Bertram William Hippisley was killed in Nigeria on August 4th, 1919, at the age of 39 years, through his motor-cycle colliding with a railway locomotive at a level-crossing.
In 1898 he entered for the full three years’ course at the Camborne School of Mines, and on the completion of that period he entered the service of the Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa in Rhodesia for a term of about five years, during which he was assayer and surveyor at the Morven Mine for one year, and after that at the Killarney-Hibernia Mine during its early development and while the plant was erected, in charge of the assaying and surveying, and, during the manager’s absence, of the underground work. He also had supervision of work on the Celtic and Etal Mines and subsidiary claims.
In 1907 he went to India for three years as chief assayer to the Dharwar Goldfields. In 1910 he returned to the service of the Consolidated Goldfields of South Africa in Rhodesia as assistant manager and surveyor of the Bell Reef Development Co., with reporting work on subsidiary mines, and as manager of the same property during 1912 and 1918. In the next few years he was successively assistant manager of the Budurna Tin Mines and Jantar Nigeria Company and of the Northern Nigeria (Bauchi) Tin Mines, and he was with the Jos Tin Areas at his death.
Mr. Hippisley was admitted to Studentship of the Institution in 1903, and transferred to Associateship in 1906.
Vol. 29, Trans IMM 1919-1920, pp.427-8
