H. Percy (Henry Percy) Boulnois

Born in London on January 15, 1846, he was educated at Pocklington Grammar School and King’s College London before beginning engineering work on the Vendée Railway in France. Early in his career he also worked under John Grant and carried out tests on the strength of Portland cement for Joseph Bazalgette.

He went on to build a substantial public career in municipal engineering, serving as City Surveyor at Exeter from 1874 to 1883, Borough Engineer at Portsmouth from 1883, and later City Engineer at Liverpool from 1890 to 1897. After leaving Liverpool, he became an Engineering Inspector at the Local Government Board and eventually Deputy Chief Engineering Inspector before retiring in 1911.

Alongside his official work, he wrote about infrastructure and civic improvement, including Reminiscences of a Municipal Engineer, Modern Roads, and Dirty Dustbins and Sloppy Streets. He was active in professional organizations, including the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Roads Improvement Association, and died in London on January 9, 1927.