Edward Barrs (1881-1940)
1940 Obituary [1]
EDWARD BARRS was born in 1881 at Richmond, Surrey, and was educated at Marlborough College from. 1895 to 1898. He then studied civil and mechanical engineering at the Crystal Palace School of Practical Engineering, and subsequently became articled to Messrs. Bramwell and Harris, consulting engineers, for a period of three years. After a year's further experience on the permanent staff of the firm, he accepted an appointment with the South Wales Electric Power Company, and was responsible for erection of various extensions to the generating plant.
After a brief return to Messrs. Bramwell and Harris, during which he was engaged on power station design, he was appointed to the staff of Messrs. C. H. Merz, electrical engineers, and in 1907 he joined the Cleveland and Durham Power Company he subsequently took charge of the firm's work in collieries and was also made engineer to the Consumer's Department of the Northern Counties Electric Supply Company.
In 1909 he went into business on his own account as a consulting engineer, and established the firm of Tennant and Barrs in Newcastle upon Tyne. He carried out the design and supervised the erection of the Southampton Cold Stores, and for the erection and starting up of a South Wales Power Station. In addition he acted as consultant to various works and collieries on the northeast coast, mainly in connection with power plant.
Mr. Barrs was elected a Graduate of the Institution in 1901; he was Chairman of the Graduates' Section during 1906-7, during which time the Standing Orders for the Section were formulated, and arrangements made for summer visits to the provinces. He was transferred to Associate Membership in 1910. His death occurred in London on 1st July 1940.