Percy James Haler
Percy James Haler (c1875-1943)
1944 Obituary [1]
PERCY JAMES HALER, M.B.E., M.Sc., whose death occurred on 13th September 1943 in his sixty-eighth year, was the Principal of the South East Essex Technical College, Dagenham. He had been identified with technical education throughout his professional career, which extended over forty years, in the course of which he became well known to a wide circle of students.
He served his apprenticeship with Messrs. Greenwood and Batley, of Leeds, from 1892 to 1896, and also with Messrs. Illingworth and Ingham, of the same city for another year. After a few months' experience as a lecturer in woodwork, under Leeds School Board, he took an engineering course at the Yorkshire College, Leeds, where he graduated B.Sc., and subsequently obtained his M.Sc. degree. In 1901 he was appointed lecturer in engineering at the Wedgwood Institute, Burslem, and two years later became assistant lecturer on the same subject at Hackney Technical Institute.
After holding this position for six years he was promoted to be chief assistant lecturer, with responsibility for the prime mover and testing laboratory. His advancement to the post of chief lecturer took place in 1913, but shortly afterwards he took over the duties of superintendent of munition work at the same Institute on behalf of the Metropolitan Munition Board, becoming responsible for the equipment of the workshops and the production of master and precision gauges; for these services he received the M.B.E. His next appointment, which dated from 1919, was that of Principal of Leyton Technical College, a position which entailed the supervision of a large staff of teachers and the functioning of numerous mechanical and electrical engineering classes.
He relinquished this position after seventeen years to become principal at Dagenham. In addition, under his direction the college was equipped with all the engineering plant for the shops and scientific apparatus for the laboratories. Mr. Haler was elected an Associate Member of the Institution in 1902 and was transferred to Membership in 1932.