Harry William Lake died in a nursing home attached to Hertfordshire County Hospital, on June 26th, 1940, at the age of 73.
He entered the Royal School of Mines in 1883 and on completion of his course was appointed assistant surveyor at the Rio Tinto Mines. In 1887 he was engaged on underground work at Wheal Agar tin mines, Cornwall, and in the following year became assistant manager of the Colorado, Silver Mining Co. Col., U.S.A.
From 1890 to 1892 he was engaged in prospecting and reporting on properties in Greece, Asia Minor, Cyprus and the Greek Archipelago, and in the latter year he was appointed mining engineer to the State of Johore, Malaya, as the result of which he was made a Companion of the Order of the Crown of Johore and was appointed one of the commissioners for Johore to the World’s Columbian Exhibition in 1893. In the following year he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of Franz Josef of Austria, and a Commander of the Medjidie of Turkey.
In 1897 he entered into partnership with David Currie, with whom he practised as consulting engineers under the style of Lake & Currie. This led to visits to Spain, Portugal, Norway, Egypt, the Eastern Sudan and the Caucasus, Manchuria, China and Japan.
He served in H.M. Forces from 1914 to 1919 in France, in the Royal Engineers, the Royal Army Service Corps, and on the Staff, and attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and was mentioned in despatches. He was later Deputy Director on the Quartermaster Staff at the War Office, and was awarded the C.M.G. On demobilization he returned to the practice of his profession.
Colonel Lake was elected an Associate of the Institution in 1892, and was transferred to Membership in 1899.
Vol. 50, Trans IMM 1940-41, p.549
