John Kemp Enock (1878-1957)

PERSONAL DETAILS

Full name: John Kemp Enock.
Known as: Jack.
Date of birth: Sunday, 6th July, 1878.
Birthplace: 10, Noel Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, England.
Baptised: Thursday, 10th August, 1882 at St. Mary's Church, St. Mary's Row, Moseley, Birmingham, England.
Date of death: Tuesday, 25th June, 1957 (aged 78 years.)
Place of death: Central Middlesex Hospital, Park Royal, Middlesex, England.
Signature:

FAMILY

PARENTS

SIBLINGS

WIFE

Olive Marie Enock (née Lever) (1883-1970).

Date of marriage: Tuesday, 4th August, 1908.
Place of marriage: Witham Parish Church, Witham, Essex, England.

EDUCATION

"Private tuition at home; private school for boys at Paignton, Devon, ditto at Chester, ditto at Dartmouth, Devon."

January 1891-December 1892 - Paignton College.

1894-1898 - South Kensington Branch, Paignton, Devon, England.

"Evening engineering and electrical classes, South Kensington branch at Paignton."

OCCUPATION

September 1893-October 1898 - "Enock Bros", Coombe Works, Sandquay, Dartmouth, Devon, England.

Business owned by older brothers Donald and Eric Enock. Bought out by W. Ball & Co. of Torquay in January 1899.

Apprenticeship in all branches of the marine engine works.

Janaury-March 1899 - Chitty Dynamo and Motor Co., Hythe Road, Willesden Junction, London, England.

"Magnet and armature building department."

April-June 1899 - Messrs. J. Baker & Sons, Hythe Road, Willesden, London.

"Erecting shop - fitting up confectionary machinery."

Interestingly, Jack's cousin Amy Elizabeth Dell married Joseph Baker's son Philip in 1901.

June 1899-October 1900 - Messrs. Siemens Brothers, Harrington Road/Bowater Road, Woolwich, London, England.

"Erecting dynamos, balancing armatures, &c.; also three months on Metropolitan Railway, laying conductors, bonding rails, fitting up controllers and motors on electric trains."

1901 - Messrs. Enock, Biggs and Shenton, 21, Great College Street, Westminster, London, England.

Jack's brother, Guy, was a partner in the firm until 1904.

"Civil electrical and tramway engineers - Draughting, surveying, etc."

1902 - York Manufacturing Co., York, Pennsylvania, USA.

"Erecting ice-making machinery at works (York, Pa.) ; erecting 250-ton ice-plant at Boston, Massachusetts; erecting 25 refrigerating plants at Retreat, Pennsylvania; erecting 500-ton refrigerating machine at works; erecting 60-ton ice-making machine at Vicksburg, Mississippi; erecting 50-ton ice-plant complete at Sharpsburgh, Pennsylvania, erecting 50-ton ice-plant at East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; operating and testing 30-ton refrigerating plant at Millvale, Pennsylvania."

1902-1904 - Arthur G. Enock Co. Ltd., Birkbeck Bank Chambers, Southampton Buildings, London, England / Thane Works, Seven Sisters Road, Holloway, London, England.

Business owned by Jack's brother Guy Enock.

"He superintends the erection of their plants abroad, and is at present engaged in this work in Stockholm [1904]."

September 1905-early 1908 - Terling Place, Terling, Essex, England.

Assistant to Lord Rayleigh.

“Rayleigh had thought it doubtful whether he would care to face the effort of starting with a new assistant, and the question remained in suspense for a time. During an interval of more than a year, he remained without regular assistance, but for a considerable part of the time I was at home, and was able to help with glass-blowing and metal-working when necessary.

