Charles John Ennor (c1851-1931)
1931 Obituary [1]
CHARLES JOHN ENNOR had lived at Liskeard since 1908, when he retired from his engineering work in Portugal, and he died on 19th May 1931 at the age of 80. He was a member of a Cornish family, but was born and educated in Londonderry.
He served his apprenticeship at Messrs. R. and W. Hawthorn's Newcastle works and later returned to Ireland, becoming a pupil to Captain William Coppin, shipbuilder and wreck-raiser.
From 1864 to 1870 he was in the service of the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway as assistant engineer.
He then went to Wadebridge as consulting and managing engineer to Messrs. Oatey and Martyn, engineers and founders.
In 1882 he was appointed managing engineer for the Vallongo Slate and Marble Quarries at Oporto, Portugal. He was very successful there, and two years later was appointed managing director. When he retired in 1908 the quarries were producing more in a day than they had previously produced in a month.
Mr. Ennor was also Lloyds' surveyor in Oporto from 1885 to 1907, and was consulting engineer to a large number of Portuguese cotton and woollen factories. So valuable was his advice to the industry of Portugal that the late King Carlos honoured him with the Order of Knighthood in 1893. During his subsequent long residence at Liskeard Mr. Ennor continued to take an active part in engineering undertakings. He was prominently associated with the local gas and electricity concerns, and advised the local town council in an honorary capacity in connexion with its water supply. He was also director of several companies, while to the end he exercised his skill in model-making in his private workshop.
Mr. Ennor had been a Member of the Institution since 1894.