William Arthur Dring

Lieutenant-Colonel Sir William Arthur Dring KCIE CIE VD (9 November 1859 – 24 November 1912) was the Agent (ie. General Manager) of the East Indian Railway Company from 1907 until his death in a mysterious railway accident in 1912, which is commemorated by a large monument near the site. He oversaw a significant expansion of the railways in India and was Honorary ADC to the Commander-in-Chief, India. He was the father of John Dring, the second Prime Minister of the independent State of Bahawalpur (now in modern Pakistan).

Dring was born on 9 November 1859 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada while his father, Lieutenant (later Colonel) William Dring, was stationed there as paymaster of the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot. He moved to India with his family in 1865. The Dring family had been resident in India since 1830, only leaving when military service demanded it, and remained connected to the country for several generations. Dring's father was one of the sergeants who commanded the regiment after the loss of all officers during the Battle of Ferozeshah on 21 December 1845 and carried the Colours out of battle. Dring was educated at Taunton's College in Southampton.

In 1879, Dring joined the East Indian Railway Company as Assistant Secretary to the Agent, Sir Bradford Leslie, a pupil of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Leslie was a well-known and successful engineer in Calcutta who designed the "bridge of boats" (or Pontoon Bridge) across the Hooghly and the Jubilee Bridge near Bandel. Leslie recognised Dring's talents and organisational ability and posted him to the traffic department, where he became an expert in railway traffic matters.

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