William James Cadett
William James Cadett (1847-1876)
1878 Obituary [1]
MR. WILLIAM JAMES CADETT, son of Dr. James Cadett, was a native of the West Indies, having been born at Port of Spain, Trinidad, on the 15th of July, 1847.
At an early age he was sent to England to receive his education. He returned to the West Indies to arrange some private affairs consequent upon the death of his father, and afterwards again set out for England, to qualify himself for the profession of a Civil Engineer. Having arranged, in the first place, to get a sound training in the mechanical branch of the profession, he was articled to Mr. Edward Hayes, Watling Works, Stony Stratford, with whom he remained rather more than two years, and left with the reputation of being a fair workman.
Mr. Cadett then matriculated in the department of Applied Sciences at King's College, London, where he remained nine terms, until July 1871, during which time he gained two workshop prizes, one in the Arts of Construction, the other in Geometrical Drawing ; and, on completing his studies, was elected an Associate of the College.
Mr. Cadett was next for one year an assistant on the staff of Captain L. Flower, River Lee Conservancy, and subsequently became permanently attached to the office, where he gained considerable experience in sanitary matters in connection with the water supply of London, and with the several processes for sewage utilisation. In conjunction with Mr. Edward Dudley, Mr. Cadett gained several prizes for the best designs for various proposed undertakings ; almost his last work was in one of these competitions, viz., for the best method of draining the town of Sevenoaks, in which he and Mr. Dudley succeeded in gaining the second prize.
Early in the year 1876 he commenced practice in London, which promised, had he lived, to become both remunerative and of considerable extent.
Mr. Cadett died, after ten days’ illness, from blood poisoning, on the 22nd of October, 1876, having only been elected an Associate of the Institution in the month of February in the same year.