are issues associated with models for design
be it their encyclopedic nature, variations
according to the context, or the need for sub-
stantial experience and expertise in order to ade-
quately address the various activities. In order to
address a mismatch between models for design
and the practical management of design, princi-
ples associated with total design have been
 Chapter 1
Figure 1.9 The V model.
Figure 1.10 Blended design process model.
blended with aspects of project management
along with consideration of opportunity and
needs analysis, virtual modeling, sustainability,
and responsible business, in a blended design
process model as shown in Figs. 1.10 and 1.11.
The blended design process model functions
with phases of opportunity or need and require-
ments analyses, specification, concept, compo-
nent and system design, virtual realization and
design verification, prototyping, acceptance test-
ing, production release planning, and opportu-
nity realization. The skewed V is symbolic of the
progress of time associated with an activity, with
13
typically more time associated with the imple-
mentation activities on the right-hand side of
the V. Allocation of additional resources can alter
the gradient of the V or indeed the time associated
with individual activity. The horizontal arrows are
symbolic of a validation check between the corre-
sponding activities.
As shown in Figs. 1.4 and 1.6, the iterative
nature of design is accounted for, where work
on a design results in the need to go back and
redo previous work in order to produce a better
overall design to meet the requirements. Indeed,
it is sometimes necessary to go back a few or

14
Figure 1.11 Blended design process model showing iteration between the various activities.
several levels. An example might be the discov-
ery at manufacture that an item cannot be made
as envisaged and a new concept altogether is
required. Ideally, such a discovery should not
occur, as every other level of the design process
illustrated in Fig. 1.10 should be considered at
each stage. Iteration between activities is illus-
trated symbolically in Fig. 1.11. Each of the design
activities illustrated in Fig. 1.10 is described in
more detail in the remainder of this section. As it
is the same fundamental process being described,
these descriptions are similar to those dealt with in
Fig. 1.6.
The need/opportunity analysis or marketing
phase refers to the assessment of sales opportu-
nities or perceived need to update an existing
product, service, system, or platform resulting in
a statement sometimes called the market brief,
design brief, brief, or statement of need. Any
realization of a need or opportunity warrants
scrutiny in order to establish whether there is a
market opportunity. The potential to undertake
a detailed requirements analysis will depend on
the nature of the market. In an established mar-
ket, information can be gathered on the total
market size and potential addressable and realiz-
able market. For a brand new or virgin market,
it may be much more difficult to establish the
Design
potential realizable market in the absence of hav-
ing refined prototypes for potential customers to
react to. Nevertheless, it is important to under-
take an analysis of what the product, service, or
system needs to address.
Specification involves the formal statement of
the required functions, features, and perfor-
mance of the product or process to be designed.
Recommended practice from the outset of
design work is to produce a product design spec-
ification (PDS) that should be formulated from
the brief and requirements analysis or statement
of need. The PDS is the formal specification of
the product to be designed. Typically, a PDS will
include, where relevant, consideration of various
aspects of performance, ergonomics, esthetics,
costs, timescale, market, materials, size, weight,
transportation, packaging, production, sustain-
ability and recycling, maintenance, intellectual
property, standards, legal constraints, health and
safety, and documentation. The specification acts
as the control for the total design activity
because it sets the boundaries for the subsequent
design. The use can be made of a proforma
table to aid in defining each aspect of the specifi-
cation. Examples of such proforma tables are
given in Tables 1.4 and 1.5 where a series of
prompts are given to help ensure a rationale is
 Chapter 1
Table 1.4 Example specification proforma.
Item Intent Quantified aim
Table 1.5 Example specification proforma.
Aspect Objective Criteria Test conditions
considered for each aspect. An example of a
specification using the proforma of Table 1.5 is
given in Table 1.6.
The early stages of design where the major deci-
sions are to be made is sometimes called conceptual
design or just concept design. During this phase, a
rough idea is developed as to how a product will
function technically and what it will look like. The
process of conceptual design can also be described
as the definition of the product’s morphology, how
it is made up, and its layout. It involves the genera-
tion of solutions to meet specified requirements.
Conceptual design can represent the sum of all sub-
systems and component parts that go on to make
up the whole system. Ion and Smith (1996)
describe conceptual design as an iterative process
comprising a series of generative and evaluative
stages that converge to the preferred solution. At
each stage of iteration, the concepts are defined in
greater detail, allowing more thorough evaluation.
It is important to generate as many concepts and
ideas as possible or economically expedient and
then undertake a selection process to identify pre-
ferred concepts. There is a temptation to accept the
first promising concept and proceed toward detailed
design and the final product. This should be resisted
as such results can invariably be bettered. It is worth
noting that sooner or later your design will have to
compete against those from other manufacturers,
so the generation of developed concepts is prudent.
Some methods such as brainstorming, morphologi-
cal analysis, and SCAMPER (substitute, combine,
adapt, modify, put to use, erase, rearrange), used to
aid the generation of concepts, are described by
Childs (2018).
