Thomas Bonner Morley

Thomas Bonner Morley (c1881-1941) of Galloways. Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

1881 November 21st. Born Govan, Scotland

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1941 Obituary

THOMAS BONNER MORLEY, D.Sc., made a reputation for himself as a designer of both steam and gas engines, in connexion with which his sound technical knowledge served him in good stead. His career was divided almost equally between the technical education of engineers and various appointments on the technical staffs of important engineering firms. He was born at Govan, Glasgow, and received his education at Bellahouston Academy and Allen Glen's School.

In 1899 he entered the University of Glasgow and graduated with distinction three years later. He served his apprenticeship in Govan, in the workshops of Messrs. Dunsmuir and Jackson, marine engine builders, and at the conclusion of his training he obtained a Carnegie research scholarship, which enabled him to undertake research work on the flow of steam in a De Laval steam turbine at Glasgow University. He published the results of this work in 1905, and in the same year he was engaged as a draughtsman by the Mirrlees—Watson Company, Ltd., of Glasgow. Subsequently he returned to Glasgow University as an assistant to the professor of engineering, and in 1908 he was appointed assistant professor.

He was elected an Associate Member of the Institution in 1909, and subsequently initiated an original research in the laboratories at Glasgow on "The Flow of Air through Nozzles", which was the title of a paper presented by him to the Institution in 1916, describing the investigation. For this work the degree of D.Sc. was conferred on him by the University. In 1915, however, he had enlisted in the R.A.F., and became a staff captain, with responsibility for organizing the supply of aeronautical materials, especially wire and wire rope. He was subsequently appointed chairman of the Aircraft Panel of the British Engineering Standards Association (now the British Standards Institution), and was particularly concerned with specifications for wire and wire ropes for aeronautical purposes.

In 1919 he joined Messrs. Galloways, Ltd., as a technical engineer, and in the following year was transferred to Membership of the Institution, and subsequently served for several years on the Committee of the North Western Branch. While with Messrs. Galloways, he was entrusted with responsibility for the design of large gas engines for blast furnace blowers and for electric power generation, and he was also concerned with the design of large uniflow steam engines, Lancashire boilers, and general steam plant. Some of his original work during this period was embodied in a paper entitled " 'The Supermiser'—A combined Air Heater and Economizer", which he presented to the Institution in 1929.

In 1933, however, he again turned towards the technical education of engineers, and accepted a lectureship in engineering at the College of Technology, Manchester, and two years later he received his last and most important appointment, that of head of the engineering department at Sunderland Technical College.

His death occurred in his sixtieth year, on 20th February 1941.

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