William Walker May
William Walker May (c1844-1925), engineering manager of William Beardmore and Co
1925 Obituary [1]
WILLIAM WALKER MAY, for twenty-six years engineering manager of Messrs. Beardmore's works at Dalmuir, died on March 23, 1925, at the age of eighty-one years. In the death of Mr. May there has passed away one who did great service in consolidating the high repute of the Clyde district in marine engineering.
It is no disrespect to him to say that he belonged to the old school, because, after serving his apprenticeship and devoting a considerable period to the acquisition of experience of the work of propelling machinery at sea, he was happy in being associated for many years with the late Dr. A. C. Kirk, then a partner in the old firm of Robert Napier & Sons, being his chief assistant at the famous Lancefield Works.
After Dr. Kirk's death he became the chief engineer of the establishment, and following upon the merger of the firm into that of William Beardmore & Co., Ltd., he was responsible for the construction of the engine boiler and other works at Da1muir, whither the shipbuilding yard also had moved from Govan. The building and general layout is a most appropriate monument to a great practical engineer; indeed, all his work which embraced the engines, not only of mercantile, but of naval ships of all classes, was characterized by the dominant principle of reliability at sm. At the same time he was very progressive and fitted one of the earliest internal-combustion marine engines using producer-gas, a work which was done under the stimulus of the Marquis of Graham.
Although Mr. May retired from active work in 1917, after twenty-six years' continuous service with the firm, he acted until the end in an advisory capacity and frequently visited the works, where his ripe experience was readily utilized. The infirmities of advancing years ultimately compelled him to relinquish this pleasure.
Mr. May was an Original Member of the Institute of Metals, and was also a member of the Institution of Naval Architects, the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland, the Merchants House and the Trades Home of Glasgow, and a Burgess of the City of Glasgow.