William Robert Sykes (1840–1917) was a British engineer from London, known for his work in railway signalling and other safety devices.
Born in London in April 1840, Sykes obtained a job with the Electric and International Telegraph Company in the Strand, at the age of 14.
[1] In 1861 he moved to Shepherds, an electric clock & chronograph maker and in 1863 he joined the London Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) under the telegraph superintendent, Mr Ruddall.
[3] In 1872 he devised a scheme where trains on the District Railway automatically turned signals to red as they passed them.
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