Jack Spalding died in the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, London, on 16th November, 1956. He was flown home in October, 1956, to undergo an operation, but did not respond to treatment. He was 57.
At the age of 17 Mr. Spalding entered the Royal Marine Artillery, Woolwich, and passed out second. He was commissioned in the Royal Garrison Artillery in 1918 and served in 278 Siege Battery, resigning in May, 1920. He received his professional training at the Royal School of Mines as a scholarship student from 1920 to 1923, gaining a first-class A.R.S.M. and B.Sc. honours degree, and receiving the Brough Medal for mine surveying in 1922.
His first appointment was as assistant mine surveyor at Champion Reef mine from 1924 to 1927, for Messrs. John Taylor and Sons, and during the last four months of 1927 he visited Alaska as assistant to the late C.J. Inder to examine and report on properties there. In May, 1928, he took up the position of shift boss in sole charge of Block 170, Shabani mine, Southern Rhodesia, and from 1929 to 1931 worked in a similar capacity at Birthday mine, Shabanie, being made acting section manager for the last three months of his tour.
During May, 1931, Mr. Spalding made an examination of Mandora mine in Southern Rhodesia. In August of that year he rejoined the staff of Messrs. John Taylor as assistant agent, Mysore mine, South India, where he was in full charge of Ribblesdale’s Section on stoping and rockburst reclamation work. He was appointed chief assistant agent, Ooregum mine, in May, 1933, where his work was again on stoping and rockburst reclamation, mine ventilation, shaft sinking and chamber-cutting, and he was acting chief agent for a long period.
His work was interrupted by the war, when, in February, 1941, he was commissioned in the Royal Artillery, commanding the 3rd Indian Heavy A.A. Battery, I.A. He was captured by the Japanese and was a prisoner-of-war in Siam for three and a half years. On his return to civilian life in May, 1946, he was appointed consulting engineer for Messrs. John Taylor and Sons.
He left for Dar-es-Salaam in 1949 on assuming the position of mine consultant to the Tanganyika Government, and later his services were extended to the Government of Uganda.
Admitted to Studentship of the Institution in 1922, and transferred to Associate Membership in 1927 and to full Membership in 1947, Mr. Spalding had served the Institution as Overseas Member of Council for East Africa from 1954. He was also a member of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
He was the author of many papers, published in the technical press of this country, the U.S.A. and in India, and of two books, Deep mining; an advanced text-book for graduates in mining and for practising mining engineers (1949), and Mining tips and gadgets (1953), both published in London by Mining Publications, Ltd. His contributions to the Transactions of the Institution included ‘The asbestos mines at Shabani, in Southern Rhodesia’ (vol. 41, 1931-32); ‘Theory and practice of ground control (the Kolar Gold Field)’ (vol. 47, 1937-38), for which he was awarded ‘The Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa, Ltd.’ Gold Medal; ‘Air-conditioning plant at the Ooregum mine, Kolar Gold Field,’ jointly with T. W. Parker (vol. 49, 1939-4O), with whom he shared ‘The Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa, Ltd.’ Premium; ‘Impressions of mining practice in North America’ (vol. 57, 1947-48); ‘Ground control—theory and practice’ (vol. 58, 1948-49), and ‘The technique of mine valuation in some special cases’ (vol. 62, 1952-53).
A member of Council writes: ‘Mr. Spalding combined outstanding ability as a practical mining engineer with a high standard of technical knowledge. He had a very varied experience and made a success of all the many different appointments he took up ’.
Vol. 67, Trans I.M.M., 1957-58, pp.31-32
