Patrick Walter D'Alton
Lt-Col Patrick Walter D'Alton (1856-1927), engineer-in-chief to the London Electric Supply Corporation
of the London Mutual Boiler Insurance Co, 17 Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C.
1885 Manager of the Globe Electrical and Engineering Co
1892 Appointed chief engineer of the London Electric Supply Corporation when Dr. Ferranti left the company.
1900 Resigned as chief engineer.
Through his work with Mr Garrett and Mr. Nordenfeldt on submarine boats, Mr D'Alton probably knew more submarine boats, by the start of the 20th century, than anyone else.
By 1901 he was chief engineer of the Central London Railway
1911 Living in Lewisham, an electrical and mechanical railway engineer, with his wife Marigu Ellen 47, daughters Catherine Mary D'alton 23, Charlotte Mary D'alton 22, Ellen Edith D'alton 21, Frances Evelyn D'alton 19, Marian Josephine D'alton 15, Eileen Mary D'alton 10[1]
1922 Lt.-Col., M.Inst.C.E., M.I.Mech.E., M.I.E.E.; b. 1856; s. of Walter P. d'Alton, M.D. Ed. Dublin. Training: North-Eastern Marine Engine Works, Sunderland, and Hawthorne and Co., St. Peters-on-Tyne. Career: Chief Engr.'s Certificate, 1884; Chief Engr. to Nordenfeldt Submarine Boats; Engr., Engr.-in-Chief to London Electric Supply Corporation; Major, 6th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles, S. Af. War; Chief Engr., Central London Railway., 1901-2; Chief Mech. Engr. to Dick, Kerr and Co., 1903-14; carried out electrification Liverpool-Southport Branch, L. and. Y. Railway Co.; Railway. and Power Schemes in many parts of the world; pioneered and reported upon electrification of Victoria-Minas Railway., Victoria to Itabira de Matto Dentro, in Brazil; commenced private practice as Cons. Engr., 1914; 1916-21 —Chief Engr. to Valuation Committee, advising M. of M., and later Board of Inland Revenue; resuming Private Practice. Address: 4, Inglewood Mansions, West End Lane, Hampstead, N.W.6.
1927 Obituary [2]
Lt.-Col. PATRICK WALTER D'ALTON had a very wide professional experience. He was associated with the earliest development of the submarine, became engineer-in-chief of the London Electric Supply Corporation, supervised the contract for the electrification of the Liverpool-Southport branch of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway on behalf of Messrs. Dick, Kerr and Company and was chief mechanical engineer and in charge of work for the same company in Holland, Spain, Portugal and Egypt.
He was born in 1856, and was educated in Dublin and at King's College, London.
He was apprenticed at the Reading Ironworks and afterwards served as a sea-going engineer for Messrs. Lamport and Holt, Limited, and the North Eastern Marine Engineering Company.
In 1884 he obtained his chief engineer's certificate and he afterwards became chief engineer to the Nordenfelt Submarine Boat Company. Owing to the difficulty of handling the early submarines, Col. D'Alton had a number of exciting experiences at this time.
His connexion with the London Electric Supply Corporation commenced in 1889 when he took charge of the Deptford 10,000-volt undertaking.
During the South African War he was engaged on military service. On the disembodiment of his battalion at the end of 1900 he was appointed chief engineer to the Central London Railway.
Two years later he joined Messrs. Dick, Kerr and Company, and in 1914 he took up private practice.
From 1916 to 1921 he served as chief engineer to the Valuation Committee of the Ministry of Munitions and the Board of Inland Revenue; afterwards he resumed private practice. Col. D'Alton's distinguished career ended with his death on 10th April 1927.
He became a Member of the Institution in 1881, and he was also a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and of the Institution of Electrical Engineers.
1927 Obituary [3]
LIEUT.-COLONEL PATRICK WALTER D'ALTON was born in 1856 and was educated at Dublin and at King's College, London.
His practical training was obtained at the Reading Iron Works, the North-Eastern Marine Engineering Works, and with Messrs. R. and W. Hawthorne. He subsequently went to sea and obtained his chief engineer's certificate.
