William Henry Hart (1861-1934) of H. M. Dockyards
1934 Obituary [1]
William Henry Hart spent almost the whole of his career in various capacities in H. M. Dockyards.
He was born at Folkestone in 1861 and was apprenticed to the South Eastern Railway in 1875, serving at their steam packet works at Folkestone, and at their locomotive works at Ashford, until 1881, when he worked on the Clyde as a fitter for a short period.
He returned to the South Eastern Railway as engineer of a Channel steamer in 1882 and shortly afterwards entered the dockyard at Sheerness.
In 1896 he was made an inspector, and subsequently became superintendent of the engineering workshops at Malta.
He was transferred to Devonport in 1907 and was responsible for the machinery of the dredgers and pumping plant in connexion with the building there of a dry dock in 1912, after which he became senior foreman of the engineering branch at Portsmouth.
During the War he was responsible for the maintenance of machinery on light cruisers, destroyers, submarines, and torpedo boats, and for the refitting of 2,200 craft of every class. In 1921 he retired, but continued to live at Portsmouth and served on the Local Reception Committee for the Southampton Summer Meeting of the Institution in 1928.
He had been elected an Associate Member of the Institution in 1906 and was transferred to Membership in 1920.
His death occurred at Portsmouth on 5th March 1934.