William Richard Hopkins Chipperfield
William Richard Hopkins Chipperfield (1857-1906)
1906 Obituary [1]
WILLIAM RICHARD HOPKINS CHIPPERFIELD, Borough Engineer of Ladysmith, Natal, died on the 13th March, 1906, from injuries sustained in a fall from his horse. Born on the 22nd June, 1857, he served his pupilage to Mr. Baldwin Latham, with whom, on the completion of his articles, he remained as an assistant, afterwards becoming Chief Assistant and Resident Engineer on numerous works of water-supply, sewerage and sewage-disposal for which Mr. Latham was the Engineer.
After 14 years’ service with that gentleman, he obtained the appointment of Engineer and surveyor to the Atherstone district, Warwickshire, for which, under Mr. Latham’s direction, he had carried out water-supply and sewerage works. He retained this position until 1902, a period of 12 years, when he went out to South Africa and joined the Public Works Department of Cape Colony.
He obtained the post of Chief Assistant Engineer at Port Elizabeth, and during the time he was thus employed, he prepared two schemes on biological principles for dealing with the sewerage of places of 10,000 inhabitants, and was also engaged in connection with drainage and water supply schemes at Grahamstown and Middelburg.
In September, 1904, Mr. Chipperfield received the appointment of Borough Surveyor of Ladysmith, with which duties were combined those of waterworks engineer to the town. He at once set to work energetically upon his new duties, and was engaged in filtration experiments and other improvements of the water-supply when he met with the accident which led to his untimely death, deeply regretted by the community to whom he had given undoubted proofs of his ability and devotion.
Mr. Chipperfield was elected an Associate Member of the Institution on the 29th May, 1883.