Edwin Seddon (1880-1944)
1944 Obituary [1]
EDWIN SEDDON, who died in Edinburgh on the 20th June, 1944, at the age of 64, was educated at Halliwell School, Bolton, Ashton-under-Lyne Technical School and the Manchester School of Technology. After serving an apprenticeship with Turner, Atherton and Co., he gained experience as a supply engineer with the Corporation Electricity Departments of Blackpool, Hanley, Eastbourne and West Ham in turn. In 1912 he was appointed Chief Assistant Electrical Engineer to the Edinburgh Corporation Electricity Department, and twelve years later he succeeded the late Mr. F. A. Newington as Engineer and Manager, a position which he occupied until his retirement in 1940. During his period of service in Edinburgh great strides were made in the technique of electricity supply, and the output for which he was responsible increased twelve times. Portobello Power Station, which was commenced in 1914 and completed in 1939, is a fitting monument to his skill, tenacity and courage.
He joined The Institution as an Associate Member in 1906 and was elected a Member in 1920, serving as Chairman of the Scottish Centre in 1930-31. He was also President of the Incorporated Municipal Electrical Association in 1935-36, but his activities were by no means confined to the narrow ambit of his professional career, and he was an active Fellow and Past-President of the Royal Society of Arts, Edinburgh.
1946 Obituary [2]
EDWIN SEDDON was associated with the electrical side of mechanical engineering throughout his career. He was born in 1880, and received his technical education at the Ashton-under-Lyne Technical School and at the Manchester College of Technology. On the conclusion of a six years' apprenticeship with Messrs. Turner, Atherton and Company, of Denton, in 1901, he was for a brief period in the service of the Blackpool Corporation as junior engineer. Subsequently he acted as charge engineer to the West Ham Corporation, becoming assistant station superintendent in 1907, with promotion to the post of resident electrical superintendent three years later.
In 1912 he was appointed chief assistant electrical engineer to the Corporation of Edinburgh, and was appointed city electrical engineer and manager in 1924 which post he held until retirement in 1941 after thirty-nine years' service. Mr. Seddon, whose death occurred in June 1944, was elected a Member of the Institution in 1923. He was also a Member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers and was a Past-President of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts.