Arthur Pollitt
Arthur Pollitt (1891-1951), deputy controller of the London Division of the British Electricity Authority.
1952 Obituary [1]
We regret to record the death on December 23rd, after a short illness, of Mr. Arthur Pollitt, who was deputy controller of the London Division of the British Electricity Authority.
Arthur Pollitt was born at Winton, Lancashire, on March 21, 1891......
...He was appointed deputy controller of the London Division in October, 1950.
During his career Arthur Pollitt presented papers on boilers and turbo-alternators, and he was responsible, in association with the late Sir Leonard Pearce, for carrying out researches on flue gas washing. He was a Constantine Gold Medallist - an award that was made for his paper, "Developments in Design of Boilers and Boiler-House Auxiliaries."
His outlook was, however, essentially that of a practical man, and he had decided views on the subject of generation. Thus, he never allowed himself to forget that the primary purpose of a power station was to generate electricity cheaply and efficiently, and that expensive refinements, such as gas washing, could not be indulged in without increasing the costs of generation - costs that meant the expenditure of scarce raw materials and valuable man-hours.
Mr. Pollitt was a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, a member of the Institute of Marine Engineers, and an associate member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers. He was also a Freeman of the City of London and a member of the Court of Assistants of the Worshipful Company of Horners.
1953 Obituary [2]
ARTHUR POLLITT, whose death occurred on 23rd December 1951, was deputy controller of the London Division of the British Electricity Authority.
He was born in 1891 and educated at Salford Royal Technical College. On the completion of a six- year apprenticeship with Browett, Lindley and Company, Ltd., Manchester, in 1912, he filled positions first as junior draughtsman to Hick, Hargreaves and Company, Ltd., Bolton, and then as draughtsman to the Brush Electrical Engineering Company, Ltd., and in the electricity department of the Corporation of Manchester, for which he was engaged upon the layout and details of the Barton generating station, becoming assistant constructional engineer to that undertaking in 1920. In this capacity he was responsible for specifications and the supervision of construction.
On his return from the United States, where he had been engaged on the inspection of power plants, he became closely concerned with preparations for an extension scheme.
In 1927 he took up the appointment of chief constructional engineer to the London Power Company, Ltd. He retained this position for twenty-one years until making his final association with the British Electricity Authority.
Mr. Pollitt had been a Member of the Institution since 1930. He was also an Associate Member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers and a Member of the Institute of Marine Engineers.