William Andrew McIntosh Valon
William Andrew McIntosh Valon (1838-1909)
President of the Society of Engineers in 1893.
had son Arthur Valon
1909 Obituary [1]
WILLIAM ANDREW MCINTOSH VALON was born at Chelsea on 7th August 1838.
His early training was received in the works of Mr. Thomas Cubitt, of Millbank, Westminster, with the view to his adopting the profession of civil engineer.
His first work in connection with gas-engineering was the superintendence of the construction of a large gas-holder tank for the old Equitable Gas Co.
He was subsequently associated with his brother-in-law, Mr. David Watson, the chief engineer of the London Gas Co., and was afterwards appointed outdoor superintendent to the Commercial Gas Co.
In 1870 he obtained the position of engineer and manager of the Isle of Thanet Gas Co., and superintended their works at Ramsgate and Margate; but, on the purchase of the former and the waterworks by the Improvement Commissioners, he became their engineer. He reconstructed the waterworks, and introduced the constant supply, erecting a water- tower to serve the higher parts of the district.
In 1891 he was appointed engineer to the Ramsgate Corporation for the purpose of carrying out the sea-front improvements which have added to the attractiveness of that watering-place. Early in 1901 he evolved a scheme for connecting the harbour and the gasworks by means of a tunnel, primarily for the conveyance of the coal to the works, and secondarily for the transmission of other material required there or elsewhere.
He was a Justice of the Peace for Ramsgate.
When he first went to Ramsgate he had considerable private practice as a consulting gas and water engineer, and this increased to such an extent that he decided to devote himself entirely to it. Accordingly, in 1902, he resigned his position as resident engineer. He, however, retained his position as consulting engineer to the Broadstairs District Council, and engineer to the Westgate Estate.
He also had charge of the works of the gas company supplying Westgate and Birchington, as well as those of the water company serving the district. He was also joint engineer with his son, Mr. Arthur Valon, to the Minster and Stourmouth District Councils.
After he had severed his connection with Ramsgate, he transferred his office to Loudon. He was elected a Member of the British Association of Gas Managers in 1872, passed into the Gas Institute ten years later, and was President in 1892.
He became a Member of this Institution in 1880, and was also an Associate Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers.
His death took place at his residence at Kennington Lees, near Ashford, Kent, on 3rd July 1909, in his seventy-first year.
1909 Obituary [2]