Sir Albert James Leppoc Cappel (c1837-1924)
1924 Obituary [1]
SIR ALBERT J. LEPPOC CAPPEL, K.C.I.E., died on the 20th April, 1924, in his eighty-eighth year.
He was one of the dwindling band of men who saw service in the Crimea, having served with the Turkish Contingent in 1855-6.
In 1857 he entered the Indian Telegraph Service, then in its infancy, becoming Director of Traffic in 1869, Deputy Director-General in 1879, and Director-General four years later. He held the position for six years before retiring, and saw the department expand almost beyond recognition of the earlier days.
In February 1887 the knighthood of the Order of the Indian Empire was conferred on him, and at the time of his death he was the senior holder of that rank.
Sir Albert's interest in telegraphy did not cease with his retirement from India. For much more than a quarter of a century after his retirement from the Indian Telegraph Department he was actively interested in the work of the Eastern and Associated Telegraph Companies.
He joined the Board of the Eastern Telegraph Company in 1888, and in the following years became a director of the other companies of this group. He was also a director of the Globe Telegraph and Trust Company, and a trustee of the Submarine Cable Trust. He gave his whole heart to this work, and was almost daily in attendance at the offices of the cable companies up to within a few days of his death.
He was elected a Member of the Institution in 1878, and served on the Council in the years 1900-1902.