John Henry Morton
John Henry Morton (1874-1941)
1896 of 8 Deacon Street, New Swindon, Swindon
1942 Obituary [1]
JOHN HENRY MORTON was well known in Australia and New Zealand, as well as in this country, as a consulting and designing industrial engineer, specializing in the design of drying installations. He was born in New Zealand in 1874 and after serving his apprenticeship there, came to England, and was employed as fitter by Messrs. Beyer, Peacock and Company, Ltd., of Gorton Foundry, Manchester, and subsequently as draughtsman at the Swindon works of the Great Western Railway. He gained further experience as leading draughtsman in the mechanical department of the Buenos Ayres Great Southern Railway, to which he was appointed chief designer in 1900.
Two years later he proceeded to North America and was placed in charge of the installation of the new locomotive shops of the C.P.R. From 1905 to 1908 he served on the technical staff of the American Locomotive Company in various capacities and visited Peru as travelling engineer in connection with the installation and testing of new locomotives. On his return to the U.S.A. he became resident inspector at the Pittsburgh works. After two years as chief draughtsman to the Anaconda Copper Company, Montana, he began in 1910 to practice as a consulting and designing engineer at Portland, U.S.A.
Subsequently he came to England and took up an appointment as assistant to the chief engineer of the Metropolitan Munitions Committee, but returned to America in 1915 to serve on the technical inspection staff of the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, with duties in the U.S.A. In 1918 he transferred his services to the Ministry of Food and was appointed chief assistant to the assistant director of engineering. After six years in private practice as consulting and designing engineer of preserving factories in Australia, he accepted an appointment as structural steel draughtsman in the new workshops of the New Zealand Government Railways. He then practised as a consultant for some four years at Auckland; during which period he also acted as chief mechanical engineer to the Kaikohe Development Company and designed the first pulverized coal boiler furnaces in New Zealand.
On his return to England in 1932 he continued to practice in London as a consultant for drying installations, up to the time of his death, which occurred on 25th November 1941.