15
Competition best Evaluation method
The ‘‘component and system design’’ and
‘‘virtual realization and design verification’’
phases consist of the determination of the spe-
cific details for each component and subsystem
and their modeling in order to validate that the
design fulfills and matches the requirement. In
the case of a physical component or subsystem,
this may involve determination of the shape and
size of individual components, what materials
should be used, how the materials and subsys-
tems are going to be recycled, how they fit
together, and the method of manufacture. These
activities are sometimes viewed under the
umbrella of detailed design. Component and
system design and their verification make use of
the many skills acquired and developed by engi-
neers in the areas of analysis. It is these phases
that can take up the bulk of the time spent on a
design. However, as implied earlier, it is wise to
only spend time on details once a sensible con-
cept has been selected.
Prototyping covers a broad range of activities.
Some prototypes are physical in form, some non-
physical. Prototypes can also involve increasing
levels of refinement. A prototype, be it physical or
nonphysical, provides an opportunity for the
design team to assess and consider the various fea-
tures of a design. There are many approaches to
prototyping. Some prototypes can be form only,
providing an indication of the shape and size of
components and an overall assembly; others can
focus on providing functioning features. Form-
only prototypes are often referred to as looks-like
prototypes, while functional prototypes are some-
times called works-like prototypes. Looks-like pro-
totyping approaches include the use of blue foam
and other soft materials to form the shape by filing,
sanding and molding, use and adaptation of found
objects including technical construction toys, and
Another random document with
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to the Commandant’s room, an old man was brought in by two
policemen. He was crying bitterly in the hopeless, dreary manner of
the aged. His sobs were painful to hear and we asked our interpreter
who he might be and if we could do anything to assist him. The
answer was ‘No, as he is a Russian spy who is charged with being
concerned in an attempt to dynamite the railway bridge over the
river. He will, it is undoubted, be shot!’ The charge may or may not
have been true, but that afternoon the old man was shot after a
summary trial. It made Keating and myself less optimistic as to our
chances.
After a short wait we were brought before the Commandant, who
listened to our story with courtesy and with obvious trust. We said
nothing about the reason of our visit. The Commandant was
disposed to believe that we were not spies, and would, I think, have
let us go on our way had not another officer in the room interfered.
He asked us rather roughly why at such a disturbed time we came to
Germany. Keating then explained that we wished to buy an
aeroplane. This revelation altered everything, and the Commandant,
after talking earnestly for some minutes with his brother officer, told
us, none too willingly, we thought, to return to our hotel and not to
leave it until permission was given. In the meantime he would wire to
the British Embassy for confirmation of our story. We now gave up
hope, for we knew it was extremely unlikely that the Embassy would
ever receive the wire.
We walked sadly back to the hotel, leaving the car in the charge of
the police officials. Regretfully we thought of all the beautiful wars
breaking out in every direction in which it was now unlikely we would
be able to take part. War is inspiring and attractive to all who have
not fought.
At the hotel we sat moodily by a large window looking into the
street and drank lager beer while we watched battalion after battalion
pass on their way to entrain for the front. Three days before these
men had either been on reserve in civil occupations or had been
wearing the picturesque uniforms of peace. Very few of them had
then known what the service dress was like and none had worn it.
Now, in strict accordance with the plans of forty years, each man in
the great striking force was fully equipped for the greatest campaign
in history.
One point struck us unfavourably, and this was the painful
newness of the boots of yellow undressed leather worn by all. Later,
we discovered that this too was a sign of forethought. Each man had
in his kit the boots worn and made comfortable by him in times of
peace, and the new boots were being worn in these first days that
they might be in some manner broken in before action was joined.
Had the troops worn their old boots they would, when footsore, have
had no means of getting relief other than taking the boots off and
resting their feet. On the other hand, wearing the new boots first,
weariness was greatly reduced by changing into the older boots.
Such a matter as this, small in itself, may mean the difference
between defeat and victory.
Shortly before lunch a Lieutenant Kellerman of a reserve unit of
Garrison Artillery called to see us. He said that he had been told that
two Englishmen were detained in the town, and that as he admired
the English and spoke our language fluently he had come to see
what assistance he might be able to render. We were glad to see
him. It relieved the monotony, and also he would be able to translate
the mystic newspapers to us. But that was not his mission. He talked
of England and of America. All good Germans seem to have
travelled in America either North or South! It was some little time
before we realised that most of his questions were asked with other
reasons than that of benevolence. He said that a diary of our travels
would be interesting in years to come. Surely we had kept one? And
photographs, too, what pleasure they would give to our friends in
England when we reached home! But as our visitor would neither
drink nor smoke—what honest German does not drink and smoke?
—with us we did not care to answer his questions quite as simply as
he would have wished. After a space he left us and returned no
more. He may have meant well, but in the light of after events it is
more probable that he was intended to trap us into some
unconsciously guilty admission.
At lunch time the Commandant appeared. He told us that no reply
had come from Berlin and that he feared we should find it difficult to
get away. His pleasant face showed that he really felt sorry and that
it was not pretence. At his request we lunched with him, though the
conversation was of necessity spasmodic, since neither party spoke
the other’s tongue. Yet it was a kindly thought, which counts for
much at times of tension. He, in common with most officers of the
garrison, lunched daily at the Hotel Stadt London, and our presence
at his table went far to make our position more comfortable. The
glances of suspicion from other officers in the room died away, and
we felt less like escaped convicts than we had during the morning.
Through the kindly offices of a neighbour who spoke English the
Commandant asked if we thought England would take part in the
war. We said that we did not think our country would interfere, as at
that time we imagined the opening war to concern France, Russia,
and Germany alone. The Commandant gravely said that he was not
optimistic, for he did not think that England would stand by inactive.
