Commander Sir Trevor Dawson (c1866-1931) of Vickers
1931 Obituary [1]
THE news of the sudden death of Commander Sir Trevor Dawson, Bart., R.N., which took place on Tuesday last at his country home, Edgwarebury House, Elstree, was received with widespread regret in engineering and naval circles.
Sir Trevor, who at the time of his death was only sixty-five years of age, was many years past an outstanding personality in the Vickers organisation.
He was born at Richmond, Surrey, on May 1st, 1866, and was educated for the Navy at the Academy, Gosport. Later, he spent some time at the Royal Naval Colleges at Greenwich and Portsmouth.
On July 15th, 1879, he entered the 'Britannia' as a cadet, and two years later went to sea as a midshipman in the 'Northumberland,' of the Channel Squadron.
In 1882 he joined the 'Swiftsure," which was the flagship of Rear-Admiral Algernon Lynn in the Pacific, and remained in the ship till she returned in the summer of 1885.
From sub-lieutenant., young Dawson rapidly rose in rank and soon qualified in gunnery, subsequently being appointed to the instructional staff of the 'Excellent.' He also served on the 'Vernon.'
In 1892 he was selected for duty as an experimental officer at Woolwich Arsenal, and spent four years at the Royal Ordnance Factories.
It was in 1896 that he resigned from the Navy in order to take up a position as superintendent of ordnance with the then existing firm of Vickers, Sons and Maxim. That period was one of greatest importance in the development of naval construction and armament, and many ships were built in which scope was found for the enterprise and skill of private contractors. Commander Trevor Dawson took a prominent part in this advance, and he was subsequently appointed chairman of the Vickers Artillery and Shipbuilding Management Board.
He continued to occupy a leading position in the Vickers organisation, and at the time of his death was a director of Vickers, Ltd., and Vickers-Armstrong, Ltd., and the chairman or the director of several allied companies.
Sir Trevor was knighted in 1909 and in 1920 created a baronet. He was the inventor and designer of many improvements relating to artillery, and the author of several works on ordnance........