From the collection of Mr Edmund Bruce Ball (1873-1944)
Born in Norfolk in 1873, Edmund Bruce Ball had a long and illustrious career in the field of engineering.
Starting employment as an engineering apprentice in Thetford, he went on to study further at the Manchester School of Technology, achieving many academic awards along the way. After holding several senior and managerial positions in the UK, he took his first overseas appointment, residing in Italy from 1905. In 1908, Bruce Ball headed for China to take on the position of engineer and commercial agent for Messrs Samuel McGregor & Co. of Shanghai, a role which led to him travelling throughout the Far East and Siberia representing the interests of several British firms. He found the experience fascinating and unlike anything he had encountered before, no doubt fuelling his passion for collecting Asian Art.
At the end of the First World War, Bruce Ball took up the position of managing director at Glenfield & Kennedy Ltd. in Kilmarnock, Scotland, a role he held for more than a quarter of a century and where he was considered with high regard, not only for his professional expertise, but also for the efforts he made in improving the overall welfare of his employees. By the end of his life, he was a recognised authority in the field of hydraulic engineering and had received many professional honours and accolades.
