Cosmo Johns
Cosmo Johns (1866-1951)
1952 Obituary [1]
"COSMO JOHNS was closely associated with the steel industry throughout his professional career and was well known in engineering circles in Sheffield, where for many years he held positions of responsibility for Vickers, Ltd.
He was educated at the Royal Institution of South Wales, Swansea, and served a pupilage under Sir William Siemens, passing through the shops and drawing office of the Landore Steel Works, Swansea. On the absorption of the latter by the Mannesman Tube Co he continued in that firm's service and held positions in the melting shop and rolling mills. After being works manager at the Albion Steel Works, Briton Ferry, he began, in 1897, his long connection with Vickers, Ltd., with the post of melting shop manager. Subsequently he held other appointments and travelled widely in his firm's interests, visiting India, Spain, Japan, and Roumania.
After the 1914-18 war he was selected as representative for Sheffield on the mission sent to report on the iron and steel industry in the occupied territories. He made frequent visits to Spain for the purpose of reorganizing an ordnance factory, and in Japan he acted as technical adviser on the production of steel forgings for naval guns. On the successful conclusion of this task he undertook the improvement of the administrative side of the works at Hokkaido. Mr. Johns had been a member of the Institution for fifty-four years, having been elected an Associate Member in 1897 and transferred to Membership in 1901. He contributed a number of papers to technical societies of which he was a member, including the Iron and Steel Institute and the Faraday Society. He was a Founder Fellow of the Institute of Physics, and a Fellow of the Geological Society of London. His death occurred on 1st February 1951 in his eighty-fifth year.