Richard Maynard Torin was killed whilst engaged in tunnelling operations at the Front as a Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers, his death being reported from General Headquarters on April 27th, 1915. He was about 35 years of age.
After serving an apprenticeship of 2½ years in the engineering works of Messrs. Holman Bros., at Camborne, Mr. Torin took the full course at the Camborne School of Mines where he gained a First Class Certificate, and completed his training by taking a short special course in mining and metallurgy at the Royal School of Mines.
In 1904 he went to the Transvaal and entered the survey department of the New Kleinfontein Gold Mining Go., as an assistant surveyor. After two years he was made chief surveyor to the Kleinfontein group of mines, which embraced the surveying, sampling and valuation of the New Kleinfontein, Apex, Benoni, Kleinfontein Deep, Van Ryn Deep and the Rand Klipfontein mines. At the latter end of 1909, he was appointed one of the managers of the group and was placed in charge of the Afrikander Proprietary Gold Mines. In 1906, he obtained the Transvaal Government Mine Surveyors’ and Mine Managers’ Certificates, the latter being gained with honours. About the middle of 1914 he went to Nyassaland for a few months, subsequently returning to England in the spring of 1915.
Mr. Torin was admitted to Studentship of the Institution in 1904, and was transferred successively to Associateship in 1907 and to Membership in 1911.
Vol. 24, Trans IMM 1914-15, pp.515-14
