William Charles Ullmann
William Charles Ullmann (1864-1932), lately of the East Ham Corporation Electricity and Tramways Department.
1922 M.I.E.E., M.I.Mech.E., Mechanical and Electrical Engineer, 20, Forest Drive, Manor Park, London, E.12. T. N.: East Ham too and 611. b. 1864, near Adelaide, South Australia. Ed. Privately in Australia and at Finsbury Technical College, London. In 1881 entered the service of the South Australian State Railways in the Locomotive and Engineering Department, serving an apprenticeship of five years. In 1889 joined the Brush Electrical Engineering Co., and in 1891 was Resident Engineer for the Brush Co. at the Bankside Station of the City of London Electric Lighting Co. In 1892 carried out an important mission for this company in Bangkok, Siam, returning to Bankside on completion. In 1895, left England to take up position as Chief Engineer to the Sulphide Corporation at Newcastle, New South Wales, returning in 1898 to England and joined the British Thomson-Houston Co., and was Resident Engineer for the construction of the first section of the electrical equipment of the Sheffield Corporation Tramways. A year later he was appointed by the East Ham Council to design and construct their electric lighting and tramway undertaking. Has since held the position of Electrical Engineer and Tramways Manager of the joint undertaking. The East Ham Corporation electric tramway undertaking was the first municipal electric tramway service in the Metropolis. War Services.—In 1915, Assistant Manager of the Outer Eastern Area of the Metropolitan Munitions Committee.
1932 Obituary [1]
WILLIAM CHARLES ULLMANN, who died suddenly on Wednesday, December 14th, at the age of sixty-eight years, entered the service of the South Australian Government Railway in 1881 as an engineering apprentice, and later became an Inspecting Engineer. In 1889 he came to London as the resident engineer for the Brush Electrical Engineering Company, the contractors for the lighting of the City of London. Six years later he returned to Australia to take up the appointment of chief engineer to the Sulphide Corporation, of New South Wales, but in 1898 joined the British Thomson-Houston Company as resident engineer at Sheffield for the construction of the first sections of the Sheffield Corporation Tramways, and in the following year was appointed engineer and manager of the East Ham Corporation Electricity and Tramways Department. In the last mentioned capacity Mr. Ullmann designed and constructed the electric lighting and tramways undertakings for East Ham, the tramways being the first municipal electric tramways in the Metropolis. Mr. Ullmann retired from this appointment some years ago. He was a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, of the Institution of Electrical Engineers.
1932 Obituary [2]
WILLIAM CHARLES ULLMANN was a native of Australia and was born at Burra in 1864. At the time of his retirement in 1924, owing to ill-health, he was chief engineer and manager of the East Ham Corporation Electricity and Tramways Department. He was appointed in 1899 to design and carry out the whole of the council's electric lighting and tramway undertaking, the tramways being the first municipal tramway service in the London area.
Mr. Ullmann served his apprenticeship with the South Australian Government Railways from 1881 to 1887, and remained in their service until 1889 as an assistant engineer.
He then came to England and joined the Brush Electrical Engineering Company, for whom he was sent to Bangkok, Siam.
On his return in 1891 he became resident engineer for this company at the Bankside Power Station, in connexion with contracts for the electric lighting of the City of London.
He returned to Australia in 1896 to become chief engineer to the Sulphide Corporation at Newcastle, New South Wales.
On completion of the work in 1898 he came back to England to take up the position of resident engineer to the British Thomson-Houston Company on the construction of the first section of the Sheffield Corporation Tramways.
He had been a Member of the Institution since 1903 and was also a Member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers.
His death occurred on 14th December 1932.
1932 Obituary[3]
"THE LATE MR. W. C. ULLMANN.
We regret to record the death of Mr. William Charles Ullmann, which occurred at Cheam, Surrey, on Wednesday, December 14, at the age of 68.
Mr. Ullmann was a native of South Australia, and was apprenticed to the Government Railway Department of that province on leaving school at the age of 17. He served with the Department for seven years, reaching the position of Inspecting Engineer, but in 1889 he came to London where he joined the Brush Electrical Engineering Co, who were then acting as contractors for the installation of electric lighting in the City of London, while from 1891 to 1896 he was resident engineer in Southwark. He then returned to Australia for two years, where he was chief engineer to the Sulphide Corporation, in New South Wales. At the end of this period he was appointed resident engineer in Sheffield by the British Thomson-Houston Company, who were then carrying out the conversion of the tramways in that city to electric traction, while in 1899 he became engineer and manager of East Ham Corporation Electricity and Tramways Department. This tramway was the first of its kind in the London area to be electrically operated. Mr. Ullmann held this office until his retirement in 1924, and was responsible for the considerable electrical development of the undertaking, which took place during that period.
Mr. Ullmann was elected a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1903, and of the Institution of Electrical Engineers in 1896. He was also a member of the Institute of Fuel."
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Engineer 23 December 1932
- ↑ 1932 Institution of Mechanical Engineers: Obituaries
- ↑ Engineering 1932/12/23