War would be bad for both countries. He implied that Germany had
for many years desired an alliance with England. United the two
nations could sweep the world. This was the view taken by many to
whom we spoke during the journey and illustrates in some degree
the aims of Modern Germany. The picture of an uncivilised world
waiting for enlightenment by the Apostles of Culture in the form of
German Army Corps is pathetic to us, but it is, or was, doubtless
very vivid to sincere German officers.
At four o’clock we were sent for by the Commandant, who said
that no news had arrived from Berlin, but that on his own
responsibility he would allow us to leave the town. He signed a
statement saying that we had been examined and were permitted to
proceed, as we thought this might help us on our way. As he shook
hands he said, as our interpreter explained, ‘Travel, travel, always
travel until the frontier is passed!’
Exasperated by the numerous delays, and apprehensive that our
stay in Germany might attain some manner of permanency if further
hesitation marked our path, we drove with great speed when on the
open road. But rapid progress was not continuous. Two days before
we had found progress slow owing to civilian patrols in villages and
at cross-roads, but now the vigilance of the German people seemed
to have doubled. It was necessary to slow down some distance from
these posts, if one desired to avoid over-zealous shots. Five miles
was perhaps the longest stage over which our journey was
uninterrupted.
In some villages the people were pleasant and believed our
statements, in others we were received with suspicion that even our
signed note from the Commandant at Minden did not entirely allay.
But nothing worse than mental discomfort came to us until we
reached Oldendorf, a large village some thirty-five kilometres from
Osnabruck. The road was barricaded half a mile short of the first
houses, and we were held up at this point until the ‘Hauptmann’
arrived to inspect us. While we waited a tall thin man, wearing over
his ordinary clothes a long blue smock, apparently a farm labourer
by trade, harangued the crowd feverishly, gesticulating the while with
a pitchfork. He did not seem to like us. Keating, whose spirits were
still high, laughed at him and made matters worse. The oration had
no immediate effect, for when the Hauptmann, a little fat man in a
bright blue uniform, had seen us we were permitted to drive on to the
village. Here, at the beginning of the main street, we found another
barricade and a larger crowd. As we were about to pass the
obstruction the man with the pitchfork arrived on a bicycle in a
perfect delirium of rage. He accused us of something inexplicable
and the crowd at once dragged us from the car. I was made to walk
in state with the village policeman, who had just appeared, while
Keating drove the car slowly behind us. An English-speaking
German came with me and explained that we were to be examined
by the Burgomaster at the Town Hall. I had almost reached
sanctuary, accompanied by a large and curious crowd, when the
fanatic with the pitchfork again tore up on his bicycle and, purple with
rage, accused us of, literally, ‘making plans of citadels and
photographing the country.’ At once the crowd turned against me.
There was an ugly rush, and I was as near experiencing the fate of
De Witt as I shall ever be in this life. Before I was more than half-
throttled the policeman managed to get me into the Town Hall, where
I could in comparative security listen to the howls of the mob outside.
 Keating, for some reason—perhaps because he always laughed—
escaped the full wrath of the mob, though his passenger spat at him,
and was brought in safely.
The Burgomaster was charming and, what mattered far more, was
possessed of infinite discernment. He examined our baggage, now
falling into ruin, and the car, in public, in a gallant attempt to allay
suspicion. Despite this, I firmly believe that the villagers of Oldendorf
will believe to their dying day that we were two anarchists of Russian
extraction. After an anxious hour we were allowed to drive away. At
this village, the day before, two Russians, disguised in women’s
clothing, had been dragged from a car and shot on the spot.
We had hoped to reach Osnabruck before dark, but it was actually
ten o’clock when we finally arrived at the hotel. At the entrance to the
town, which we reached shortly after nine o’clock, we were taken in
charge by a military patrol. But the police alone could give us the
necessary permission to travel onwards.
So, attended by a N.C.O., we drove to the head police office at
Osnabruck. Again we were made to spread our belongings on the
floor and explain each scrap of paper. The deadly sheet of celluloid
we offered to the police in the hopes of ending the recurrent trouble,
but with no effect. Full of suspicion as to its uses though they might
be, yet they would not take it.
We were delayed here about twenty minutes before we were given
permission to stay at the Kaiserhof Hotel for the night and to leave
Osnabruck early on the following morning. As we left the office our
car was held up by the passage of several hundred Russian
workmen who had been placed under arrest on the outbreak of war
and who were now being taken to an internment camp. Dejected and
hopeless they moved miserably through a hissing and booing crowd
to the prison which was to be their home until peace came again.
Such is discipline in Germany that half a dozen policemen sufficed to
keep the mob, ever ready to strike, at bay.
At the Kaiserhof Hotel we were greeted with singular charm by the
proprietor, who, though a possible future enemy, did not show any
suspicion or displeasure. Nay, rather did he go out of his way to
make us truly comfortable, he himself superintending the cooking of
our belated dinner.
While we ate there sat at a table near by a party of German
students, who with much noise sang patriotic verses and cheered
lustily the names of national heroes while they steadily drank tankard
after tankard of beer. After a space they began to take interest in us.
