Alan Atkinson
Alan Atkinson (1892-1961)
1961 Obituary [1]
ALAN ATKINSON, M.Eng., M.Instn W.E., who was born on 19 February,1892, died on 1 June, 1961.Educated from 1898-1913, at Crooksmoor School and Central Secondary School, Sheffield, he studied engineering from 1913-15 at the University of Sheffield where he graduated B.Eng. with honours. Soon after he had taken up an appointment as Assistant Engineer under Mr Colin Clegg on the Ewden Valley Waterworks scheme for the Sheffield Corporation, his career was interrupted by World War I, in which he served from1915-19, holding a commission in the Royal Engineers.
After the war he returned to Sheffield Corporation to continue his work on the construction of two large impounding reservoirs (Broomhead reservoir with a capacity of 1,142 million gallons and More Hall reservoir with 476 million gallons) and ancillary works. From 1924-29 he worked on the construction of two impounding reservoirs with ancillary works, at Barnsley Corporation Waterworks, as Chief Assistant to the Resident Engineer and Manager.
From 1929-34 he was Water Engineer and Waterworks Manager to Keighley Corporation and had sole responsibility for administration and maintenance of the Water Undertaking supplying a population of 60,000. In 1934 he became Water Engineer to the City of Plymouth with full responsibility for the water supply of the city’s population of 232,000, which involved an average daily supply of some 12 million gallons.
In 1945 he was appointed Waterworks Engineer and Manager to Manchester Corporation, a position he held until his retirement in 1958. During this period he was responsible for the design and execution of major engineering works involving a total expenditure of over E20,000,000.
Mr Atkinson was the author of a number of technical papers. He was a member of the Institution of Water Engineers, being awarded a President’s and an Institution Premium. He also held many other appointments; he was a member of the Executive Committee of the British Waterworks Association from 1945-58 and elected an Honorary Member of the Association in 1958; a member of the Ministry of Health Committee in relation to Measures for Controlling the Prevention of Waste of Water. He also belonged to the Working Party on District Heating and the Sub-Committee of the Central Advisory Water Committee on Information as to Water Resources; he was a member of panels A and B under the Home Office (Reservoirs-Safety Provisions) Act, 1930, Elected an Associate Member in 1922, he was transferred to the class of Members in 1937. He is survived by his widow and one son.