William Arthur Risbridger

09/07/1894 — 1969
A brief biography

Ancestors


Risbrig — 1198 —
William de la Risebreage — 1276 —
Joham Rysbrugg — 1320 —
John atte Rysbrugg — 1425
Henry Ryesbrigger of Albury — 1430 —
John atte Rysbrygge — 1461 —
Johanna Risbridger — 1461 —
William Rysbrydger — 1553
Katherine —
John Rysbrydger of Shere ±1520 — 1563
Katherine Rysbrydger — 1597
William Risbridger 1546 — 1615
John Risbridger 1579 — 1631
John Risbridger 1624 — 1718
Edward Risbridger 1657 —
Edward Risbridger —
William Risbridger 1705 — 1752
John Risbridger 1740 — 1801
William Risbridger 1784 —
William Risbridger of Bletchingley 1822 —
William Risbridger of Bletchingley 1860 —
William Arthur Risbridger 1894 — 1969
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Mentioned in

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TST: Cyril meets the Bletchingley Risbri ... Document description with link: (3)
Editorial on W&J Risbridger
William Arthur Risbridger the Engineer

Spouse/Partner and Children


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Edith Vaughan 1891 — 1969   Pauline Risbridger 1918 — 2000   Leo William Risbridger 1924 — 1998   Betty Risbridger 1926 — 1988   John Edward Risbridger 1927 — 1997   Risbridger   Risbridger  

William Arthur Risbridger


Son of William Risbridger and Emma Burbery. .

Born in 1894, the fifty-seventh year of the reign of Queen Victoria, and died aged seventy-four in the seventeenth year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II  He has 27 direct descendants in the family.

A footman at Heather Bank, Summer Hill, Chislehurst


At the age of 16 William Risbridger was working as a servant in the household of Robert Leonard Powell, a local magistrate who had made his fortune as an Indian Leather dealer.

Early years

William Risbridger volunteered to join the RNAS after helping to pull down an observer balloon drifting over fields in Bletchingley at the beginning of the 14/18 War. The officer on board said he should join up, which he did!

He was employed servicing and refuelling dirigibles (like the R101 Airship) at Cardington. You would be surprised how many were built at the time.
The engines used 100 octane fuel which was dispensed and filtered through chamois leather filters. The fuel was stored in tanks in which the petrol floated over a layer of water. This was a very efficient way of natural particulate filtration as it all sank to the bottom of the water. It was known as the Hydraulic Fuel Storage System perfected by a man named Bywater, a civilian working for The War Ministry. William bought the company name and rights after the War but it was not viable in civilian life. The float valves in the stores [of the factory] for years afterwards.

Apparently William, during this time, also volunteered to be a wing gunner on Vickers Vimy Bombers, but his CO would not let him go. They were strapped horizontally to a wing with a Lewis gun and some spare magazines. None of his friends who volunteered survived.

After the War, Mr Bywater contacted him and offered him the job of converting the new Wayne petrol pumps from Ohio, being imported into Britain, up to Board of Trade standards and repainting into petrol company colours and logos. A new factory (large shed) was constructed in two weeks in his garden as the pumps were on their way over the Atlantic. That shed formed part of the factory in Bletchingley and was only demolished in 2007 after about 83 years of continuous production!

After a number of years William realised that he could design and produce his own petrol pumps. These were in production for many years. The pump had the unique feature of being usable in a power cut as it could be hand-operated with a Morris car starting handle which drove a bicycle sprocket and chain which powered a cast iron rotary pump. It could deliver 6 gallons a minute manually!


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Mark Risbridger

Coach in the US Naval Academy
Mark Risbridger earned master’s degrees in business administration and sports management from Springfield College, while he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Post University in 2013.

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