Eventually, chance put it in his way to secure a new and efficient assistant. This was J. C. Enock, an engineer who was engaged in erecting a refrigerator plant for milk near Hatfield Peverel Station in connection with the dairy farming on the estate. Rayleigh fell into conversation with him while this work was in progress, and engaged him to help in the laboratory. His previous experience had been purely that of the engineering workshop, and, as he said, he was now introduced into a new world. However, he quickly adapted himself, and the arrangement was in every way satisfactory. He started work at Terling in September, 1905, and left early in 1908.” – Life of John William Strutt, Third Baron Rayleigh by Robert John Strutt

"The bridegroom, who is a scientific engineer, was for two years assistant to Lord Rayleigh in his scientific research at Terling Place, and he is now engaged in the scientific laboratories at Teddington." - Taken from an article in The Newsman - Saturday, August 8th, 1908.

"They lived in a village, Terling in Essex, and Lord Rayleigh was the sort of typical inherited aristocrat, plenty of cash, and luckily, very kind hearted because there were some areas where the owner of an area was very difficult to have as a boss. When my dad went to visit mom, I don't think they were engaged, but obviously by then getting friendly, Lord Rayleigh realised that my dad was very much on the science side and got dad to go and see him and tell him quite a lot of things that he knew about microscopes and telescopes and all that sort of thing. I think Lord Rayleigh bought a telescope from dad." - Joan Enock

Jack assisted Lord Rayleigh with his investigations into wavelengths, perception of sounds, acoustics, sensitiveness of the ear to sounds of different pitch, and colour vision. Lord Rayleigh published details of these experiments in seven papers published between 1906 and 1910.

Some measurements of wavelengths with a modified apparatus - Philosophical Magazine, Vol. xi. pp. 685—703, 1906.
On our perception of sound direction - Philosophical Magazine, Vol. XIII. pp. 214—232, 1907.
Acoustical notes - Philosophical Magazine, Vol. XIII. pp. 316—333, 1907.
On the relation of the sensitiveness of the ear to pitch, investigated by a new method - Philosophical Magazine, Vol. xiv. pp. 596—604, 1907.
Further measurements of wave-lengths, and miscellaneous notes on Febry and Perot’s apparatus - Philosophical Magazine, Vol. xv. pp. 548—558, 1908.
On colour vision at the ends of the spectrum - Nature, Vol. lxxxiv. pp. 204, 205, 1910.
The sensitivity of the eye to variations of wave-length - Proceedings of the Royal Society, A, Vol. lxxxiv. pp. 464—468, 1910.

1908-1916 - National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, Middlesex, England.

Position: Taximeter Inspector

1916-1921 - Guest, Keen & Nettlefolds (G. K. N.), Smethwick, England.

Physicsist.

Post 1921.

"That's fascinating too, a weird mixture. He was a very talented person was my dad, but, interrupted very much by two world wars, and at one time he was sort of a commercial traveller and drove many miles. He had invented a kind of improved microscope, and he was very much on the microscope/telescope visual side of it all. He would drive many miles and show this to people and perhaps get an order with a bit of luck." - Joan Enock

INVENTOR

"In addition to the definitions and measurements that may be made in a comparatively flat picture at present, I believe there is something else almost within practical grasp. A stereoscopic binocular microscope would enable the object to be seen not as a comparatively flat picture only, but with the deep perspectives such as obtained through a stereoscopic or prismatic binocular glasses.
Lately I have been enabled to take part in gauging this development with my brother, John K. Enock, F.R.M.S., who has demonstrated an arrangement of lenses and lighting revealing such a picture, although not perfectly as yet. By this means one can perceive not only the objects which are in focus on the uppermost surface of the liquid under examination, but those which lie deeper or may move downwards. The difference may be likened to that found in looking into a pool and either seeing only the objects afloat on the surface, or looking deeper and perceiving those situated between the surface and the bottom." - Guy Enock - taken from This Milk Business

INTERESTS AND HOBBIES

Entomology/Microscopy

"It is now nearly fifty years ago since my uncle, the late Mr. Fred Enock, initiated me into the secrets of his methods for dealing with the collecting, breeding, preparing, and mounting of Mymaridae. He gave me the instructions under a promise not to divulge them to others, a demand fully justified since the sale of the mounted insects was, at that time, a considerable factor in his livelihood. Here, in passing, I would solicit the the forbearance of those critics who may overlook the factor of income and the accompanying need for withholding information on special processes perfected after long and arduous periods of investigation. My uncle told me of an occasion when a "friend" got in to his laboratory and discovered the process he was using on some mounts, other than the Mymaridae. He suffered heavily through this, and it lead to the avoidance of any discussion of his processes in producing those beautiful mounts of microscopic objects which are the joy and pride of those who posses them." - Taken from A description of the methods of collection and mounting British Mymaridae, devised and used and used by the late Mr. Fred Enock by John Kemp Enock - 1952.

The following excerpts are taken from Fred Enock - 1845-1916 - The Man and His Work by B. M. Davidson

"The second course he decided upon was to teach his nephew John (Jack), to collect, prepare and mount them. Although this did not prove totally successful, some of the letters that Fred wrote to John, commencing in April 1901 still exist.

In June 1907 Fred wrote to his nephew Jack, telling him where to look for Fairy Flies on the windows, their appearance and how to catch them. A letter sent a fortnight later shows that Jack was mounting these tiny insects, but though encouraged by his uncle, the result was not up to Fred's exacting standard.

Enock describes part of the process of preparing and mounting, but follows these details with: "Now my dear Jack - what I have confided to you as to my method of doing these flies, is among microscopists altogether unknown to anyone else but you and me - and all I ask of you is that you will not disclose it to any one, not even any female - my reason for this is that a slip of the tongue might let the one simple discovery out. So keep it Jack - to and for yourself. Whenever anyone asks me how I did them - I replied - the Flies must speak for themselves."

The standards that Enock set himself in every detail of his mounting, are illustrated in another letter. He says: "It is possible that one leg or wing may get loose - if so - in all such mounts - clean off or smash - never show them."

"By 1908 Jack was utilised mainly in the increasingly important task of collecting Fairy Flies and posting them to Fred, who writes: "I can arrange one in twenty minutes on average." " He also says that what he knows about Fairy Flies has taken him thirty years of close observation. The enormous enthusiasm and delight in collecting and observing never waned. In June 1910 he wrote to Jack: 'I have been much excited this week in breeding from eggs - a male and female battledore wing fly! For the first time on record - I have also bred one of my new genera - Cleruchus panis by name, meaning 'biscuit wing'.'

The following excerpt is taken from Frederic Enock - 1845-1916 by Edward P. Herlihy

"I knew Joan’s father, J. K. Enock fairly well – he enjoyed recalling his youthful night collecting trips with his uncle and the comical adventures they got into, which often related to Fred’s ability to see the humour in ridiculous or even disastrous situations."

Jack gave lectures for the Journal of the Quekett Microscopical Club.

COMMENTS ABOUT JACK

"I don't know where dad got it from, but he simply was on the science side, because his father was an artist." - Joan Enock

"One little amusing anecdote about the day of Guy's funeral in 1956 concerned his brother, Jack. The interment took place at Jordans, a well known, large cemetery and it was a foggy winter's day. Everyone was standing around the grave, concentrating on the rites, when out of the mist a man walked and he looked just like Guy! Later my sister Josephine told me about it and how she and everyone was momentarily terrified because it seemed that Guy himself was walking towards them. It turned out that Guy's brother, Jack, had managed to get to the funeral but was a little late, on account of the appaling weather. No one had any idea that he was in England!" - Wendy Thomas

WILL

Date of Probate: 8th October 1957
Gross value of Estate: £4807. 14s. 10d.
Net value of Estate: £4807. 14s. 10d.
Estate duty and interest: £91. 6s. 6d.

"This is the last Will and Testament of me John Kemp Enock of Saltisford, Warwick, in the county of Warwickshire, Engineer.

I appoint my wife Olive Marie Enock of Warwick and my cousin Robert Doeg Enock of 16 Augusta Road, Acocks Green, Birmingham in the county of Worcestershire to be the Executors of this my Will. I direct my Executors to pay my just debts and funeral and testamentary expenses.

I give and bequeath to my wife Olive Marie Enock absolutely the whole of my real and personal estate of whatsoever kind and description."

As witness my hand this second day of October Nineteen hundred and twenty three."