William Tritton

Sir William Tritton, M.I.Mech.E.,J.P. (born 1875, London; died September 1946, Lincoln) was an expert in agricultural machinery, and was directly involved in the development of the tank. Early in the First World War he was asked to produce designs for caterpillar tracked tractors for moving naval guns, the result being eventually the first modern tanks. He was the son of a London stockbroker, educated at Christ's College Finchley and King's College London. In 1906 he joined William Foster & Co. Ltd in Lincoln, and from 1911 until 1939, he was chairman of the company, after which he became managing director.

In 1916 he married Isobel Grahame Gillies. He was knighted in 1917.

He died in Lincoln aged 70 in September 1946.

(source: The Times Obituary September 1946)