Conway Osborne Grimshaw (1862-1943)
1943 Obituary [1]
CONWAY OSBORNE GRIMSHAW was born at Belfast on the 31st May, 1862, and died at Chobham, Surrey, on the 27th August, 1943.
He was educated at the Royal Academical Institution, Belfast, and received his engineering training with Messrs. Combe, Barber, and Combe, of Belfast, and with the Brown, Sharpe, and Bells Machine Co., in the United States.
In 1885 he joined the staff of Messrs. Crompton & Co., of Chelmsford, and acted as Resident Engineer on several contracts, including Woolwich Arsenal and the Barry and Tilbury docks.
In 1889 he was sent by the firm to India and Burma to act for the Orient Electric Lighting Company and to report on the establishment of lighting stations.
In 1890 he was appointed Resident Engineer at the Eccleston Place power-station of the Westminster Electric Supply Corporation, and in 1897 he became Assistant Engineer under Dr. (later Sir) Alexander Kennedy, Past-President, Inst.C.E.; he held this position until his retirement in 1926.
From 1899 to 1902 he was responsible for changing the system of direct-current steam- generation at the Corporation’s three stations to motor-generator operation. He also acted as Deputy Chief Engineer to the Central Electric Supply Corporation.
During the war of 1914-1918 he held a post under the Ministry of Munitions, directing production in numerous small factories in south west London....[more]
1943 Obituary [2]
MR. CONWAY OSBORNE GRIMSHAW, who died at Chobham on August 27th, at the age of eighty-one, was the oldest son of O'Donnell Grimshaw, of Merton Hall, Belfast. He received his early engineering training as a pupil with Combe, Barbour and Combe, of Belfast, and later in America with the Brown, Sharp and Betts Machine Company. In 1885 he joined the staff of Crompton and Co., of Chelmsford, and was employed as resident engineer on several electrical contracts. He was sent to India and Burma by Cromptons in 1888 to act for the Orient Electric Lighting Company and to report on establishing lighting stations in Ind1a, &c. In 1890 he was appointed resident engineer to the Eccleston Place station of the Westminster Electric Supply Corporation, and in 1897 he became assistant engineer-in-chief under Dr. A. B. W. Kennedy, which position he hold until his retirement in 1926.
From 1899 to 1902 he was responsible, under Sir A. B. W. Kennedy, for changing over the original system of D.C. steam generation at the three stations of the Westminster Electric Supply Corporation Eccleston Place, Davies Street, and Millbank to motor generator stations. This was concurrent with the building of the Central Electric Supply Corporation's generating station at Grove Road and, together with the sub-stations, formed one of the earliest three-phase, A.C. systems at 6600 volts. Mr. Grimshaw was appointed at this time in addition to his other duties, deputy chief engineer to the Central Electric Supply Corporation. During the war of 1914- 18, in addition to his other duties he held a post under the Ministry of Munitions, directing the production of munitions in a large number of small factories in South-West London. He was elected a corporate member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1898, and became a full member in 1905