James Laidlaw Hope
James Laidlaw Hope (1876-1942)
1947 Obituary [1]
"JAMES LAIDLAW HOPE spent nearly the whole of his engineering career in the Malay States, where his death occurred in February 1942. He was born in 1876 and received his education at the Royal Technical College, Glasgow. After serving his apprenticeship from 1890 to 1895 with Messrs. Drysdale and Company, Ltd., of Glasgow, he remained with that firm for a few months as a draughtsman. On the completion of a temporary appointment as chief draughtsman to Messrs. McKie and Baxter, Ltd., he began, in 1897, his long connection with the Malay States, where his first position was that of chief mechanical draughtsman to Messrs. Riley Hargreaves and Company, of Singapore. Later he was made works superintendent and for a brief period acted in a similar capacity for Messrs. Hogan and Company.
In 1906 he joined Messrs. Howard Erskine, Ltd., and was placed in charge of the drawing office and estimating office. During his long association with the firm he was responsible for the execution of various important contracts in the Malay States, Siam, Hong Kong, and Java, including the erection of a large candle factory and public works in Singapore. Latterly, on severing his connection with Messrs. Howard Erskine, he had acted as consultant to Messrs. Eades (Malaya), Ltd. For many years he was a director of the Rahman Hydraulic Tin Company, Ltd. Mr. Hope had been a Member of the Institution since 1913. He was also an Associate Member of the Institution of Naval Architects."