Upton, William Bayly

William B. Upton, constructing engineer, Washington, D.C.

William Upton was an English hydraulic and civil engineer. He lived in Crimea in the years leading to the Crimean war. His job was administering the building of a cast iron dry dock at Sevastopol that the Russian government had commissioned from the firm of Sir John Rennie in London. After the outbreak of the war, Upton was transported to London under prisoner of war status (after his property in Crimea was looted and his house occupied). Upton assisted the Allies during the war, drawing maps and survey of the area; he gave them as much information as he could regarding roads, pipelines and waterways. He also acted as a translator in a hospital. He was later reimbursed some money for his loss of property. He spent several years after the war trying to find employment; the accuracy of his assistance to the Allies came under question and that hurt his chances of finding a new appointment. It is believed that he eventually moved to Canada.