Glancing from time to time at our table they talked excitedly of
‘Englanders’ and, from the few words we could understand, of our
navy. I was very tired, and under the impression that they desired to
pick a quarrel, I went to bed to escape trouble. Keating, on the other
hand, scenting an immediate if a minor war, refused to move and did
not reach his room until the early hours of the morning. It appears
that far from desiring to annoy us they wished us to join them. This
Keating did and a short conversation in French followed. The use of
this language was quickly banned as unpatriotic and a curious but
wonderful version of English was substituted. They were under the
impression that England was about to become Germany’s ally. Thus
combined the two nations were to dominate the world in the manner
indicated to us by several others during our travels. These views, so
soon to fade, served to create a temporary friendship between
Keating and the students, which ended shortly before three in the
morning with the joint humming of ‘God Save the King,’ because, as
they said, ‘without words it is the National Anthem of both the related
countries.’ It was a happy evening, in that it formed so great a
contrast to other nights of the same week.
The next morning we left on the last lap of our journey through
Germany rather late, slightly after eleven o’clock, owing to the
encouraging friendliness of the previous night. This day was August
4 and in honour of its high destiny was one of sunlit splendour. Our
innkeeper, in the smallness of his bill and his obvious readiness to
give credit until the end of the war in case our money had run short,
showed that some Germans are not devoid of the kindlier instincts of
humanity. Human nature is the same the world over by whatever title
the races may be labelled.
With usual delays from road patrols we passed slowly through
Lottë, Westerkappeln, and Höveringhausen. In Ibbenburgen we were
held up by a long patriotic procession, chiefly of children dressed
brilliantly in white, and carrying banners decorated in some cases
with religious symbols and in some with the armorial device of
Westphalia. As they walked they sang, with the softness of
childhood, songs of the countryside.
It was pleasant when in the midst of our worries to listen to the
beat of childish feet and the echo of childish voices between the
lines of high narrow houses of this quiet Westphalian village. Curious
incidents, unimportant in themselves, remain in one’s memory for all
time.
We had intended to drive out of the country through Bentheim, the
same route by which we entered. But when the police examined us
at Rheine, though they showed no desire to detain us, they told us
that we must divert our course through Burgsteinfurt and leave
Germany by Gronau, reaching Enschede in Holland. This meant a
journey increased by forty miles, a serious matter under the then
existing critical conditions.
The first few miles out of Rheine passed by with surprising ease.
Then as we passed along a straight stretch of road close to Ochtrup
we were stopped by a patrol standing or rather reeling in front of a
public-house. These half-dozen men, bored with inaction, had
improved the shining hour by drinking beer until all the world seemed
changed. They were armed heavily with ancient rifles, each
obviously loaded. Our unfortunate belongings were again dragged
into view and a hilarious examination followed, the while two of the
more drunken men tried to show their belief that we were good
fellows by kissing us both with beery enthusiasm. Finally, we were
allowed to go amidst their drunken cheers. We had covered about
half a mile when several bullets whistled by, despatched by our late
friends as a further token of their joyous sporting instincts! None hit
us and we passed on into Ochtrup, where the most amazing incident
of all befell us. We were taken into the Town Hall and were passed
as unsuspicious when, suddenly, the manner of our captors changed
from smiles to frowns. A chauffeur had arrived who swore that he
recognised us as two suspects who had escaped from custody at
Buckedorf, a village some miles on the Berlin side of Minden.
Nothing could shake him in his accusation and things looked
unutterably black for us. Tempers are hasty when war is the common
occupation, and sentences of death at the worst are only ‘regrettable
mistakes’ when too much haste has been used. Some open packets
of cartridges on the table added nothing to the pleasure of our
feelings. A woman, who alone could speak English with any fluency,
was brought in to translate and she, too, did little to improve our
position. From her attitude one supposes she had met incivility in
England during her visit to our country.
Suddenly it struck us that perhaps the man had seen us at
Minden, and as we had a pass from that town all would be well if we
could convince him of his mistake. To our joy he at once admitted
that he was wrong and we were permitted to leave.
On arrival at Gronau we found that the car must remain in
Germany, so we drove to the station in order to find out whether
trains still ran. Here, to our surprise, we were again arrested by the
Customs authorities and were hauled before the Burgomaster and
some local councillors. We had as translator a German-American
who, unpleasant in his prosperous appearance, suggested we
should answer the questions in a way prompted by him. This we
refused, as the object of lying did not appear clear to us. It was well,
as later it appeared that one at least of those present could speak
English with ease.
At this stage in the journey appeared one of those amazing
coincidences that occur as one passes through life. As our names
were given in the course of the written evidence, an old councillor
asked me in English if I came from Lancashire. When I admitted this
he said that forty years before he had been working in that county
and during that time he had been befriended by a man of my name.
It appeared on a further description that this good Samaritan was
closely related to me! This fortunate incident had, I am sure, some
effect on our position.
In the end the Burgomaster telephoned to the G.O.C. at Munster,
putting our case as favourably as possible, and describing us as
Americans. Permission was given by this higher authority for our
release. A local mill owner who had given us every assistance
garaged the car, and undertook to take care of it. Thus did we part in
a friendly mood.
An hour later we entered Enschede after a long argument with the
Customs officer, who thought us too dirty to be respectable. Next day
found us at the Hague, where, in our rags but happy, we dined at the
Hôtel des Indes. Here we read the Times and heard of the
declaration of war. That night we crossed to Harwich.

