David James (1879-1951)
1952 Obituary [1]
"DAVID JAMES, who had an extensive experience of electrical engineering, was for forty-four years in the service of the Great Eastern Railway, both during its independent existence and after its absorption into the London and North Eastern Railway. He was educated in Bristol at University College and the Merchant Venturers' Technical College. After serving an apprenticeship with King, Mendham and Company, Ltd., Bristol, from 1896 to 1899, he obtained further practical training in the electricity department of the Corporation of Leeds for a brief period. He then began his long service with the railway company with the post of assistant engineer to the engineer-in-chief, and was employed on the design, construction, and operation of various power plants. Six years later he was promoted to be chief assistant with responsibility for the operation and maintenance of extensive plant for the handling of goods and material, such as cranes and capstans, both hydraulic and electrical power. Subsequently he was appointed electrical engineer for the Southern area of the London and North Eastern Railway, with headquarters at King's Cross, and was in control of some 800 employees until his retirement in 1945.
Mr. James, whose death in his seventy-second year occurred on 19th July 1951, was elected an Associate Member of the Institution in 1911. He was also a Member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers and an Associate Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers."