Harold Ignatius Oakes
Harold Ignatius Oakes (1892-1948)
1950 Obituary [1]
"Major HAROLD IGNATIUS OAKES, whose death occurred in Tanganyilza Territory, East Africa, in 1948, was elected an Associate Member of the Institution in 1928.
He was born in 1892 and served his apprenticeship with Messrs. A. and R. Brown and Company, Ltd., Liverpool, engineers, from 1907 to 1912, concurrently attending classes at the Liverpool School of Technology. After two years' experience as assistant to the chief engineer of the British American Tobacco Company, Ltd., Liverpool, he enlisted, and served for five years in the workshops of the Mechanical Transport, R.A.S.C., in England and France, rising to the rank of mechanical staff sergeant. On demobilization he began a course of study in engineering at the University of Liverpool, but in 1921 he became attached to the Ministry of Munitions, and was engaged in the stores department. Subsequently he was appointed district engineer to the Disposal and Liquidation Commission for the Midland Area. In 1925 he went to East Africa and joined the staff of Messrs. Bird and Company (Africa), Ltd., of Tanga, Tanganyika Territory, manufacturers of sisal fibre, being later made chief engineer.
In 1939 Major Oakes was appointed O.M.E. with the rank of captain in the East African Ordnance Corps."