Henry William Healy
Henry William Healy (1886-1944) see Henry William Healey
1945 Obituary [1]
HENRY WILLIAM HEALY was born in London on the 16th February, 1886, and died on the 26th October, 1944. From 1900 to 1904 he was articled to Mr. F. H. Cheesewright, M.Inst.C.E., and during this period he revealed a remarkable versatility, his intensive evening studies at Chelsea Polytechnic covering a wide range of subjects from Engineering and Mathematics to Art. His facile ability with pen and pencil continued throughout his life and provided a vehicle of expression both for his genial humour, by caricature, and for his rich originality in design in all branches of his professional work.
Following his apprenticeship, he spent a year as a draughtsman with the Underground Electric Railways Co., of London, and from 1905 to 1915 he was Charge Engineer at Battersea Corporation Electricity Works. He then joined the Gramophone Co. as Chief Assistant Engineer. It was during this period that he made an exhaustive study of boiler operation, and his interest in the measurement of fluid flow and in pyrometry led him, in 1923, to join the Electroflo Meters Co. as a director. In 1926 he rejoined the Gramophone Co. as Superintendent of the Foreign Factories Dept., and in 1931 he was appointed Works Manager, holding that position with the Gramophone Co. and, later, with Electric and Musical Industries until 1937. He then joined the Parnall Aircraft Co. as Managing Director, and remained with that company until 1943. During the last few months of his life he was interested in the manufacture of plastics.
The outstanding traits of his character were his intense creative vitality, and the mental and physical energy with which he was ever prepared to meet a new project or a new subject. He accorded generous recognition of the work of his staffs, by whom, and by his many other friends, he will be deeply mourned. He was very interested in Town and Country Planning, and can ill be spared from post-war development work.
He joined The Institution as an Associate Member in 1919 and was elected a Member in 1942.
1946 Obituary [2]
HENRY WILLIAM HEALEY, whose death occurred on 26th October 1944, was until recently managing director of Messrs. Parnall Aircraft, Ltd. He was born in London in 1886 and received his technical training in mechanical and electrical engineering at the Wandsworth Technical Institute, the Chelsea Polytechnic, and the Northampton College of Technology. In 1900 he was articled to Mr. F. H. Cheesewright, under whom he gained experience in surveying and structural work. On the completion of his articles four years later he was employed for a brief period in the drawing office of the London Underground Railways.
He then joined the staff of the Battersea Corporation electricity works where he successively filled the positions of draughtsman, shift engineer, and finally station superintendent. In 1917 he was appointed chief assistant engineer to the Gramophone Company at Hayes, Middlesex, and during his six years' tenure of this post was responsible for extensions to plant in addition to the routine of maintenance. He was subsequently appointed a director of Messrs. Electroflo Meters Company, Ltd., but in 1926 he returned to the Gramophone Company to take charge of the erection, equipment, and staffing of the firm's factories overseas. In addition he was responsible for the considerable task of standardizing the production processes in these factories, which were situated in various parts of Europe, and also in India and Australia.
In 1931 he was appointed works manager of Messrs. Electric and Musical Industries, Ltd., at Hayes, with responsibility for a personnel of about 10,000. His association with Messrs. Parnall Aircraft, Ltd., began in 1936 with his appointment as director and general manager. Subsequently he was made managing director, retaining this position until his retirement in June 1943.
Mr. Healy was elected a Member of the Institution in 1937, and was also an Associate Member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers.