John James Hanbury
John James Hanbury (c1846-1937)
1937 Obituary [1]
JOHN JAMES HANBURY, O.B.E., whose death occurred at Exmouth on 13th December 1937, at the advanced age of 91, was a great-nephew of Sir Joseph Paxton. He entered the locomotive works of the Midland Railway at Derby in 1861 and served his apprenticeship under Mr. Matthew Kirtley, M.I.Mech.E.
In 1869 he was placed in charge of the running sheds at Lincoln and subsequently held a similar position at Leeds for five years. He became locomotive running shed foreman at Kentish Town in 1880, and in 1885 he was appointed locomotive superintendent and resident engineer of the Metropolitan Railway, a position which he occupied for eight years. He then went to South Africa and joined the Cape Government Railway as inspecting engineer for all rolling stock manufactured in England, and held this appointment until his retirement in 1920.
During the War he returned to England and was awarded the O.B.E. in recognition of his recruiting services at Willesden.
Mr. Hanbury was one of the oldest Members of the Institution, having been elected in 1886.