In 1886 he was appointed chief engineer to the Nordenfelt Submarine Boat Co. A few years later he turned to electrical engineering and in 1889 became resident engineer at the Deptford power station of the London Electric Supply Corporation.
In 1892 he succeeded Mr. Ferranti as engineer-in-chief of that company.
On the outbreak of the South African War he took up military service and rose to the rank of Major in the 6th Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles.
At the end of 1900 he became chief engineer to the Central London Railway.
In 1903 he joined the staff of Messrs. Dick, Kerr & Co., Ltd., as chief mechanical engineer, remaining with that firm until November 1914, when he set up in private practice as a consulting and inspecting engineer.
In 1916 he was appointed chief engineer to the Valuation Committee under the Ministry of Munitions with the rank of Lieut.-Colonel, and held office until the Committee was dissolved in 1921. He subsequently resumed private practice, and died on the 10th April, 1927, aged 71.
He served at various times with the Yeomanry, Volunteers, Territorials and Regulars, and retired in 1910 when Second-in-command of the London Irish with the rank of Lieut.-Colonel.
He was elected a Member of the Institution in 1896.
1927 Obituary [4]
"It is with great regret that we have to record the death on April 10th of Lieut.-Colonel Patrick Walter D'Alton. Colonel d'Alton was an engineer of wide experience, and was well known in the three chief branches of the profession -civil, mechanical and electrical. He was born in 1856, and was the son of Walter P. D'Alton, M.D. He was educated at Dublin, and received his technical training at the North Eastern Marine Engine Works at Sunderland and at Hawthorn and Company's works, St. Peters-on-Tyne.
His early career was in this way given a bent towards marine engineering and the sea, and for a time he continued to follow in that direction. In 1884 he took his chief engineer's certificate, and subsequently became chief Engineer to the Nordenfelt Submarine Boat Co. In that capacity he became associated with the early development of the submarine." [Read More].
1927 Obituary[5]
THE LATE LT.-COL. P. W. D’ALTON.
We regret to note the death, on April 10 last, at Westcliff, of Lieut.-Colonel Patrick Walter d'Alton. The son of the late Mr. W. P. d’Alton, M.D., Patrick d’Alton was born on January 5, 1856 ; he received his early education at the University High School, Dublin, and afterwards attended King’s College, London. At the age of 16 he became a pupil of Messrs. Bryant and Cargill, and afterwards entered the shops of the Reading Iron Works. Upon terminating his apprenticeship in 1878, he became an improver in the works of the North-Eastern Marine Engineering Company, Sunderland. He went to sea two years later, and obtained the Board of Trade chief engineer’s certificate in 1884. During the years 1885 and 1886, Mr. d’Alton was engaged as chief and superintending engineer of the Pan-Hellenic Steam Navigation Company, Piraeus, Greece. Upon relinquishing this position, he was appointed chief engineer to the Nordenfeldt Submarine Boat Company, and, in this capacity, carried out important submarine experiments. In 1889, Mr. d’Alton entered the service of the London Electricity Supply Corporation, as resident engineer at the central station. He succeeded Mr. Ferranti as engineer-in-chief of the undertaking in 1891, and continued to hold this position for some nine years.
When war broke out in the Transvaal, Air. d’Alton proceeded to South Africa with the 6th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles ; he returned to this country in 1901 with the rank of major. After serving for a short time as chief engineer to the Central London Railway, he was appointed chief mechanical engineer to Messrs. Dick, Kerr and Company, a position he continued to hold until 1914. He carried out the electrification of the Liverpool and Southport branch of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway as well as several power schemes in various parts of the world. He commenced private practice in 1914. During the European War, however, ho was appointed chief engineer to the Valuation Committee of the Government, and acted as adviser to the Ministry of Munitions, and later to tho Board of Inland Revenue. Upon relinquishing this position in 1921, he resumed his private practice. Colonel d’Alton became a full member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1881, of the Institution of Electrical Engineers in 1896, and of the Institution of Civil Engineers in December, 1899.