LAST month was the centenary of the birth of a highly-respected ornamental blacksmith from Ryedale by the name of Wilfrid Dowson.

He became well-known for his work, including a set of fire steels supplied to Queen Mary in 1926 and, more interestingly from a local perspective, the Nelson Memorial gates at Duncombe Park in Helmsley.

At his forge in Kirkbymoorside, he would work by candlelight, his wife, holding both the candle and the other end of an iron bar as he fashioned it. It was a dedication that would rub off on his son, Duncan, who was to excel in a different field - that of engineering.

Professor Duncan Dowson spent his early years helping his father in the workshop, acquiring a taste for the artistic. But after studying maths and physics at Lady Lumley's Grammar School in Pickering, his leanings grew towards the application of science and he opted to study mechanical engineering at Leeds University.

After graduating in 1950, under the tutelage of Professor Christopherson, he took employment with an aircraft company in Coventry. Two years later, he considered moving to Canada before a chance meeting with his former tutor had a major impact on the rest of his life.

Initially agreeing to take up a post at Leeds University for just a few years, Prof Dowson spent the next 40 years, devoted to engineering research. He said: "I joined in December 1954, just before the expansion of higher education, at what was a very exciting time. There were many opportunities and things were just starting to happen."

Much of his work focused on artificial joints - in his words, the major development in the last 50 years in orthopaedic surgery. His expertise was in lubrication. By looking at how the problem of surfaces rubbing together, for example in machinery, was solved by adding lubricant, Prof Dowson applied this principle to the human joint.

This process became known as "tribology".

In 1966, he became the first professor in the world to head up a department dedicated to research in tribology. His work has been successful and helped relieve the suffering of many from arthritis.

Up to 50,000 hip replacement operations take place every year in this country, and up to half a million take place world wide.

He said: "Arthritis is awful because the pain is continuous. The operation gives people very great relief. It also enables them to be active and mobile."

Prof Dowson's achievements are numerous. He has published some 500 scientific papers, sat on government committees and research councils, and in 1992 became president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineering, a body of up to 80,000 members. In June 1989, he received a CBE.

His career has taken him all over the world to countries including Algeria, Kenya, South Africa, Japan and Hong Kong.

Nevertheless, Ryedale still remains close to his heart. Although he lives in Leeds - in a house named 'Ryedale' incidentally - he and his wife, Mabel, still spend as much time as possible in Kirkbymoorside. His wife, whom he met at Lady Lumley's School, was born in Cropton. The two of them love to go back to their roots.

He said: "The area is full of beautiful countryside. The style of living appeals to us. There is a sincerity about life you don't always find in cities."

Prof Dowson remembers his youth with great affection. He enjoyed playing football and tennis for his school, went hiking on the North York Moors and was in the boy scouts. His teachers at the primary school in Kirkbymoorside and Lady Lumley's were a strong influence in his life. Like his father, their dedication was not lost on him.

During the Second World War, he recalls his headmaster, Mr Hyde, making special arrangements for him to travel to a technical college in Scarborough, once a week, to use the physics laboratory because his school did not have the facility. Another memory was of his physics teacher, Mr Dews, giving up many evenings and Saturday mornings to manage the football and cricket teams.

His passion for engineering is clear. He talks about the "challenge and excitement of making something new".

He was attracted to the profession because its emphasis is on the practical application of science - having a positive impact on society - rather than science as an interest in itself.

He believes the word "engineer" conjures up over-simplistic images among the public, such as the man coming to fix the washing machine.

Instead, he says, young people should be made more aware of how significant the subject is.

A big concern of his is the shortage of engineers developing in this country, compared to our European neighbours in France and Germany - something which could jeopardise the country's competitiveness in the long term.

Prof Dowson has been retired for seven years but such is his passion for his work, he still continues research at the university.

He also does some work for an orthopaedic manufacturing company in Leeds and continues to write scientific papers. Hardly surprising then to hear him say he finds it hard to define what is work and what is his hobby.

Updated: 11:44 Friday, March 09, 2001