Edward John Jones (1841-1883)
1884 Obituary [1]
EDWARD JOHN JONES was the son of Mr. George Jones, a medical practitioner of Birmingham, and was born on the 25th of February, 1841.
He was educated first at the Birmingham and Edgbaston Proprietary School, now absorbed into King Edward‘s Free School.
After this he entered as student in engineering at Queen’s College, Birmingham, attending the usual classes for three years, from whence he subsequently took his diploma as Civil Engineer.
On leaving Birmingham he became a pupil of Mr. G. W. Hemans, M. Inst. C.E., with whom he was engaged from 1860 to 1865, during which time he acted as Assistant Engineer on the Warrenpoint Junction, and the Newry and Armagh, Railways, also as Resident-Engineer on the Newry and Grenore Railway, and Engineer to the Rostrevor, and also to the Narrow Water Castle water supplies.
On the 3rd of January, 1866, he went out as contractor’s engineer for Messrs. Faviel, to construct the Ceylon Railway, where he was in sole charge of the construction, and the erection of the staging and ironwork of the Peracienia Bridge.
This contract being finished, he returned to England, and was immediately appointed Assistant-Engineer, 1st grade, in the Public Works Department of India.
In December 1868 he was posted to the 1st Division of the Agra Canal, and placed in charge of the Okla subdivision. Here he was engaged in the construction of the headworks and weir, and had charge of 70 miles of the construction of the canal. This weir and dam are 2,438 feet in length, and raise the level of the river Jumna 10 feet above its previous level. He had the satisfaction of completing this work, which, with the canal, was opened on the 5th of March, 1874.
In 1875 he was appointed to the Bhognipur division of the Lower Ganges Canal, and continued to be employed on the irrigation works until his return on furlough to England in 1877.
In January 1879 he recommenced his duties in India on the irrigation branch at Narora, the headworks of the Lower Ganges Canal, and remained there nearly a year and a half; but his health failing, he was transferred to the provincial works at Jhansi, where he was divisional officer until July 1882. He was then obliged to return to England on sick leave, and although his health improved considerably whilst at home, on again going to work in the summer of 1883 it broke down completely.
Again he left India on sick leave, but died on the 29th of September, 1883, the day after the sailing of the vessel from Bombay. He was an active, energetic, and thorough officer, and received the commendations of all with whom he came in contact. At the time of his death he had attained the rank of 2nd grade Executive Engineer.
Nr. Jones was elected an Associate of the Institution on the 5th of May, 1868, and was transferred to the claw of Members on the 19th of February, 1878.