Ernest Lemon
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| Sir Ernest Lemon | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sir Ernest Lemon |
| Birth date | 9 December 1884 |
| Date of death | 15 December 1954 (aged 70) |
| Place of death | Epsom, Surrey, United Kingdom |
| Education | Heriot-Watt College |
| Work | |
| Engineering Discipline | Mechanical |
| Institution memberships | Institution of Mechanical Engineers |
Sir Ernest John Hutchings Lemon, OBE (9 December 1884-15 December 1954) was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and later one of its four Vice-Presidents.
[edit] Biography
Lemon was educated at Heriot-Watt College. He served an apprenticeship with the North British Locomotive Company and then worked for the Highland Railway and for Hurst Nelson.
In 1911 Lemon became Chief Wagon Inspector of the Midland Railway in England. In 1917 he was made Carriage Works Manager at Derby. In 1923 he was appointed Divisional Carriage and Wagon Superintendent at Derby. There he developed production line methods for the construction of wagons and carriages.
Despite having little experience in locomotive engineering, in 1931 Lemon was appointed to the post of Chief Mechanical Engineer replacing the retiring Henry Fowler. After less than a year as CME however, Lemon was again promoted to Vice-President Railway Traffic, Operating and Commercial, replacing J.H. Follows who retired due to ill health. Under his Vice-Presidency, the LMS undertook modernisation of their motive power depots. William Stanier had been head-hunted from the Great Western Railway to replace him as CME and revolutionised the LMS's locomotive policy.
He was a member of the Engineer and Railway Staff Corps — a Territorial Army unit of the Royal Engineers; he joined as a Major in November 1929,[1] and was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in April 1932.[2] He resigned his commission in August 1943.[3]
During the Second World War Lemon was made Director-General of Aircraft Production and received a knighthood in the 1941 New Year’s Honours list.[4] He retired from the railway in 1948 and died in Epsom in 1954.
[edit] References
- ^ London Gazette: no. 33555, p. 7662, 26 November 1929. Retrieved on 2009-06-27.
- ^ London Gazette: no. 33819, p. 2637, 22 April 1932. Retrieved on 2009-06-27.
- ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 36121, p. 3533, 3 August 1943. Retrieved on 2009-06-26.
- ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 35029, p. 2, 1 January 1941. Retrieved on 2009-06-26.
[edit] External links
| Business positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Henry Fowler |
Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway 1931–1932 |
Succeeded by William Stanier |
