Frank Bernard Champness died on 18th March, 1962, at the age of 62, following an operation.
Born in England, Mr. Champness had some experience in practical engineering and power station work before joining the Royal Flying Corps in June, 1917. He served for two and a half years, reaching the rank of Flight Commander, R.A.F.
After the war he entered the Royal School of Mines in 1919, and gained the A.R.S.M. and the De La Beche Medal, graduating B.Sc. in mining in 1923. In August of that year he went to West Africa to take up the appointment of surveyor and assistant to the chief engineer of African Manganese Co., Ltd. (opencast mining), and in the following year he joined Abbontiakoon Mines, Ltd., as assayer and assistant surveyor.
During 1925 Mr. Champness did some reporting on coal mines in Britain for the Home Office before leaving for Russia in October on his appointment as assistant engineer, Lena Goldfields, Ltd.; he later held the position of superintendent of Degtiarsky copper mine. On his return to England in 1927, he joined the Fraser and Chalmers Engineering Works of the General Electric Co., Ltd., and after a period of training at the Erith works Mr. Champness went out to India and Burma as the company’s representative. He was in India for eight years, followed by three years in Western Australia, but came back to England in 1939 to remain at Erith during the war years as a departmental manager, including the mining and general engineering department. He went back to Australia and, based at Sydney, was manager for Fraser and Chalmers for all Australia. Late in 1951 he returned to England and was their chief representative in the Midlands until his retirement in June, 1959, so completing 32 years with the company.
Mr. Champness was in practice as mining and general engineering consultant in the Midlands until his death.
He joined the Institution as a Student in 1921 and was elected to Associate Membership in 1926. He was also a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
Vol. 72, Trans I.M.M. 1962-63, p. 677
