William Hall Fethney
William Hall Fethney (1891-1938)
1938 Obituary [1]
WILLIAM HALL FETHNEY was born in 1891 at Bury, Lanes, and received his technical education at the Royal Technical College, Glasgow. In 1909 he commenced a six years' apprenticeship with Messrs. Hugh Smith and Company, Ltd., Possil Engine Works, Glasgow, and then obtained a junior position on one of the rotary substations of Glasgow Corporation Electricity Department. Only two months later, however, he enlisted with the Mechanical Transport section of the R.A.S.C., and served in France until 1919.
He returned to England and after a brief period with Hackney Borough Council Electricity Department, in charge of a rotary substation, he was made relief shift engineer at Millfields Road power house. In 1925 he joined the Electricity Department of St. Marylebone Borough Council, London, and was responsible for the operation of the boiler house, containing nineteen water-tube boilers, on several of which he carried out tests. He was appointed shift charge engineer to the North Metropolitan Electric Power Supply Company in 1926, and was at first attached to "A" power house at Brimsdown, which contained five 5,000 kW. sets generating at 11,000 volts.
In 1928 he was transferred to a similar position at "B" power house, which contained four 25,000 kW. sets generating at 33,000 volts. Mr. Fethney held this position until his death which occurred in Glasgow on 19th September 1937.
He was elected an Associate Member of the Institution in 1930 and was also an Associate Member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers.