Herbert James Tapsell
Herbert James Tapsell (1893-1968)
1954 Bio Note [1]
Mr. Tapsell studied physics and engineering at the Portsmouth Municipal College. He obtained a Royal Scholarship in physics tenable at the Royal College of Science and the City and Guilds College of the Imperial College of Science and Technology, where he took the electrical engineering course.
He then spent two years with the British Thomson-Houston Company, Rugby, after which he joined the scientific staff of the National Physical Laboratory.
He retired from his position as officer-in-charge of the High Temperature Mechanical Properties Section at the National Physical Laboratory in 1953. Mr. Tapsell has published numerous research papers, particularly on the creep and fatigue of metals.
1968 Obituary [2]
Mr H. J. Tapsell (Fellow) died recently aged 74.
Educated at Portsmouth Municipal College and the Royal College of Science, Mr Tapsell joined the Electrical Testing Laboratory of BTH, Rugby. After a short period he joined the Engineering Department of the National Physical Laboratory in 1919 as a Junior Assistant. In 1921 he started a study of creep of high temperature engineering materials, a subject which was then becoming increasingly important. He made a major contribution to the development of creep testing equipment and techniques and in 1931 published his book Creep of Metals. Under Tapsell's influence high sensitivity creep testing in Britain reached a level unsurpassed in any other country. He retired from the post of Officer in Charge of the High Temperature Mechanical Properties Section in 1953.
Mr Tapsell served on many national committees concerned with high temperature properties of materials and was a leading figure in this field and it is with deep regret that the Institution records the death of such a dedicated engineer.