John Dolphin
British Army officer (1905–1973)
John Robert Vernon Dolphin (1 October 1905 – 2 May 1973) was a British engineer and inventor, who joined the Secret Intelligence Service and then became the Commanding Officer of the top-secret Second World War Special Operations Executive (SOE) "Station IX", where specialist military equipment was developed. During his time there his inventions included the Welman submarine and the Welbike.2
From Wikipedia’s article on John Dolphin (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Born Oct 1, 1905, died May 2, 1973.1
About
On leaving the British Army, Dolphin founded a number of companies, including the Corgi Motorcycle Co Ltd. in 1946 and also set up Dolphin Industrial Developments Ltd and Hydraulic Developments Ltd, which he ran until 1950, when he became Chief Engineer at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment. Dolphin then went on to become Engineer-in-Chief at the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Research Group until 1959, became joint Managing Director of Lansing Bagnall Ltd and J. E. Shay Ltd until 1964, and a Director of TI (Group Services) Ltd, where he successfully secured patents for a number of inventions, including sheet piling revetments, improvements to fork lift trucks and the forerunner of the modern mobility scooter.
From Wikipedia’s article on John Dolphin, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2
Companies
- Corgi Motorcycle Co Ltd.Founder10
Early life and education
- Date not recordedMarlborough College3
Dolphin was born in Christleton, a small village on the outskirts of Chester on (1905-10-01)1 October 1905, the son of Harold Evelyn Dolphin, and Dorothy Rachel Burton. He attended Marlborough College, a boys boarding school in Wiltshire then went on to Loughborough Engineering College as a student Apprentice. When he graduated at the age of 21 in 1926, he joined a local company Hydraulic Engineering Co. in Chester, where he worked until 1928. He was then appointed as an Inspector for Selection Trust Ltd, where he worked for two years before taking his first management position at Austin Hoy and Co. Ltd. In 1934 he became the Sales Manager and worked as an Engineer at the Sheepbridge Coal and Iron Co. Ltd before setting up his own business, John Dolphin Ltd, Consultants, in 1938.
From Wikipedia’s article on John Dolphin (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Career
Occupation: engineer, inventor, military personnel.5
- Date not recordedFounded Corgi Motorcycle Co Ltd.4
Military career
Having been a cadet in the Marlborough College Contingent Junior Division Officers' Training Corps, Dolphin was commissioned as a second lieutenant 4th/5th Battalion The Cheshire Regiment (Territorial Army) on 27 April 1928, promoted lieutenant on 27 April 1931, and transferred to the TA Reserve of Officers on 15 July 1931.
He was mobilised on 24 August 1939, shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, and was then given temporary promotions to captain, then to war substantive major and temporary lieutenant colonel in July 1942. His military rank was a cover for his membership of the Secret Intelligence Service, where he was part of the "sabotage service" (Section D). As such, he was involved in plans to create a resistance organisation in the UK. He became the Commanding Officer of the top-secret Inter-Services Research Station at Welwyn in Hertfordshire code-named Station IX in June 1943.
On 1 June 1943, he was transferred to the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. He returned to the TA reserve of officers after the war and was promoted to substantive major on 1 January 1949.
He retired from military service with the honorary rank of lieutenant colonel on 12 November 1960.
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Civilian career
Dolphin became the Managing Director of the Corgi Motorcycle Co Ltd. in 1946 and also set up Dolphin Industrial Developments Ltd, and Hydraulic Developments Ltd, which he ran until 1950. By 1949 he had designed and built a retractable hardtop body on an Allard chassis. He became Chief Engineer at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment from 1951 to 1957. He then went on to become Engineer-in-Chief at the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Research Group until 1959 and became joint Managing Director of Lansing Bagnall Ltd and J. E. Shay Ltd until 1964. He then moved on to become a Director of TI (Group Services) Ltd, where he remained until 1968.
From Wikipedia’s article on John Dolphin (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Personal life
Legal issues and controversies
Improvements to industrial trucks
When he was Managing Director of Lansing Bagnall, a truck manufacturer in Basingstoke, Hampshire Dolphin patented a number of inventions relating to invention improvements to industrial truck, including remote operation and steering mechanisms.
With a design team consisting of Russell Bruce, Kent Ivor and James Charles he patented significant improvements to the invention of the modern-day fork-lift truck which has had a significant impact on international commerce through palletised container movements. In particular, Dolphin proposed a design of the lifting carriage of a masted fork-lift truck which applies a downward thrust to counteract the bending moment produced on the mast by the load on the load support The team also patented a solution to prevent fork-lift trucks having to keep repositioning to lift loads by designing a horizontally movable slide.
From Wikipedia’s article on John Dolphin (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Awards
- Date not recordedCommander of the Order of the British Empire9
Links
Sources
The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.
- 1WikidataJohn Dolphin on Wikidata
- 2WikipediaJohn Dolphin on Wikipedia
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- 9WikidataJohn Dolphin: award, on Wikidata
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