Maurice Belsham
Maurice Belsham (1848-1910) of Price and Belsham,
1910 Obituary [1]
MAURICE BELSHAM was born at Heybridge, near Maldon, Essex, on 17th April 1848.
After leaving school he was apprenticed for five years to Messrs. Whitmore and Benyon, of Wickham Market, Suffolk, and on its termination he went into the works of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway at Miles Platting, Manchester.
After a year spent in these works, he entered the drawing office of Messrs. Wren and Hopkinson, of Manchester, for a short time, and then went to Messrs. Ormerod and Grierson, of Hulme, Manchester, as draughtsman. In that capacity he came under the influence of Mr. J. K. Gulland, who was then head draughtsman.
In 1873 the Diamond Rock Boring Co. was engaged in many large borings for coal in the north of England. Mr. Gulland had become Secretary to the Company, and through his influence Mr. Belsham was appointed Manager of the Darlington District. During his work he found that it was difficult to obtain good specimens of the coal through which they were boring; technically known as a core, and to surmount this difficulty he brought out an inner core tube, which acted successfully, and was eventually taken over by the Diamond Rock Boring Co.
After being engaged in the Darlington District for about a year, he was transferred to the Liverpool District for some time, and ultimately to the London District, where he was engaged by Messrs. J. Docwra and Sons, who had taken over the machinery, etc., of the Diamond Rock Boring Co.
After several years' connection with this firm, he became associated with Mr. H. S. Price in 1882, and they purchased the engineering business of Messrs. F. Hart and Co., of Queen Victoria Street, London. This they carried on for some years, when Mr. Price retired, and Mr. Belsham continued the business on his own account.
His death took place at his residence at Barnes on 22nd May 1910, at the age of sixty-two.
He became a Member of this Institution in 1878.