John Upton (civil engineer)

[2] By 1819 he had become surveyor for part of the London to Holyhead road running from Stony Stratford (Buckinghamshire), to Dunchurch (Warwickshire) under the overall direction of Thomas Telford who seems to have had a high regard for Upton's engineering skills.

The day before his trial in July 1826 he absconded and made his way to the Russian legation in London who were keen to recruit engineers for their Black Sea expansion.

[4] Not only had Upton defrauded the road project but he had also obtained £3,000 from his wife's relations which he did not repay and had defaulted on his franchise for the Daventry post office leaving his surety to pay £300.

John Upton worked extensively in Sevastopol to build a huge set of dry docks for the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

During the Crimean War William Upton was held for a short time by the British military who hoped he would reveal details of Sevastopol harbour defences.