OBITUARY

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 190, 9 May 1941, Page 9

OBITUARY

Mr. E. T. L. Spidy

PROMINENT ENGINEER

Mr. Edgar Thomas Ling Spidy. Superintendent of the Railway Workshops for New Zealand, and Controller of Munitions, died yesterday morning after a short illness.

Mr. Spidy was born at Brighton, England, and began his mechanical education there, serving his appren ticeship as fitter at the London, Brighton and South Coast railway workshops. In 1909 he went to Canada, where he was associated with Mr. H. L. Gantt in the reorganization of schedule and piecework methods. He was sent by the Canadian and Pacific Railway to install production methods at its Toronto shops, and organized similar methods at its Winnipeg shops, eventually becoming shop engineer in charge of machinery, maintenance. and methods. He was appointed lecturer in 1916 at the Manitoba University on machine and power plant design. This was a special wartime loan by the C.P.R. Later he became production engineer for the Canadian Ingersoll Rand Company, manufacturers of pneumatic tools and air compressors, and then returned to the C.P.R. Angus shops as production engineer in 1919, in charge of production, piecework, and statistical work. In 1921 he became assistant superintendent of the Dominion Company works in Canada, a company specializing in the manufacture of papermaking machinery and large hydraulic turbines employing 900(1 hands.

Coming to New Zealand for the sake of his health, never very robust, he joined the service of the New Zealand Railways in 1924, as production engineer, in the office of the Chief Engineer in Wellington, and in April. 1925, be was appointed Superintendent of the Railway Shops, the first appointment of its kind to be made here. There he introduced the production methods for which his experience bad so well fitted him, with special attention to the scheduling and routing of work through all its stages. After the commencement of the war Mr. Sp’dy undertook the production of munitions, a work in which he became greatly absorbed and which he thoroughly organized. One of his innovations at the railway shops was an entire revision of the apprenticeship system, by which youths could carry on part of their schooling in the department’s time, and this undoubtedly improved the quality of the fitters and machinists turned out. Mr. Spidy carried out the construction of three very large steel gold dredges on the West Coast — the Ngahere, Kanieri and Arahura—• the department permitting the work. Mr. Spidy was not only intensely interested in his work, in which he did not spare himself, but was always ready to assist otherh by his great experience, and his influence on modernizing the engineering side of the railways was considerable.

He is survived by Mrs. Spidy (formerly Miss Anne Davies, of Plumstead. England), a daughter. Miss Irere Spidv. and a son. Clifford, who is in the R.N.Z.A.F. The funeral will leave his residence, 312 Oriental Parade, at 3 p.m today for St. Barnabas’ Church, Roseneath. thence to the Karori Cemetery, Mr. Casey’s Regrets.

The General Manager of Railways, Mr. E. Casey, expressed his personal regret at Mr. Spidy’s death. He said the passing of a very able officer would be a great loss not only to the Railways Department, but also to the nation as a whole. His death would be particularly mourned by innumerable personal friends in the Railways Department, and also in business and social circles. To Mrs. Spidy and family he extended his deepest sympathy on the loss of an esteemed colleague and friend. Mr. J. S. Keith Mr. James Stephen Keith, of 62 Hawker Street, Wellington, died on Wednesday. Born in 1850 in Aberdeen, Scotland, he received his early education at day and night schools in that city, after which he spent some years at sea. In 1881 he left it, to settle in Oamaru, where he obtained employment in the ship-chandlery and providoring business of Edward Wade Grave. In the following year he com menced business on his own account as a ship’s chandler and sailmaker He soon became a borough councillor, was chairman of a school committee, member of the education board, and finally was elected mayor of the town While he was in Timaru he became a member of the Masonic fraternity (Lodge Caledonia) an allegiance he transferred to Lodge Waterloo on his removal to Wellington.

Mr. Keith came to Wellington in 1899,

commencing business as ship chandlers and sail-makers in the firm of Keith and Hutchison. Some three or four years later he left the firm to become manager of the ship-chandlery business of E. W Mills and Co., while the late Mr. Hutchison took in Mr. Thomas Wilson as a working partner. After a quarter of a century with Mills and Co. Mr. Keith retired from active work.

He had always been a bowler. Taking to the game in Timaru, he joined the Victoria Club on coming to Wellington, and it was not very long before he was elected a member of the committee of management. Later he was elected president and for some years served as its delegate on the Wellington Bowling Centre. He was active on the green, and in association with Sir Charles Norwood, the late Mr. Fred Townsend, and Mr. Marcus Marks, visited many places and played in mamy tournaments.

Mr Keith leaves one daughter, Miss Margaret Claudine Keith, and one son, Mr. Howard Keith, both of Wellington. The funeral will leave for Karori after a service which is to commence at 2 p.m. today.