For its formation on 16 July 1913, the Association was indebted to the enthusiasm and co-operation of six engineers and their supporters. A notable engineer being Percy Still.
It was resolved that 'any central station Chief Engineer, who is a diesel engine user, may be admitted to the Association on application, and that other engineers should be proposed and seconded by members, so that their qualifications may be considered by a committee'.
It was around this time that a great deal of operational experience with stationary heavy-oil engines was accumulating, but without being put on record and without being made generally available.
Moreover, what had become urgently needed was unfiltered discussion by responsible engine users, of the oil engine problems being encountered; most notably in electric generation stations. Fortunately these discussions now took place in a co-ordinated manner between engineers able to participate with the sole object of arriving at the truth. It was this impartial and non-polemical discussion which proved, and has continued to prove, so helpful. Not only to users of prime movers all over the world, but to the designers and manufacturers of diesel engines, gas turbines and their auxiliary equipment.
It may be of interest to mention that Michael Longridge, lecturing in 1914 on 'Breakdown Of Stationary Engines', recalled that when, during 1880, he commenced to collect statistics of steam engine breakdowns, he found that 'engines running for 50 to 60 hours per week, broke down on average once in 5.5 years; now (1914), though speeds and pressures have doubled, they break down once in 9.5 years.'
Indeed, failure of exhaust valves and connecting rod bolts were typical failures for steam and diesel engines at that time - highly loaded components, which receive similar attention today.