Herbert Henry Johnson
Herbert Henry Johnson (c1875-1957) of Engineering
1957 Obituary [1]
WE have learned with regret of the death of Mr. Herbert Henry Johnson, which occurred on Saturday last, August 3, at his home at Harpenden, Herts. Mr. Johnson, who was eighty-two, served for many years on the editorial staff of our contemporary, Engineering, and was a joint editor of that journal from 1924 till 1939.
Mr. Johnson was educated at Merchant Taylors School and at the University of Liverpool, where he became a Derby scholar.
His apprenticeship was served in Liverpool with Arrowsmith, Sinclair and Co., and thereafter he spent some years in the drawing-offices and design departments of Poyser, Heywood and Acland, in Nottingham; Ferranti, Ltd., Hollinwood; and the British Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, Ltd., Manchester.
His long period of service in technical journalism began in 1909 when he was appointed to the editorial staff of our contemporary. It was a service that had to be interrupted by the demands of the first world war, during the greater part of which Mr. Johnson was engaged as assistant works manager at the National Projectile Factory in Lancaster.
When the war ended, he resumed his work with Engineering and, as already stated, became joint editor in 1924.
Although be retired from the daily tasks of his office in 1939, Mr. Johnson by no means relinquished his long and active association with our contemporary, for right up to the last he remained a member of its board of directors. As is the way of technical journalism, we frequently found ourselves, in the pre-war years, at meetings and works visits attended by Mr. Johnson; his friendliness combined with the breadth of his knowledge, will not be quickly forgotten.
Mr. Johnson was a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and of the Institution of Electrical Engineers. He gained a Whitworth Exhibition in 1898, and for many years had taken a prominent part in the work of the Whitworth Society. He served as president of the Society in 1950-51.