William Alfred Fraser
William Alfred Fraser (c1880 -1940)
1941 Obituary [1]
WILLIAM ALFRED FRASER was acting general manager of works to the Gramophone Company, Hayes, at the time of his death, which occurred on 1st July 1940, at the age of 60. He served his apprenticeship from 1895 to 1901 at the Gun Factory, Royal Arsenal, Woolwich. After serving as fitter to Messrs. Johnson and Phillips, Ltd., he returned to Woolwich Arsenal in the capacity of gauge-maker and instructor. He held this post from 1904 until 1912, when he became a toolmaker at Messrs. Vickers, Ltd.
In 1914 he went to the Beck Engineering Company as tool-room foreman later he became general foreman, and was responsible to the works manager for the tool-room and automatic machine shop and for the grinding and inspection departments. Mr. Fraser became production engineer to the Rockware Glass Syndicate in 1921, and after remaining with that firm for three years, went to the Gramophone Company as a departmental chief in the machine factory.
He was made chief engineer of the process layout department, and later he initiated the production engineering department and supervised the layout of conveyers and the arrangement of the various processes for radio and radiogramophone production throughout the assembly factory, of which he became superintendent. In 1932 he was appointed assistant production manager with responsibility for a personnel of about 6,000, and was later appointed general works superintendent.
Mr. Fraser was elected a Member of the Institution in 1934.