Details

William Kingsland collection

UK0108 SC MSS 024

1901-1926

74 items in a Folder

English.

William Kingsland (1855-1936) was born at Devizes, Wilts, in 1855, and was the son of the Rev. Wm. Kingsland. In 1861 the family removed to Bradford, Yorkshire, and Mr. Kingsland was educated at the High School in that city. His first business experience was in the Bradford trade, but, having no taste for that, he went to London in 1878 and studied for the submarine cable service at the School of Telegraphy in Hanover Square. Just after he had qualified there he was offered an appointment with the original Telephone Co., who had just commenced to operate the first telephone exchange in Coleman Street, EX., there being only 12 subscribers on the switchboard when Mr. Kingsland joined. From London he was subsequently sent to Manchester, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, in connection with the opening of exchanges in those places. In 1881 he left the service of the Telephone Co. and took an appointment as engineer with the Brush Electric Light Co., at that time just commencing the extensive use of the Brush arc lamp. In the same year his services were transferred to Mr. Robert Hammond, who was doing extensive installation work all over the country, and Mr. Kingsland was responsible for the Brush exhibit at the Crystal Palace Electrical Exhibition in 1881; the lighting of the Brighton Pavilion and the Spa at Scarborough; the establishment of a central station at Middlesbrough for the lighting of several of the large steel works; the lighting of several large works at Sheffield; the first central station for the town lighting of Chesterfield; and several other large contracts. In 1882 he was appointed engineer to the Yorkshire Electric Light Co., and in that capacity was interested in some of the early Ferranti alternators. In 1884 he left the Yorkshire company and returned to London, where he was associated with Mr. Desmond Fitzgerald and others in the production of the Lithanode accumulator. In 1891 he went to reside in North Wales, and carried on a business there as an electrical contractor. In 1899 he returned to London to exploit an invention for a mechanically-operated stud system of electric traction which he had patented. A short trial line of this system was installed in Dresden in 1903 and successfully passed the tests required by the authorities, but various circumstances prevented its extensive adoption. In 1911 he was associated with the Leitner Electrical Co. in connection with the Leitner system of train lighting, but the outbreak of war in 1914 terminated this connection. Mr. Kingsland joined the Middlesex Volunteer Regiment and, with the rank of lieutenant, acted as assistant brigade signalling officer. In 1917 he obtained an appointment as inspector with the Metropolitan Munitions Committee, and remained with them until March, 1919. This was practically his last technical work, as he then retired from active business and devoted his time to literary work, having always had a great taste for scientific and philosophical literature. His first work of any note was" Scientific Idealism," published in 1909. This was very favourably reviewed, "The Times " characterizing it as" An idealistic Monism expounded by a writer who is a competent physicist and an alert thinker, with a considerable gift for lucid philosophical expression." He published 8 works in all. He joined The Institution (then the Society of Telegraph Engineers) in 1879 as an Associate and became a Member in 1896. [Obituary from Journal of the IEE, December 1936]

Inventions, Electric traction

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