Note.—Keating on arrival in town applied for and was given a

commission in the Royal Flying Corps. Later he transferred to the
Irish Guards. On January 20, 1915, he was killed in France during
bombing practice by the premature explosion of a bomb which he
was using for demonstration purposes. So ended a life of
enthusiasm. The world lost a very gallant gentleman in Harry Sheehy
Keating. Yet

At the door of life, at the gate of breath

There are worse things waiting for men than death.
 JAN ISSEL.
In the month of August 1914 Mr. Haseldine of Culme House in
South Devon was as clearly persuaded as every other patriotic
Briton that we had got to beat the Germans, cost what it might, and
what it might chance to cost him individually he well knew, his only
son being an officer in the Guards. So he was scarcely disposed to
sympathise with a man who, having no less than four sons, made it a
great grievance that the youngest of them was threatening to enlist.
‘What do you expect me to say to the lad, Issel?’ he asked of the
ruddy, grey-bearded tenant who had come to beg his aid. ‘I can’t tell
him he is wrong if he wants to fight for his country.’
‘Aw, ’tidden that, Squire,’ returned Farmer Issel, shaking his head.
‘I don’t b’lieve as Jan feels a call to go an’ fight no more’n what his
brothers du; but a’s that quare an’ opinionated us can’t make nothin’
of un. Can’t spare un nayther, with harvest comin’ on an’ all, that’s
the trewth.’
It was certainly the truth that labour was scarce and that the
moment was ill chosen for withdrawing a pair of strong arms from
Bratton Farm. Moreover, those were the early days of the war, when
it had not yet become apparent that England must raise and equip a
huge force. Therefore, after some further parley, Mr. Haseldine
promised that he would give young John Issel a word or two of
sound advice, and, with that end in view, he suggested to his
daughter Mildred, a few hours later, that they should make Bratton
Farm the object of their customary afternoon ride.
It was beautiful, hot weather, promising well for the approaching
harvest, and as Mr. Haseldine jogged through the lanes, on either
side of which were broad fields of ripening oats and barley, he
remarked to his companion, with a laugh and a sigh, that some
people didn’t know when they were well off. Patriotism was right
enough, and he would be the last to discourage it; yet before a man
decided to plunge into all the trials and miseries of a campaign he
ought at least to make sure that his duty did not lie nearer home.
And something of that sort was what the Squire presently said to a
slim, dark-eyed young man who, turning round at the sound of the
horses’ hoofs, raised his arms from the gate over which he had been
leaning and touched his hat. Jan Issel listened respectfully, appeared
to be a little troubled, and had no very definite answer to make. What
could be gathered was that his mother had been pressing him hard,
that he did not want to vex her—nor yet nobody else—but that he
reckoned he would have to go all the same. Oh, not until after
harvest, for sure; he had given a promise to that effect and would
keep it.
‘Quite right, my boy,’ said Mr. Haseldine, gathering up his reins.
‘Think it well over; don’t be in a hurry. You may be wanted at the front
by-and-by, and so may your brothers; we don’t any of us know yet
what lies before us. But for the present it seems to me that you’re
more wanted where you are. Now, Mildred, if you’ll wait here for me,
I’ll be with you again in a few minutes. I must just see Issel and tell
him about several things that I forgot to mention this morning.’
Thus Miss Haseldine was left in the company of a youth of whose
existence she had hitherto been but vaguely aware, but whose
handsome face and great sad eyes made appeal to her. She began
to question him, and, either because her pretty face and kindly blue
eyes made appeal to him or because of some subtle suggestion of
sympathy in her voice, he spoke with a good deal more ease and
openness than he had shown in replying to her father. It was not only
the outbreak of war, he confessed, that had put it into his head to
take up soldiering. Many and many a time before had he thought of
that way of escape from Bratton—because it was from Bratton that
he yearned to escape. No, he hadn’t no trouble, without you could
call it trouble to be uneasy in your mind; only he felt as if he must get
away.
‘I couldn’t explain it to you, miss; I haven’t no power o’ language.
Happen I’m unrasonable, as mother says. Dick and Tom and Bob
they don’t ask no better’n to plough an’ sow an’ reap year in, year
out; but with me ’tis different. Reckon as I’d go mazed if I was to stop
home for always.’
‘I know what is the matter with you,’ said Miss Haseldine, smiling;
‘you’re bored.’
Well, that might be. The word was not included in Jan’s slender
vocabulary, but perhaps he was capable of the sensation. Miss
Haseldine told him that she was and that a vast number of persons
were similarly afflicted. The recognised remedy was work; but, for
obvious reasons, that was not applicable to his case. How about
reading as a diversion? Did he ever open a book?
This chance shot unexpectedly scored. Jan’s big brown eyes
lightened up as he answered that he loved nothing in the world so
much as books to read. Unfortunately, he had exhausted the
literature of Bratton Farm, which consisted of the Bible, sundry
theological works, ‘Pilgrim’s Progress,’ an anthology entitled ‘Pearls
from the Poets,’ and a few dilapidated volumes of the Family Herald.
Miss Haseldine said she could introduce him to a rather wider
circle of writers than that. ‘Come up to the house after dinner this
evening and I’ll lend you all the books you care to carry away.’
Jan was almost as grateful to the young lady as a starving man
would have been for a loaf of bread; yet it was perhaps rather her
looks and her voice than her kind offer that compelled his gratitude.
