William Wilson (1883-1952)
Dr. William Wilson (c1883-1952), head of the development laboratory at the Witton works of the GEC
1917 Joined G.E.C.
1927-28 Chairman, South-Midland Centre, I.E.E.
1939 D.Sc., B.Eng., M.I.E.E., M.Am.I.E.E. Head of Switchgear Development Dept., General Elect. Co., Ltd., Witton, Birmingham. Private Address: Ventnor, 330 Boldmere Road, Erdington, Birmingham.
1952 Obituary [1]
WE regret to have to record the death of Dr. William Wilson, M.I.E.E., of 111, Grange Road, Birmingham, which occurred in hospital on Friday last, May 16th.
Dr. Wilson, who was sixty-nine, was head of the development laboratory at the Witton works of the General Electric Company, Ltd.
William Wilson was born in New Zealand and was educated at Christ's College and Canterbury University College, Christchurch.
Subsequently he was, for a period of seven years, a lecturer in electrical engineering at Auckland University College.
Dr. Wilson came to England in 1916 and in the following year he joined the staff of the General Electric Company, Ltd. During his long period of service with that company he was primarily responsible for the formation of the development department for switch and control gear, which later on was merged with the development laboratories at Witton.
Dr. Wilson held over sixty patents, most of them relating to switch and protective gear. In addition, he was the author of many well-known textbooks. He was elected to membership of the Institution of Electrical Engineers in 1922, serving as chairman of the South Midland centre in 1927 and of the South Midland radio group in 1944.
Dr. Wilson also did valuable work for the electrical engineering industry as chairman of various technical committees set up by the British Standards Institution, the Electrical Research Association, and the British Electrical and Allied Manufacturers' Association. In addition, he was a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and a Member of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the advancement of electrical science and technology, Dr. Wilson was made an honorary associate of the Birmingham College of Technology in 1949.