John Hugh Secker
John Hugh Secker (1874-1941)
1942 Obituary [1]
Captain JOHN HUGH SECKER was born in 1874 and educated at Uppingham School, and at schools in France and Switzerland. He then studied for three years at the City and Guilds Engineering College, and after serving his apprenticeship with Messrs. Davey and Paxman, Ltd., of Colchester, from 1896 to 1898, he remained in the employment of the firm as superintendent in charge of the erection of boilers and engines.
During 1900 and 1901 he was assistant engineer to the Slough Waterworks Company and was engaged in superintending and erecting new works. In the latter year he went to Folkestone and was appointed by the local electric supply company as assistant engineer in charge of the central station. He returned to the Slough Waterworks Company in 1903 as assistant engineer and in the following year he was appointed manager and engineer. In 1912 he joined Durable Roads, Ltd., road contractors, as engineer and was appointed a director.
During the war of 1914-18 he served with distinction in France, being mentioned in Army Corps orders, French army, and received the Croix de Guerre; later he was granted a commission in the R.A.F. He served in the balloon section with the rank of captain and was mentioned in dispatches. On demobilization in 1919 he returned to his former position with the Durable Roads, Ltd., and after a period of five years, from 1931 to 1936, as director of Trough Decking, Ltd., he became chairman and managing director of British Surgical Instruments, Ltd.
Mr. Secker was elected an Associate Member of the Institution in 1908. His death occurred on 11th September 1941.