Hitherto nobody had understood him—which was the less surprising
because he had some difficulty in understanding himself—and he
had observed a general disposition to treat him with the indulgence
accorded to the mentally deficient. But here at last was a beautiful,
beneficent being who not only did not call him a fool but clearly
showed, without actually saying so, that she entered into his feelings
and shared them. He had often seen her before, in church and
elsewhere, but did not remember ever to have heard her speak. After
she and her father had ridden away, he dropped his elbows upon the
gate once more and for some time thought about her dreamily, with a
pleasantly warmed heart, wondering why he had never before
noticed her physical beauty. Then he stretched himself and strode off
to get the cows in for milking.
 Mildred Haseldine, if scarcely beautiful, was as pretty as golden
hair, forget-me-not blue eyes, and neat little features could make her.
Beneficent she might fairly be called, inasmuch as she was always
glad to do a good turn to her neighbours, and this farm lad, with his
odd craving for mental nourishment and his rebellion against the
monotony of agricultural life, interested her. So as soon as she
reached home she laid the library shelves under contribution,
selecting ‘Ivanhoe,’ Tennyson’s Poems, Carlyle’s ‘Past and Present’
and Fitchett’s ‘Deeds that Won the Empire,’ as being a sufficiently
comprehensive batch to begin with, and handed the volumes to her
maid Judith, with instructions that they were to be given to young
John Issel, if he should call for them. She observed that Judith
blushed; but the circumstance made no impression upon her,
Judith’s blushes being frequent and for the most part devoid of
cause.
As a matter of fact, Judith Combe had some excuse for exhibiting
self-consciousness at the sound of Jan Issel’s name. Not very much,
it is true; for in her class of life the fact of ‘walking out’ with a young
man on Sunday afternoons is not held to commit either of the
walkers to subsequent matrimony, and certainly Jan did not consider
himself in any way pledged to Judy Combe, whom he had chosen
merely because, like his brothers and everybody else, he had to
have a female companion of some sort. He liked the gentle, demure
lass, was indifferently aware that she was nice-looking (she was in
reality decidedly prettier than Miss Haseldine), and even supposed
that he might marry her some day. But that, of course, would only be
if he should stay at Bratton, instead of going out into the wide world
—a contingency which he never cared to contemplate.
An access of shyness led him to ask for Judith when he went up to
the great house that evening; but he was just a trifle disappointed
when she joined him, bearing the promised armful of literature, and
when he realised that he was not to see his benefactress. Nothing,
however, forbade him to talk about her, nor did he say much about
anybody or anything else during an interview which took place by
starlight in the stable-yard. Judith, who was greatly attached to her
mistress, was as laudatory as could be wished, if not particularly
informing. Miss Mildred was always doing kind things; so Judith did
not think it strange that she should lend books to Jan Issel if he
wanted them; though it was perhaps rather strange that he should
want them. She timidly intimated as much, but received no answer. It
was, of course, impossible to explain to Judy Combe what the
printed page meant to one who was consumed with curiosity
respecting the world in which we dwell and who had no opportunities
of coming into contact with a verbal interpreter. It would likewise
have been difficult to bring home to her the motives that such a man
might have for adopting the profession of arms; so that subject also
was left untouched. For the rest, Jan was eager to say good-night,
being still more eager to discover what Miss Mildred thought him
capable of appreciating.
Miss Mildred, it may be conjectured, had not given a great deal of
thought to the matter; but she bestowed quite as much pleasure
upon her protégé as if she had. That night and on several
successive nights Jan sat up, devouring the volumes by the light of a
single candle long after all the other inmates of the farm were
asleep. ‘Ivanhoe,’ which was pretty plain sailing, delighted him, as
did also Fitchett’s stirring and admirably related yarns. If he could not
always make out what Tennyson was driving at, he loved the rhythm
and melody of his verse, just as he loved the sonorous grandeur of
certain chapters in Isaiah and Ecclesiastes, the meaning of which
was completely hidden from him. In like manner thousands of people
derive genuine enjoyment from listening to a symphony, although
they are ignorant of the structure of such compositions and cannot
really follow them. But, oddly enough, it was with Carlyle that Jan
was best pleased. The bygone abuses and social anomalies against
which ‘Past and Present’ thunders naturally said nothing to him, nor
could he trace much connection between them and the chronicle of
Jocelin of Brakelond. It must also be admitted that he skipped a
good many pages. What roused him to enthusiasm was not the
writer’s theme but his mastery of language and the magnificent,
disdainful carelessness with which he displayed it, as though feeling
himself big enough to be independent of all rules. Jan Issel, it must
be supposed, possessed the literary sense—which indeed, like
every other artistic sense, is inborn, not to be acquired. When he
went to Culme House to return the books and beg for more, he tried,
not over-successfully, to express to Miss Mildred (who received him
this time and took him into the library) the intensity of his admiration
for a philosopher who is commonly considered to be above the
heads of the simple.
‘A girt man, miss,’ he said—‘a powerful man!’
‘Oh, yes,’ agreed Mildred, surprised and amused, ‘he’s—
picturesque. Hardly at his best in “Past and Present,” though. I’ll lend
you his “French Revolution,” which is much more interesting.’
