Alfred Henry Walton (1860-1931)
1931 Obituary[1]
THE LATE MR. A. H. WALTON.
The death, on November 9, after a short illness, of Mr. Alfred Henry Walton, at his home at Browns-wood Park, London, N. 4, removes a well-known figure from the ranks of the electrical engineers in this country. Mr. Walton, who had been for 33 years with Messrs. The British Thomson-Houston Company, Limited, and had served successively as chief engineer, manager of the heavy-traction department, and, of late years, as manager of their London office, was born in September, 1860. After receiving his education at a private school, he entered the works of Messrs. Hayward, Tyler and Company in 1876. Four years later he became engaged on the drawings of the Holborn Viaduct electric supply station, put down by Messrs. The Edison Electric Light Company, and was also employed on the construction of the plant exhibited by the Edison Company at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in 1880-1881. The young engineer entered the electric light department drawing office of Messrs. The Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company, at East Greenwich, in 1883, and, under the late Mr. J. E. H. Gordon, became engaged on work connected with the design and erection of the electric-supply plant for the Paddington station of the Great Western Railway Company. When that railway company took charge of the installation, he entered its service, and was immediately given the task of conducting a series of tests having as their object the increasing of the efficiency of the. armature coils of the Gordon alternators. As a result, it was decided to alter the whole of the coils, and this was successfully accomplished at the Swindon Works of the Company under Mr. Walton’s superintendence. In 1889 he designed and supervised the construction of the electric light installations of three Great Western Railway steamers built for the Weymouth and Channel Islands service.
Mr. Walton was appointed chief assistant engineer to the Metropolitan-Electric Supply Co in 1890, and, five years later, became engineer to the Company; His long association with- Messrs. The British Thomson-Houston Company, Limited began in the autumn of 1898, when he was offered, and accepted, the position of engineer superintending the construction of electrical plant-for the Central London Railway. He became chief engineer of the Company in July, 1899, and in October, 1902, was appointed.manager of the heavy-traction department, in addition to: his other duties. He relinquished the position of chief engineer some time ago, but remained manager of the heavy-traction department, and, in addition, was appointed manager of the London office of his firm. He was also for many years managing director of the Cork Electric Supply Company, Limited. A former student member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Mr. Walton was elected an associate member on March 7, 1882, and rose'to full membership rank on November 3, 1891. He was elected a full member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers in 1895, and served on the Council in 1915."