John Michell Grylls Trezise
John Michell Grylls Trezise (1866-1944)
1944 Obituary [1]
JOHN MICHELL GRYLLS TREZISE was born on the 3rd August, 1866, and was educated at Leys School, Cambridge and at King's College, London. After gaining experience with Edmunds and Goolden and with the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co., he entered the Post Office Engineering Department at the age of 24 and within a few years was put in charge of the electric light and power staff at Mount Pleasant Post Office and Telegraph Factory, London, which then had its own generating plant. In 1900 he was responsible for the design and equipment of a 600-kW generating station at the Savings Bank, West Kensington, and in 1902 he was transferred to the Engineer-in-Chief's office as Technical Officer, 2nd Class. Selected to accompany Mr. Martin F. Roberts on an inspection of Continental h.v. power stations, he was afterwards engaged largely on the design and equipment of the Post Office power station at Upper Ground Street, London, which for some 15 years supplied the principal Post Office buildings in Central London. In 1908 he became for a short time Assistant Superintending Engineer in the newly formed Metropolitan Power District, but returned to Headquarters the following year as Staff Engineer, 1st Class. Soon after the completion of the Upper Ground Street power station in 1910 he was appointed Superintending Engineer, Metropolitan Power District, with his headquarters at the new station. Here he spent the remainder of his official life.
He had a special interest in illumination problems and collaborated with Mr. A. P. Trotter in the design of a photometer. In 1924 he attended the International Illumination Commission at Geneva, as I.E.E. representative of the British National Committee. He served also for some years as Chairman of a B.S.I. Panel dealing with tungsten lamps, as well as on panels concerned with tumbler switches and ceiling roses.
In official life a somewhat reserved manner concealed a kindly and sympathetic nature and he knew well when to turn a blind eye to occasional delinquencies. He had a large circle of friends both inside and outside the Government service. He retired from the Post Office at the end of 1927 and had in recent years lived at Rottingdean, where he died on the 4th January, 1944, in his 78th year. He was elected an Associate of The Institution in 1888 and a Member in 1898.