Leon Walter Law
Leon Walter Law (1886-1949)
1950 Obituary [1]
"LEON WALTER LAW, who had an extensive experience of the production and salesmanship of the internal combustion engine, was associated with the firm of Messrs. W. H. Allen, Sons and Company, Ltd., Queen's Engineering Works, Bedford, for almost thirty years.
He was born in Manchester in 1886, and after receiving his general education at the Southport and South Manchester Grammar Schools obtained his theoretical training in engineering at the Manchester Municipal College of Technology. His apprenticeship was served with Messrs. Sir W. H. Bailey and Company, Ltd., Salford, from 1903 to 1906, and further experience was gained in Germany with Messrs. Pokorny and Wittekind, A.G., of Frankfurt-am-Main, makers of gas engines and air compressors.
On his return to England in 1908 he rejoined Messrs. Sir W. H. Bailey and Company, for whom he was engaged as an air-compressor expert until 1910, when he took up an appointment as oil-engine expert to Messrs. Petters, Ltd., Yeovil. Two years later he went to Russia, where he remained for over five years. During this period he was first assistant, and later works manager, to Messrs. Helfferich-Sadet, Ltd., Kharkov, general and agricultural engineers, with control of 4,500 employees; his activities, however, during the war of 1914-18 were directed to the production of high-explosive shells. Returning to Great Britain in 1918 he became attached to the Ministry of Munitions, to whom he was responsible for the supply and allocation of all machine tools for merchant and Admiralty shipping. After filling the position of inside manager to Messrs. Clayton and Shuttleworth, Lincoln, makers of oil engines, and making investigations on behalf of the firm into trade prospects in India, Mesopotamia, and Egypt, he began, in November 1920, his long connection with Messrs. W. H. Allen, Sons and Company, and was at first closely concerned with the sales of oil engines.
Since 1930 he had acted as representative for that company in the Midlands. Mr. Law was elected a Member of the Institution in 1916. His death occurred at Heidelberg, Germany, on 9th December 1949."