John Wesley Meldrum
John W. Meldrum (c1851-1937), joint managing director of Meldrums
1937 Obituary [1]
It is with regret that we have to record the death of one of the oldest mechanical engineers in the country, Mr. John W. Meldrum, the joint managing director of Meldrums Ltd., of Timperley, near Manchester.
He joined the firm in 1886, when the works were in City-road, Manchester. His brother, Mr. James Meldrum, had started the works, then manufacturing steam jet apparatus, such as acid elevators, compressors, ejectors, &c.
The works were moved out to Timperley in 1902.
The steam jet blower formed the basis of the "Meldrum" forced draught furnace. It was then applied to the burning of refuse in conjunction with the "Meldrum" continuous grate destructor, which was the basis of modern destructor practice. It is a so applied with great success to mechanical stokers.
Mr. Meldrum. who would have been eighty-seven on June 26th, was at the works, as usual, within a few days of his death, which took place while on holiday in Scotland.