Most leisured readers require a considerable length of time to
assimilate that work; Jan, who had practically no leisure between
sunrise and sunset, got through it in a week. He read it, as he read
most works, with only a dim comprehension but with great
contentment. Contentment, in fact, was the blessing bestowed upon
him by Miss Haseldine’s happy inspiration; so that he spoke no more
of joining the Army, while she was rewarded by the respectful thanks
of his parents. From Jan himself she received something more than
thanks and respect. It was, no doubt, natural enough that his
imagination, fired by the novels and plays which she prescribed as
occasional alternatives to historical study, should clothe her with the
attributes of a heroine of romance. His contentment, for that matter,
was perhaps as much the outcome of talks with Miss Mildred as of
communings with authors who by themselves might rather have
tended to increase the latent disquietude which they were supposed
to have allayed. These talks became frequent during the autumn
weeks, occasion for them being willingly supplied by a young lady
who could not help finding Jan Issel unusual and interesting. He
came out, every now and then, with the quaintest, the most original,
the most poetical remarks, and if his hearer sometimes had a little
inward laugh, she was very careful not to let her features betray her;
because his sensitiveness was no less manifest than his timid
devotion. To inspire devotion—especially when it is timid—is seldom
disagreeable to any young lady; so Miss Mildred often overtook Jan
in the lanes or summoned him to the house; and this was really kind
of her, seeing that she, who had so much to fill her thoughts just
then, might well have been excused if she had forgotten all about a
queer, dreamy farm lad. For those were the days in which the long
battle of the Aisne was developing, and although her brother Frank
had thus far escaped death or wounds, bad news of him and others
might come at any moment.
In Jan’s thoughts there was not much room for the war and its
vicissitudes. There would have been no room in them at all for Judith
Combe if she had not enjoyed the proverbial privilege of living near
the rose, which entailed the more dubious one of hearing the rose
extolled without intermission during those Sunday walks which at an
earlier period had been so largely taciturn. But Judith was a long-
suffering little soul, and it was only after much hesitation that she
ventured to ask:
‘Bain’t ’ee gettin’ tu fond of her, Jan?’
Jan reddened all over his face and neck. ‘Tu fond o’ Miss Mildred!
What be dramin’ about then? Do ’ee think a dog can get tu fond o’
the sun? You’m talkin’ proper nonsense, Judy.’
Nevertheless, Judith’s words came to him as a shock and a
revelation, over which he pondered for hours afterwards. At first he
was ashamed of his audacity and felt as if he had been guilty of
some unpardonable outrage; but by degrees he arrived at a different
view of the matter. What if he did love a human goddess? When all
was said, he could not help it. The veriest cur, according to his own
homely metaphor, may bask in the sun, and she could not be
displeased by what would certainly never be revealed to her. It was
his secret, which he was surely free to cherish, without the least
shadow of hope, much as certain sixteenth-century poets cherished
a passion for Queen Elizabeth, or said they did. But the fact of being
without shadow of hope—as of course he was—did not preclude
indulgence in ecstatic visions. His mobile imagination enabled him to
see himself earning literary renown (like the peasant Robert Burns,
perhaps), rising by virtue of the same to a position of admitted
equality with the highest in the land and stripping the laurels from his
brow to lay them at Mildred’s feet. Such things could not come to
pass, and he knew that they could not; yet he liked to picture them
and might plead that his fancies were as harmless as his love.
 Harmless both may have been; only both contributed to bring
about a return of his old restlessness. He was now embarrassed in
conversing with Miss Mildred; he could not get rid of a haunting
dread that she might suspect his sentiments (she was perhaps not
so far from suspecting them as he thought), and then how would he
ever dare to look her in the face again? More and more evident was
it to him that he must leave the farm, that he would have to go some
day and that he had better go soon. Added to this, his brothers were
beginning to talk about donning khaki. Without saying anything to
their father, they discussed the question amongst themselves and
agreed that if ‘th’ old war’ was going to last another year, as the
newspapers said it was, they could not decently keep out of it. It was
impossible for all of them to go, that was certain; but one, or even
two, of them might. The youngest they excluded, not only because
‘mother wouldn’t niver part with ’un,’ but because he was understood
to have been cured of military hankerings. Thus it became plain that
procrastination would only place fresh obstacles in Jan’s path.
It was on a grey morning in October that he was accosted by a
recruiting sergeant at Exeter, whither he had been sent to dispose of
some steers, and there was no need to impress upon him that
Flanders was the right place for a likely young chap without
encumbrances. He intimated that that was his own view and asked
whether he could have a couple of days ‘to wind up like.’ Three, if he
chose, the pleased sergeant replied; but he said two would be
enough. They might even be excessive, he thought, for although old
Mrs. Issel was a fond mother, she had a ‘tarrible power o’ spache’
when aggrieved; but he could not go off to the wars without taking
leave of Miss Mildred, and he wanted to make sure of a farewell
audience. More with that end in view than because he recognised
any claim that Miss Mildred’s maid might have upon him, he
marched up to Culme House the same evening and briefly informed
Judith that he had taken the King’s shilling.
‘Aw, ma dear soul!’ cried the girl, throwing up her hands in dismay,
‘what iver did ’ee du that vur?’
It was a thing, Jan answered, that had to be done—a thing that
every young man in England would be doing before long, by what he
had heard tell. He further attempted to explain why for him in
particular it was essential to break fresh ground; but, not making
much of a success of this and noticing, moreover, that Judith was not
listening, he desisted.
