Description
The Portland Collection, Commemorative Medals, Engineering: Bridges, Thomas Telford, the Telford Premium medal, struck in gold, of the Institute of Civil Engineers, instituted 1835, by J. S. & A. B. Wyon after William Wyon, awarded 1919-1920.
Bust of Thomas Telford l., rev. view of the Menai suspension bridge, shipping below on the Menai Straits, edge named, ‘JOHN KERR ROBERTSON, M. INST. C. E.’, wt. 113.91gms.; 57.5mm. (BHM.1328; Eimer 1206), a superb medal, certified and graded by NGC as Mint State 63 (NGC 5878352-003).
Thomas Telford (1757-1834), FRS, FRSE, Scottish civil engineer, architect and road, bridge and canal builder.
Lt-Col. John Kerr Robertson (1878-1962) served his apprenticeship under Messrs Forman and McCall from 1896-1901. He worked on railways before, in 1902, becoming Assistant Engineer to the Clyde Navigation Trust. In 1904 he was appointed Assistant Engineer to the Railway Department of the Government of India, working there until 1914 when he moved to the Uganda Railways. In 1915 he received a temporary Commission as a Captain in the Royal Engineers, serving in the Adriatic, and Baltic Provinces. He remained in the army up to 1921 with, by then, the rank of Lt-Colonel. After receiving the medal, he continued his work on many overseas projects including Kenya, India and the Haifa-Baghdad Railway harbour works in Turkey.
