John Leggat
John Leggat (1874-1943)
1944 Obituary [1]
JOHN LEGGAT was associated with the electrical side of mechanical engineering throughout his career. He was born in 1874 and received his technical education in electrical and mechanical engineering at Finsbury Technical College from 1889 to 1892, where he gained the College Diploma.
His apprenticeship was served with Messrs. Maudslay and Field, Ltd., from 1892 to 1894, and with Messrs. Elliott Brothers from 1894 to 1898, during which latter period he was engaged in the test room. He then joined Messrs. Ernest Scott and Mountain, and gained further experience in the testing of various types of electrical machinery. In addition, in the course of visits to the Continent with one of his principals he gained an insight into the processes of the manufacture of similar plant.
In 1900 he was made chief designer and for the following six years was responsible for the layout of various electrical installations and power schemes. In 1906 he entered into partnership with the late Mr. Scott, consulting engineer, of Cardiff, and held this position until 1910 when he took up a post as senior and consulting engineer to Messrs Merz and McLellan, of Westminster, with whom he was associated for over twenty years. During this period Mr. Leggat was concerned with operations in connection with the development and uses of waste heat and was also engaged on the electrification of the North Eastern Railway.
In addition, as the result of his investigations he issued a series of reports which contributed to the establishment of the Central Electricity Board and the formation of the "grid". In 1931 he became managing director of the Electrical and General Development Company, Ltd., Westminster, and remained with that firm until his death, which occurred on 21st September 1943.
Mr. Leggat had been an Associate Member of the Institution since 1906. He was also a Member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers.