Walter Bersey

Walter Charles Bersey (15 October 1874 – 21 April 1950) was a British electrical engineer who developed electric-driven vehicles in the late 19th-century.

He developed a new form of dry battery that enabled him to build, in 1888, an electric bus that he ran successfully for at least 3,000 miles (4,800 km).

The prototype covered 1,000 miles (1,600 km) in the following 11 months and was well received in the press; though it was derided as dangerous by crossing sweepers, bus and cab drivers.

[6] Bersey noted at the time that "there is no apparent limit to the hopes and expectations of the electric artisans…..in short [it] is the natural power which shall be the most intimate and effective of all man's assets".

[7] At around this time Bersey predicted that "whilst petroleum may become the motive power in country districts, and steam will probably be used for very heavy vehicles, there is no doubt that electricity will be the most advantageous where the traffic can be located within a radius".

[6][11] The vibration damaged the delicate glass plate batteries and the cost of replacements for these and the solid rubber tyres caused the company to report a loss of £6,200 in its first year.

[16] A subsequent partnership with Percy Lloyd Hanmer Dodson, again as motor dealers, at Copthall Avenue, London, was dissolved on 5 October 1903.

[23] He relinquished his rank on 30 September 1918 and was appointed a temporary major in the administrative branch; he ceased to be employed on 25 April 1919 after the war had ended.