William Harry Rundall died at his residence at Sidcup, Kent, on May 5th, 1943, at the age of 73.
He was born at Coonoor, India, and received his technical education in the department of Applied Sciences at King’s College, London. He won prizes in civil engineering, building construction and architecture, and on leaving in 1888 was elected an Associate of King’s College. For a year he was employed by Messrs. Simpson & Co., Engineers, and helped in the erection of a Worthington pump at the Lambeth Water Works. Towards the end of 1889 he went as pupil to Messrs. Henderson & Sons, mining engineers, Truro, remaining in Cornwall for eighteen months.
From 1891 for two years he was assistant engineer to the Guadalcazar Quicksilver Mines Co., and in 1893 was appointed engineer in charge of the Nuevo Potosi Quicksilver Mining Co., San Luis Potosi, Mexico, where he remained until his return to England in 1896. After a professional visit to Spain, he left for New Zealand, where he spent a year in supervising development work and the erection of mine and water-power plant for the Wartekauri Extended and New Zealand Broken Hills Gold Mining Companies. He returned to Mexico in 1898 as assistant manager of the Chiapas Mining Co., and from 1901 to 1902 reported on mines in Spain.
In 1903-04 he was manager of the Taquah Mine, Gold Coast, and in 1905 practised as consulting engineer in San Luis Potosi. From 1906 for four years he was superintendent of copper mines in Spain for Messrs. John Taylor & Son, and from 1910-15 was consulting engineer to companies operating mines in South and East Africa.
In 1915 he joined the Royal Engineers, and saw service in Palestine, leaving the Army in 1919 with the rank of Captain. After reporting on a manganese deposit in the Caucasus, he re-joined the staff of Messrs. John Taylor & Son and was superintendent of mines in Turkey and Burma until 1926. In that year he was appointed engineer on the staff of Messrs. Pellew-Harvey & Co., consulting engineers, becoming a partner in 1929. He visited numerous countries for his firm, and was senior partner at the time of his death.
Mr. Rundall, who was a Associate Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, was elected an Associate of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy in 1895, and was transferred to Membership in 1905. He was elected a Member of Council in 1933, and Vice-President in 1941.
Vol. 53, Trans I.M.M., 1943-44, pp.437-8
