Arthur Edward Pettit died at his home at Brimpton, Berkshire, on November 3rd, 1936, at the age of 64.
He was educated at Radley College, Abingdon, and entered King’s College, London, in 1891. After a few months, however, he entered the works of Messrs. Thomas Richardson & Sons, mechanical engineers, Hartlepool, where he remained for two years. He then studied mining in Belgium and at the Foxdale lead mines, Isle of Man, and from 1894 to 1896 was a student at the Royal School of Mines, London. In the latter year he went to South Africa, and after a short period as assayer and sampler was appointed surveyor at Robinson Deep. He was promoted to mine captain in 1897, but left the company in 1899 to take up an appointment as manager of Simmer & Jack East, Ltd.
In 1904 he became general manager of the South Randfontein Gold Mining Co., Ltd., and towards the end of the same year he started in practice as a consultant, and was appointed resident engineer in London to the Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa, Ltd. He entered into partnership with the late Philip Poore, M. Inst. M.M., and D.S.S. Steuart, under the title of Pocre, Pettit & Steuart, consulting mining and mechanical engineers, and continued in practice until his retirement in 1922.
In the course of his work he visited Canada, America, Australia, New Zealand, Ceylon, Siam, Japan, China, Africa and Russia and other European countries. At the time of his death he was a director of Davis & Timmins Ltd., and a member of the London Committee of the Shanghai Waterworks Co., Ltd.
During the Boer War he commanded the Elandsfontein Battalion, Rand Rifles. He was awarded the Medal of the Royal Humane Society in 1903.
Mr. Pettit was elected a Student of the Institution in 1895, and was transferred to Membership in 1902. He served on the Council of the Institution from 1912 to 1922.
Vol. 46, Trans I.M.M., 1936-7, p.829
