William Alfred Corkill died on September 7th, 1943, in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Siam, at the age of 46.
From 1919 to 1922 he was a student at Liverpool University, and graduated with the degree of B.Eng. in metallurgy. He left England in 1922 to take up the position of assistant chemist to the Straits Trading Co., Ltd., Singapore, and a year later was promoted works assistant at Penang. He held this pest for six years and in 1930 was appointed assistant works manager, and later acting manager to the company.
He was still with the Straits Trading Company at the time of the Japanese invasion, and it was learned later that he served with the Volunteer Defence Force as Warrant Officer, 2nd class. No news of him was received until the autumn of 1943, when it was reported that he had been taken prisoner by the Japanese. His death, stated to be due to malaria, was reported to the Colonial Office by the International Red Cross Committee at Geneva.
Mr. Corkill was elected an Associate of the Institution in 1932.
Vol. 55, Trans I.M.M. 1945-6 ,p. 564
