Douglas Pask

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

, AMIEE, AMIMechE (1919-2008) served in the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

during the World War 2. He entered as an acting temporary electrical sub-lieutenant on the 13 October 1941 and becoming a temporary electrical lieutenant on 1 June 1943. He sailed with the Swedish convoy ship Vaalaren from Liverpool to New York on the 13 April 1942 at the age of 23. On the 1 June 1951 he became lieutenant commander at HMS Flying Fox, Mardyke Wharf in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

later joining the London branch in 1958. He married Olga Fletcher in 1959 in the Whitehaven registration district. He was promoted to commander on 31 December 1960. Afterwards, he was involved for 38 years in the electrical industry. Much of his career was in the construction of nuclear power stations.

Professional career

He served his apprenticeship with Metropolitan-Vickers and then, after war service, was a special trainee with

Edmundson Electrical Edmundson Electrical Ltd is a privately held electrical distribution company headquartered in Knutsford, Cheshire, incorporated in 1991. It is the largest electrical distributor in the United Kingdom and serves both to the trade and to the publ ...

. From 1946 he was assistant engineer in the British European Airways South West Division construction branch and then resident engineer with the

Central Electricity Generating Board The Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) was responsible for electricity generation, transmission and bulk sales in England and Wales from 1958 until privatisation of the electricity industry in the 1990s. It was established on 1 Januar ...

at East Yelland power station. Between 1958 and 1961 he was with their Southern Project Group with particular responsibility for

Bradwell nuclear power station Bradwell nuclear power station is a decommissioned Magnox-design nuclear power station located on the Dengie peninsula at the mouth of the River Blackwater, Essex. In 2019, it was the first nuclear power station in the UK to be placed into long- ...

and

Berkeley nuclear power station Berkeley nuclear power station is a decommissioned Magnox nuclear power station situated on the bank of the River Severn in Gloucestershire, England. The ongoing decommissioning process is being managed by Nuclear Decommissioning Authority sub ...

. He became director of the Central Electricity Generating Board Northern Project group where he oversaw the construction of the first Hinton Heavy

West Burton Power Station The West Burton power stations are a pair of power stations on the River Trent near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. West Burton A is a coal-fired power station, which was commissioned in 1966, and West Burton B is a combined cycle gas tu ...

attending the opening ceremony with

Arthur Hawkins Sir Arthur Ernest Hawkins (10 June 1913 – 13 January 1999) was an English mechanical and electrical engineer. Born in Lympley Stoke, Bath, Somerset and educated at the Great Yarmouth High School. He joined the CEGB and was heavily ...

and Sir Stanley Brown. When he became director general of the South West region of Central Electricity, he oversaw the race between Hinkley Point B Nuclear Power Station and Hunterston B nuclear power station to become the first Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor to synchronise to the grid. In 1982 he was awarded an OBE for services to the electricity industry. He was awarded the

Volunteer Reserve Decoration The Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, post-nominal letters VD until c. 1947 and VRD thereafter, was instituted in 1908. It could be awarded to part-time commissioned officers in the United Kingdom's Royal Naval Volunt ...

. He was survived by his son, Dominic. His daughter Dr Melanie J. Pask PhD (Imperial College London) predeceased him two years earlier.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pask, Douglas 1919 births 2008 deaths British electrical engineers