Henry Kelway Gwyer Bamber (1864 -1924)
1924 Obituary[1]
"THE LATE MR. H. K. G. BAMBER.
As a result of a motor accident at cross-roads on the rebuilt Watling Street, near Gravesend, Mr. Henry Kelway Gwyer Bamber, who will be long remembered for his work in connection with improvements in the manufacture of cement and its use in constructional work, was killed on Saturday, the 20th inst. Mr. Bamber was born at Pinner on February 5, 1864, and was the son of Mr. H. K. Bamber, a well-known analytical chemist who practised in Westminster.
After completing his education at University College, London, and the Royal School of Mines, he entered his father’s laboratory. In 1887, by his appointment as chemist to Messrs. J. R. Patrick and Son, of Dovercourt, Mr. Bamber became first associated with the cement industry. Seven years later he entered the service of Messrs. Knight, Bevan and Sturge, of Northfleet, and later became a partner in the firm. When the Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers, Limited, was formed in 1900, by a combination of the leading firms, Mr. Bamber was given a seat on the board, and remained one of the managing directors until 1923. He was also a managing director of the British Portland Cement Manufacturers, Limited. Mr. Bamber, however, did not confine his activities to the improvement of the production of cement, but took a large part in developing its use in concrete construction. He was one of the founders of the Concrete Institute, now the Institution of Structural Engineers, and at the time of his death was Vice-President. He did useful work on the subcommittee of the British Engineering Standard Association, in framing the standard specification for Portland cement, and acted as chairman of the first International Cement Congress, which was held in the spring of this year. Among those who have taken part in the development of industrial welfare work, Mr. Bamber must be reckoned as a pioneer. He early saw its value, and before any definite organisation had taken the matter up he started schemes for the benefit of the workers of the concerns with which he was associated. He was an Associate of the Institute of Civil Engineers, a Fellow of the Chemical Society and of the Society of Chemical Industry."