Henry Coates
Henry Coates (1886-1951), Director of Watford Electric and Mfg Co, Ltd., Whippendell Works, Watford.
Career:
- Apprenticeship, Mather and Platt Ltd., Salford Ironworks.
- Switchgear Specialist, Ferranti Ltd., Hollinwood.
- 1914 Watford Electric and Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Watford.
- 1925 Chairman, Watford Electricity Committee.
- Chairman, Watford Technical and Art Institute.
- Chairman, Colne Valley Sewerage Board.
Patents on Electric Furnace Control Gear and others.
1951 Obituary.[1]
Henry Coates, J.P., died on his 65th birthday, the 24th May, 1951. He received his early education at schools in Salford, his engineering education at Salford and Manchester Technical Schools, and his practical training with Mather and Platt. From 1908 to the end of 1913 he was with Ferranti, Ltd., as a switchgear specialist, and for the first ten months of 1914 he was with Voight and Haeffner (England), Ltd. He then joined the Watford Electric and Manufacturing Co. as Sales Manager. The following year he was made a Director of the Company in charge of sales, a position which he occupied until the time of his death.
His civic and social activities in Watford were numerous and varied. Besides being a Justice of the Peace, he was Mayor of Watford twice (1937 and 1947) and had served as Chairman of the Borough Electricity Committee, of the Colne Valley Sewage Board, and of the Watford Further Education Committee, and as a Governor of the Watford Boys' Grammar School. He had also served as President of the Watford Engineering Society and of the Watford Rotary Club. He was also very interested in the Watford Old Folks' Welfare Association. He joined The Institution as an Associate Member in 1912 and was elected a Member in 1918.