Blue Plaque erected for propeller pioneer

摘要

An English Heritage Blue Plaque has been erected at 17 Sydenham Hill SE26, the London home of screw-propeller pioneer, Sir Francis Pettit Smith (1808-1874), where he lived from 1864-1870. Smith's determination and engineering skill ensured that the screw-propeller overtook the paddle-wheel as the standard method of steam-ship propulsion: in May 1836, he took out a patent for screw propulsion, just weeks before his rival and eventual friend, Capt John Ericcson, who was carrying out similar experiments. Though Smith's idea was neither new nor unique, Pieter van der Merwe of the National Maritime Museum, writing in 2002, described the results of Smith's work as having led to an 'epoch-making change'. Smith was born in Kent, the only son of Charles Smith, Post-Master of Hythe, and Sarah Pettit. He attended a private school in Ashford after which he became a grazing farmer on Romney Marsh, before moving on to Gutters Hedge Farm in Middlesex. As a boy, Smith had shown considerable interest and ingenuity in the construction and propulsion of model boats and, even as a farmer, he continued to devote much of his time to the subject.