Judith was crying softly, and that gave him a pain at his heart. His
mother also, instead of scolding him, as he had expected her to do,
had wept, throwing her apron over her head and rocking herself to
and fro, while his father, after one short, angry outburst, had abruptly
fallen silent and had walked out of the house with bowed shoulders.
It is cruel to have to hurt people like that; but—what can one do? He
did his best to comfort poor little Judy, who was afraid ‘they pesky
Germans’ would kill him—which indeed did not seem unlikely—but
who tried to recover a cheerful countenance and assured him that
she understood everything. He could not, of course, believe that she
did, and would have been quite sorry if she had; still he was grateful
to her for being so brave about it and for readily promising to deliver
a message to Miss Mildred.
He had thought—perhaps half hoped—that Miss Mildred would
reproach him a little for having so suddenly taken a step from which
he had been dissuaded by her; but when she met him on the morrow
she did nothing of the kind. Circumstances alter cases; the country
now needed all who were fit to serve; she assumed that Jan had
been actuated by patriotic motives and had only praise and
congratulations for him.
‘How proud we shall all be of you if you come back with a V.C. or
an officer’s commission!’ she exclaimed. ‘Nothing is impossible in
war time, you know.’
Jan smiled and shook his head, but, he often thought of her words
afterwards and made them the nucleus of innumerable day-dreams.
What he longed for at the time was some hint of regret on her part,
some intimation that she would miss him a little. However, she did
not seem to think that there was anything to regret, and it was
absurd to suppose that his departure could make any difference to
her. Why should it? One thing, at any rate, she said which was as
delightful as it was unforeseen.
 ‘You must let me hear from you, John. Write often and at great
length, please, and tell me exactly how everything strikes you.
Answer? Oh, of course I will, and I’ll send you socks and mufflers
and things, not to mention books.’ She added, after a moment, ‘I was
thinking of giving you something now, only I don’t know what you
would like to have.’
Jan knew very well what he would like to have: whether he might
dare to ask for it was another question. However, he was going away
and it was probable enough that he would see her no more; so he
screwed up courage to confess that the most welcome gift she could
bestow upon him would be something that had belonged to herself—
maybe the little silver pencil-case which he had so often seen her
use.
She presented it to him with a bright smile and with no appearance
of thinking him presumptuous. Then she frankly shook him by the
hand, wished him the best of luck and left him beside the gate
leading up to Bratton Farm, where their colloquy had been held. At
the bend of the road she turned to wave him a last farewell and so
disappeared into the misty twilight.
Jan raised the precious pencil-case to his lips, pushed it into his
waistcoat pocket and was happy. He even told himself in so many
words that he was happy; which is an experience of such rarity that
those to whom it has once come never quite forget it. Jan thought
that if he were to be shot the next week, he would still have had as
good a moment as three score years and ten of life could bring him.
But of course there was no question of his being shot the next
week or for a great many weeks to come. The training process
through which he and other recruits had to go might have been
tedious if he had not accepted it as an indispensable means towards
an end, and if he had not, rather unexpectedly, found a certain
pleasure in it. The monotony of drill was at least a novel species of
monotony; his comrades were for the most part cheery,
companionable fellows, many of whom differed sufficiently from the
types hitherto known to him to stimulate his ever alert curiosity; the
sergeant who instructed them in the use of the bayonet had semi-
jocular anecdotes of his own experiences to relate which exhibited
the grim visage of war as wreathed in smiles. Even the very real
hardships and discomforts of camp life under persistent, pitiless rain
were made light of by Jan, who felt himself developing into an
efficient soldier day by day and who indeed was often singled out for
commendation. He wrote regularly, if briefly, to the old people at the
farm, regretting that there was so little to say; yet he found plenty to
say to Miss Mildred. Had she not bidden him to write ‘at great
length’? Those carefully composed epistles of his, which were
couched in a queer mixture of dialect and high-flown language and in
which words (culled from the works of some more competent
manipulator of them) were occasionally used in a sense
unrecognised by the dictionary, were not without pathos, as showing
forth a poor mortal brimming over with ideas and impressions and
struggling hard to be articulate. Let us hope that their recipient so
interpreted them. Her replies, at any rate, laconic though they were,
gave the utmost satisfaction to a worshipper who was duly sensible
of her graciousness in deigning to reply at all.
What was not very satisfactory to Jan was that there was no talk of
the battalion to which he belonged proceeding to the front. Some of
the men professed to doubt whether they would ever leave the
country; others had heard that they were to get marching orders in
the coming summer; all were agreed that they would have to make
the best of their sodden camp for several months yet. But no such
trial of patience awaited Jan, who was despatched to France with a
draft at very short notice early in February and who was not long left
in his first halting-place some distance behind the fighting line. His
impressions of life in the flooded trenches and of what it felt like to be
under fire were given with great simplicity, though not without here
and there a graphic touch, in the letters which he afterwards found
time to write to Mildred. This war, he said, was not like any other war
that he had ever heard or read of. It had had its glories, but it did not
seem as if it was going to have any more. Your enemies were close
at hand, but you couldn’t get at them, nor yet they couldn’t get at
you. So, taken as a whole, it was not exciting. The worst part of it
was the awful noise of the guns and the bursting shells, which he
found more trying than the wet and cold and the ugly sights about