W. S. Tope
Major-General W. S. Tope (c1892-1962), chairman of Henry Meadows
1962 Obituary [1]
Major-General W. S. Tope, C.B., C.B.E., died on 28th February at the age of 70. He was educated at Whitgift School, Croydon, and the Institute of Actuaries. In 1915 he joined the R.A.S.C. serving in France, Salonika and S. Russia.
After the 1914-18 war he took the R.A.S.C. Officer's Course and became an Instructor at the Training College, Aldershot.
In 1927 he was appointed to the War Office where he was promoted to Major, becoming Deputy Assistant to the Director of Mechanization. He became an Instructor in motor transport at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, in 1937.
He had a distinguished career during the 1939-45 war, first in command of motor transport depots and then as Deputy Director of Supplies and Transport for the Mediterranean forces. On the formation of R.E.M.E. in 1942, he was appointed Director of Mechanical Engineering in the Mediterranean and North African area with the rank of Major-General. He became Colonel Commandant, R.E.M.E., in 1947.
He was appointed Chairman of Henry Meadows Ltd of Wolverhampton in 1950 on his retirement from the Army. In the two years he was associated with the Company he was instrumental in obtaining many valuable Government contracts.
Major-General Tope became an Associate Member of this Institution in November, 1930 and transferred to Member in 1944. He was elected a Member of Council in 1949 and retired a year later. For several years he was on the Membership Committee of this Institution and his advice was of the greatest value to his colleagues at that time. Major-General Tope was a well-known figure in the Institution and many members will have cause to remember his wise counsel and friendly understanding.