Hedley Dawn Crowder died recently in Mexico, aged about 67.
The son of Mr. William Crowder, M.Inst.M.M., he received his mining education at the Royal School of Mines and obtained the Associateship in metallurgy in 1899. He studied in Germany in 1900, subsequently taking up the position of surveyor to Mr. John Robert mining engineer, of Swansea.
He left in 1901 to become chemist to the Standard Metals Recovery Co., of Runcorn Cheshire, but a few months later was appointed manager to the Mexican Minerals Co., Ltd. This appointment took him to Mexico, where he remained throughout the rest of his career. Here he was for a time in charge of the company’s copper mines, then became assayer and surveyor to the Canes Mines, Ltd., at Zimapan. From 1902 to 1903 he was engaged as manager of gold mines owned by Cia Minera Aurora y Anexas, S.A., and worked in a similar capacity until 1905 for Cia Minera Victoria y Anexas, both at El Oro.
He then obtained the position of assistant engineer to Mr. J.R. Dickman, consulting engineer, and was in 1906 appointed manager of the Terrible gold mines at Jude, Durango. From 1908 to the winding up of the firm in 1912, owing to active revolution, Mr. Crowder was general manager and junior partner to Messrs. F.V. Lister & Co., engineers and contractors, Mexico City. During the difficult conditions prevalent from 1913 he held the position of acting manager to the Mexico mines of El Oro Ltd. from 1918 to 1921 being general manager of the exploration department of that company.
From 1923 onwards he was in practice as a consulting mining engineer with headquarters at Mexico City. Latterly, however, he had suffered ill health and his active career was interrupted.
He was elected to Studentship of the Institution in 1898 and was transferred to Associateship in 1903.
Vol. 55, Trans I.M.M. 1944-5, p. 263
