John Christopher Clifton
John Christopher Clifton (c1888-1948), Chief Metallurgist at Vickers-Armstrongs
1948 Obituary [1]
Mr. John Christopher Clifton died in the Farnborough County Hospital on 29 December 1947, following a short illness. He was in his 61st year.
His early technical training was centred around cable manufacture, a subject in which he always retained a lively interest, and his early experiences in this sphere at Siemens Bros. and later at Johnson and Phillips Ltd., both of Charlton, London, were always among his cherished memories.
In 1910 he joined the newly formed metallurgical department of the then Vickers Sons and Maxims Company at Erith, Kent, where he remained until 1930.
The company had by then changed to Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd., via Vickers Ltd., and had a first-class metallurgical and research department, of which Mr. Clifton was the second in command.
In 1931 the merging of the Erith and Crayford Works of Vickers-Armstrongs at Crayford saw Mr. Clifton appointed chief metallurgist, a post he retained until his death.
He was elected a member of the Institute of Metals in 1933 and became a Fellow of the Institution of Metallurgists in 1946. Hr. Clifton was a family man with a very human understanding, which endeared him to all those with whom he was associated. He was a great reader and, outside his own profession, was most interested in medical matters, of which he had a good knowledge. Throughout his adult life he suffered from a physical disability which made him more of a spectator than a participator in the more active enjoyments of life, and this, together with the all-too-frequent health troubles necessitating surgical treatments in his latter years, gave him a balanced and mellowed outlook which was reflected in his every personal action. H. G. HARPER.