Albert Edward Laslett (1866-1937)
1926 Succeeded Thomas William Carlton as Engineer Surveyor-in-Chief of the Consultative Branch of the Marine Department of the Board of Trade.
1937 Obituary [1]
IT is with deep regret that we have to record the death, at Cheam, Surrey, on Sunday, January 3rd, of Albert Edward Laslett, who was for some time Engineer Surveyor-in-Chief to the Marine Department of the Board of Trade.
Mr. Laslett was born in London in 1866, but spent his earlier years in the Liverpool district, where he was apprenticed to the engineering firm of John Jones and Sons. He gained his sea experience in the Cunard Line and served with distinction on a number of the famous North Atlantic ships of the time.
He maintained his association with Liverpool when he left the sea to join the firm of consultants now known as Bushell, Fletcher and King, and in 1897 he entered the service of the Marine Department of the Board of Trade.
He returned to Liverpool as Senior Engineer Surveyor in 1917, and in 1921 was appointed to headquarters as Deputy Engineer Surveyor-in-Chief. He became Engineer Surveyor-in-Chief in 1926, a position he filled most ably until his retirement in 1931.
Since that date he had given outstanding service as a member of various committees, including the Government Ships Replacement Committee, which dealt with what is more commonly known as the "Scrap and Build" scheme. He was a Vice-President of the Institute of Marine Engineers, and his regular attendance at Council and Committee meetings, and his sound judgment, which has been of much value during the past few years, will be greatly missed. He was also a member of the Institution of Naval Architects, and his death will be keenly felt by a wide circle of friends.