John Pugh Gregory
John Pugh Gregory (1876-1930), manager of the contract department of BTH
1930 Obituary [1]
JOHN PUGH GREGORY, manager of the contract department of the British Thomson-Houston Co., died at Rugby on the 6th August, 1930.
Born at Carnarvon in 1876, he was educated privately and at the High School, Oswestry.
After serving an apprenticeship with Messrs. De Winton and Co., marine and general engineers, of Carnarvon, he left their works in 1896 to take up a position in the drawing office of Messrs. Ferranti, where he was for two years engaged upon work in connection with the steam side of electrical engineering.
He subsequently studied at the Central Technical College, London.
In 1899 he joined the testing department of the General Electric Co. of Schenectady, and later became one of their assistant engineers on power and mining work.
After a year in America he was transferred to the London office of the company, resigning his position in 1901 to become assistant to the managing engineer at the British Thomson-Houston Co.'s new Rugby works. Shortly afterwards he was appointed manager of the power and lighting engineering department of the company, which ultimately became the present contract department.
His duties brought him into contact with large numbers of electrical engineers all over Great Britain, many of whom became his personal friends. The British Electrical and Allied Manufacturers' Association owes much to his initiative and he was an active member of several of its committees.
He was elected an Associate of the Institution in 1889 and became a Member in 1908.
1930 Obituary[2]
"THE LATE MR. J. P. GREGORY.
This week we have to record the death of another member of the staff of the British Thomson-Houston Co, namely, Mr. John Pugh Gregory, who for many years was manager of the Contract Department, though he received his early training as an engineer.
Mr. Gregory was born in Carnarvonshire in 1876, and was educated at Oswestry. He subsequently attended a course in mechanical engineering at the Central Technical College, London, and served his apprenticeship with a marine engineering firm. At the age of 23, however, he turned his attention to electrical engineering, and joined the staff of Messrs. Ferranti, Limited. Subsequently, he obtained a position with the General Electric Company of America at their Schenectady works, but was soon afterwards transferred to London. In 1901, when the Rugby works of the British Thomson-Houston Company were started, Mr. Gregory was appointed manager of the Power and Lighting Engineering Department. To begin with, this department was concerned with purely technical matters, but it was subsequently commercialised and became the Central Station Department, ultimately being named the Contract Department. In spite of these changes in nomenclature and scope, however, he retained control throughout, and was thus largely responsible for the equipment of many power stations in this country, of which one of the most recent was the Longford power house of the Coventry Corporation.
Mr. Gregory was a member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers and an associate member of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. He also took a leading part in the formation of the British Electrical and Allied Manufacturers’ Association, and served on many of its committees."