Thomas Henry Yabbicom
Thomas Henry Yabbicom (1841-1927)
1927 Obituary[1]
THE LATE COLONEL T. H. YABBICOM.
The death of Colonel Thomas Henry Yabbicom, which occurred on October 17 last, at his residence, 23, Oakfield-road, Clifton, Bristol, removes a well-known figure from Gloucestershire engineering circles.
For many years City Engineer, and latterly consulting engineer to the Corporation of Bristol, Colonel Yabbicom was born in the city in which he was to spend all his life on December 29, 1841. He was the son of the late Mr. Henry Yabbicom, a stoneware manufacturer of Bristol, and received his general education in his native city, at Dr. Real’s private school.
In 1859, at the age of 18, he was articled to Mr. F. Ashmead, then Borough Engineer and Surveyor of Bristol. On the completion of his articles, in 1862, he received an appointment under the Bristol Corporation; this position, it is interesting to note, carried with it a salary of 65Z. per annum. Two years later he was appointed District Surveyor, and in 1868 he became assistant to Mr. Ashmead. He was resident engineer on the main-drainage works of the city from 1870 to 1871, and, in the following year, designed and supervised the erection of Deanery-road bridge and Park-street viaduct. During the years which followed he was also responsible for the design and the carrying out of the works in connection with Peel-street, St. Philips, Bedminster, Laughton-street, and Totterdown bridges.
In 1891, Colonel Yabbicom was promoted to the position of Deputy City Engineer, and, three years later, when Mr. Ashmead retired, he was appointed City Engineer. During the early years of his tenure of office he was responsible for the design and construction of buildings to be used in connection with refuse destruction, public lavatories, large corporation stables, depots and plant, and isolation hospitals.
In 1897, upon the death of Mr. Josiah Thomas, Colonel Yabbicom succeeded to the position of City Surveyor. From this date until 1911, when he retired from active work, he was engaged upon the preparation of designs for drainage and sewerage works, street-improvement and widening schemes, and other operations of a similar nature ; he was also responsible for the laying out of several public parks. A progressive engineer, he did much to encourage the putting down of wood paving in all the main thoroughfares of Bristol, to improve street lighting, and to introduce reforms in matters affecting cleansing operations and sanitation. After his retirement, his services were retained in an advisory capacity, and he continued to render valuable assistance to the authorities of his native city until the end of his life.
Colonel Yabbicom became an associate member of the Institution of Civil Engineers on March 4, 1879, and was elected to full membership on November 29,1898. He was a past president and a member of the council of the Institution of Municipal and County Engineers, which body he joined as a member in January, 1895. For many years a member of the Bristol Association of Engineers, he occupied the presidential chair in 1898. In this same year he was received into the membership of the Royal Sanitary Institute, and was elected to a fellowship in February, 1903. Joining the Gloucestershire Volunteer Artillery in 1860, as a gunner, he rose steadily, rank by rank, until he occupied the position of Lieutenant-Colonel. He was awarded the Volunteer Officers’ Decoration, and retired, in 1897, with the rank of Colonel.