Frederick Walter Simms
Frederick Walter Simms (1803-1864)
His early careear in England prior his going to India (date not specified but about 1845) is documented in Graces Guide [1] and in Wikipedia [2]
Railway Achievements in India
Mr Simms in about 1845, was recommended to the East India Company to fill the position of Consulting Engineer to the Government of India, an office which a taste for travelling, with the liberal and certain salary it afforded, induced him to accept [1].
He was sent to India to report to the Home Government on the capability of that country to receive the benefits of railway communication. His report is detailed in a seperate page which, in 1846 was presented to Government and is described as the Great Trunk Railway from Calcutta.
Mr. Simms soon found that the title of Consulting Engineer to the Government meant a liability to be called upon to inspect the engineering works of India in general, and therefore he found himself sent out at all seasons to report upon the embankments of rivers, the sanitary state of towns, and the positions for new harbours, all which involved great exposure and much hardship, and drew from him a number of interesting reports and suggestions, as well as a survey of Calcutta on an extended scale, a work undertaken by him as Chairman of the sanitary commission of that city, for even twenty years ago the state of that town had attracted the attention of the authorities [1].
Unfortunately Mr. Simms, relying on an iron constitution, went to India at an age too advanced to bear the climate. He, therefore, fell a more ready prey to the mischief which hard work, ill health, and domestic troubles, wrought, upon him, so that thoroughly shattered, he was obliged to leave India at the end of his five years’ engagement, and to decline the offer of a reappointment. The thanks of the Indian Government, together with a compliment on the 'energy and promptitude' with which all business had been passed through his office, were some solace for his many afflictions whilst resident in India [1].
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Grace's Guide 'Frederick Walter Simms'; Retrieved 5 Mar 2018
- ↑ Wikipedia 'Frederick Walter Simms'; Retrieved 5 Mar 2018
