Sydney Lister
Sydney Lister (c1891-1951)
1953 Obituary [1]
SYDNEY LISTER served an apprenticeship at the railway works of Thomas Robinson and Sons, Ltd., Rochdale, from 1905 to 1912, concurrently attending classes at the municipal technical school in that town.
He began his engineering career, in 1913, as a junior draughtsman with Thomas White and Sons, Ltd., Paisley, woodworking engineers, but in the following year his services were loaned to the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, where he was engaged as principal foreman in the Royal Laboratory. Subsequently he served in the mines and torpedo section of the Admiralty.
He returned to Thomas White and Sons in 1919 to take up the appointment of assistant to the general manager, a position he retained for twenty-six years. In this capacity he was responsible for technical correspondence, special designs, and production methods. He also travelled widely in the firm's interests and personally studied the designs of woodworking firms in Germany and Switzerland.
In 1947 he was appointed regional officer for Scotland on behalf of the Timber Development Association. Three years later he renewed his association with Thomas White and Sons on being invited to join the board of directors.
Mr. Lister, whose death occurred on 16th December 1951 at the age of sixty, was elected an Associate Member of the Institution in 1930.