Walter Broadbridge died suddenly in Scotland on October 23rd, 1946, at the age of 76 as a result of a motor accident.
He was a pupil and assistant under Mr. G.R. Andrews, manager of the Johannesburg Waterworks, from 1891 to 1895, and for the following eighteen months worked as assistant engineer to Mr. D.S. Johnstone, formerly manager of the George Goch Gold Mining Co., Ltd. and of Roodepoort United Main Reef Gold Mining Co., Ltd.
He then left the Transvaal for the East and spent two and a half years, from 1898 to 1901, as assistant engineer at the Redjang Lebong mines in Sumatra and the following twelve months as general manager of Kechan Gold Mining Co., Ltd., of Pahang, F.M.S. During 1902 he held the position of assistant engineer to Egyptian Soudan Exploration Co., Ltd., and from 1902 to 1904 was in the service of Messrs. Bewick, Moreing & Co. in Western Australia, first as assistant manager of the Sons of Gwalia mine, and subsequently as manager of the Vivien mine.
In 1904 he acted as consulting engineer to Messrs. L. Ehrlich & Co., for which company he visited a property in Egypt, and on his return in 1905 was appointed consulting engineer to New Districts Development Co., Johannesburg, and remained in South Africa in that capacity until April, 1906.
He then became consulting engineer and technical adviser to Mr. H.M. Marshall of South African Lands and Exploration Co., and to South African Investment and Trust Co., Ltd., and reported on mines in the Witwatersrand and various parts of the Union. He and Mr. H.G. Payne went into partnership for some months during 1907 as Messrs. Broadbridge and Payne, and in June, 1908. Mr. Broadbridge was appointed general manager of Prestea Block A and of Abbontiakoon Block I and other West African mines, shortly afterwards becoming also technical adviser to the group of mines at Tarkwa, under the control of Consolidated Goldfields of South Africa. In 1911 he transferred to the employment of Minerals Separation, Ltd.
During the 1914-1918 war he served as captain in the Royal Field Artillery, and on being invalided out of the Army worked at the Ministry of Munitions as Director of Aluminium Supplies, Graphite and Carbide. He later rejoined Minerals Separation, Ltd., of which he became a Director, and was associated with Rhodesian Congo Border Concession, Ltd. He and Mr. Preston K. Horner joined in practice in 1930, and were connected with the operations of British American Mines, Ltd., in Western Australia and Siam. He became a Director of Boulder Perseverance, Ltd., in 1931.
Mr. Broadbridge was elected to Associateship of the Institution in 1902 and was transferred to Membership in 1909, and from 1920 to 1925 served as Member of Council. He contributed a paper to the Transactions of the Institution entitled ‘Froth flotation: its commercial application and its influence on modern concentration and smelting practice’ (vol. 29, 1919-20).
Vol. 56, Trans I.M.M. 1946-7, pp. 609-610
