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Kirby Laing Biography: Update

Research into Sir Kirby Laing’s life has uncovered rich archival material, highlighting his early education, university years, career in construction, and lifelong Christian commitments, including philanthropy and support for evangelical scholarship and student ministry.
To find material on Sir Kirby Laing, visits to a number of archives have proved very fruitful. 
 
Chapter 1 of the book deals with Kirby’s life up to where he went to University. An important part of this period was when he was at a Christian (Anglican) boarding school, St Lawrence College, Ramsgate, Kent. The staff there were very helpful indeed and the material that was collected over two days showed not only Kirby when he was at school but the way in which he was a major donor to and supporter of the College throughout his life. Parts of the College are called after him! 
 
Chapter 2 is Kirby at Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge. Again the archivist has gone out of her way to help and over the course of several visits a great deal of information, not least correspondence, has been collected. Again, some of this relates to when he was a student – of Engineering – and was involved in the Christian Union, but a great deal more relates to his ongoing very substantial financial support of the College.
 
Chapters 3 and 4 look at his career within the Laing construction Company and some of the projects that were completed. His ethos – in putting people first – is very clear. He was also interested in the wider issues that impinged on the industry. Within this period he also participated actively in a group of Christian businessmen who discussed issues relating to their faith and their work. Also he was a strong supporter of evangelical Christian student ministry and evangelical scholarship.
 
These four chapters have been drafted. For remain to be drafted.