Bernard Patrick J. Wex OBE (24 April 1922 – 31 July 1990) was an English civil engineer particularly associated with the design of bridges.
Wex was born on 24 April 1922 in Acton, Middlesex, son of Julius Ernest Peter Wex, a German lace merchant of Regent Street,[1] who had immigrated in 1911,[2] and wife Gertrude.
[4] Wex wanted to become a pilot, but a minor eye defect precluded him from the RAF; he was commissioned in 1943 and spent the next four years as a tank commander with the 23rd Hussars.
[6] Wex graduated with first-class honors in civil engineering from London's Imperial College in 1951,[4] then joined the firm of Freeman Fox, working under the bridge designer Gilbert Roberts.
Wex was involved in the design of several important bridges under the guidance of Roberts and, later, Oleg Kerensky.
[7] He contributed during his career in the design of the Auckland Harbour, Forth, Severn, Ganga and Brahmatputra bridges.
[citation needed] Wex chaired the Committee of Enquiry into the March 1969 collapse of the Emley Moor television mast, and helped to found the Steel Construction Institute, of which he was the first chairman in 1986.
The design of a high pressure pipe bridge over the river Sutlej in West Pakistan.
[17] DW SMITH, CD BROWN, RJ BRIDLE, AF GEE, JB DWIGHT, DI BLOCKLEY, CR NEILL, RE MELCHERS, PSA BERRIDGE, JGM WOOD, MF PARSONS, MA CRISFIELD, BP WEX, HJ HOPKINS, T BLENCH, RF BELL, JE DIBLEY, SH WEARNE, SR. (1977).
[18] KR MOFFATT, GL HARGREAVES, S CHATTERJEE, MJ BAKER, PJ DOWLING, ER BRYAN, SJ MATHEWS, MA CRISFIELD, PB KENYON, FH NEEDHAM, GM ROSE, BP WEX, PR BARTLE, PTK LIM (1981).