Obituary: William Griffin
Bill Griffin died peacefully after a short illness on Monday 3rd January 2011, aged 95, and is survived by his wife of 70 years, Gladys.
William (Bill) Griffin MICE, born 15th August 1915, started his career as an Articled Pupil to the Engineer and Surveyor to Ulverston Rural District Council, aged 19 in 1934. To take this position, his parents (his father was a Foreman at Vickers dockyards in Barrow) had to pay £50 and support Bill through three years of unpaid training.
Following this period of initial development he took his first paid job with Bexley Borough Council in 1937 and started along the path to Membership of the Municipal Engineers, and subsequently sat the part 3 entrance exam for the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1943. This period saw him actively involved in the war effort and bombings in London.
In 1943 he volunteered to join the Royal Engineers which saw him serve time in Italy in the important and decisive movements up through Sicily.
In 1945 he returned to Bexley and in 1947 moved to Lancashire County Council to further his career. One of his defining projects is his role as Resident Engineer of the Preston/Lancaster length of the M6, the UK’s first motorway. He was also RE on other significant motorways and trunk roads as part of LCC’s massive roads programme at the time. He spent 30 years with Lancashire CC and rose to Personal Assistant to the County Engineer.
He retired in 1975 and remained a full Chartered Member of the ICE for the rest of his days.