John Donald Mollett
John Donald Mollett (1886-1936)
1936 Obituary.[1]
John Donald Mollett, elected a Member in 1919, was a Member of the Committee of the Indian and Eastern Centre. Born in July, 1886, and educated at Congletonlr and Wesley College, Sheffield, he received his engineering training in the locomotive workshops of the old North-Eastern Railway, at Darlington, from 1904 to 1907, and for three years afterwards was in the outside machinery department.
On appointment to the Indian State Railways, in January, 1911, as an Assistant Locomotive Superintendent, he was posted to the North-Western Railway. He was working as District Locomotive Superintendent at the outbreak of war when in 1915 he went to East Africa with the Indian Expeditionary Force with the rank of Lieutenant, being promoted later to Captain, in the Corps of Royal Engineers; he was in charge of various railway work, including the Voi Military Railway and the German Railway Workshops at Dar-es-Salaam. His military services were acknowledged by the award of the Military Cross.
Returning to the North-Western Railway after de-mobilisation, he was employed as District Locomotive Superintendent, being promoted later to Divisional Superintendent, Quetta. Subsequently he held the posts of Superintendent of Mechanical Workshops, Moghalpurai; Deputy Agent, Organisation, under the Pope Committee, and for a short period as Deputy Chief Mechanical Engineer. He was, promoted to Chief Mechanical Engineer of the North-Western Railway in March, 1936, and held that post at the time of his death, which took place in September, 1936.
In addition to his official duties, Mr. Mollett took a keen interest in Freemasonry, being a Past Master of his Lodge