Peter William Willans (1892-1940)
Peter William Willans (1892-1940)
1892 Born to Edith Ellen Willans, posthumous son of Peter William Willans
1940 Obituary [1]
PETER WILLIAM WILLANS, M.A., son of the inventor of the central valve engine, was born at Frimley in 1892 and was educated at St. Ronan's, West Worthing, Rugby School and Hertford College, Oxford, where he held a mathematical scholarship and obtained his B.A. and M.A. degrees in 1919 and 1920 respectively.
During the Great War he held a commission in the Garrison Artillery and served both at home and in Mesopotamia, and subsequently obtained a Government grant for an improved range finder.
In February, 1921, he obtained an appointment as engineer in the service of Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Co. and later became chief of the company's research department.
Resigning in 1924, he set up in business on his own account.
A few months later he was appointed chief of the research department of the Igranic Co., but in May, 1927, again engaged in various activities on his own account while continuing to act as part-time consulting engineer to the company.
From February, 1928, to November, 1931, he was in charge of the research department of the Columbia Graphophone Co. and carried out much work in connection with studio acoustics, the design of recording apparatus, and investigations into supraheterodyne receivers.
In November, 1932, he was employed by Electrical and Musical Industries, Ltd., as a research engineer on the development of television apparatus.
Later he set up in practice as a consulting engineer.
Shortly after the outbreak of war in September, 1939, he took up an appointment at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, and died on the 28th June, 1940, as the result of an accident.
He joined The Institution as an Associate Member in 1928 and was elected a Member in 1933. He read a paper entitled "Low Frequency Inter-valve Transmitter" before the Wireless Section in 1926 and frequently took part in discussions before that Section.