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D'origine allemande, William Engelke est à peine âgé de 18 ans lorsqu'il commence à travailler avec son beau-père, Leo Kamm et il le seconde même lors du tournage frustré du Jubilé de la Reine :

Pioneer Days In the early pioneer days Mr. Kamm had with him his step-son, W. Engelke a keen practical worker, who was second only to the head of the firm in his enthusiasm for the new kinema invention.
Mr. Engelke recalls how, in 1897, when Mr. Kamm went to photograph the Diamond Jubilee from a room in Cheapside, the camera, a Darling, of course, contained no spools and was loaded and emptied under a table over which a rug had been thrown to make a dark room. An excellent shot of the procession had been taken, and Mr. Engelke was on all fours unloading when some person carelessly opened the door of the room and spoilt all the film.

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Kinematograph Weekly, Londres, jeudi 10 février 1927, p. 74.

Il figure comme "Theatrical Engineer" au recensement de 1901 (Londres, Islington). En 1902, il continue sa collaboration avec Leo Kamm, et son nom apparaît, comme "witness" (témoin), dans un brevet de 1902 dont l'objet est "Apparatus for photographing and exhibing kinematographic pictures". Peu après, en 1903, il va travailler avec Alfred Wrench et co-signe avec ce dernier plusieurs brevets : 

22.108.-Alfred Wrench and William Engelke, South-street, Finsbury, London. Improvements in apparatus for perforating cinematograph films.
22.109.-Alfred Wrench and William Engelke, South-street, Finsbury, London. Improvements in or relating to cinematograph apparatus.

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The Era, Londres, samedi 21 décembre 1907, p. 27.

C'est également le cas l'année suivante :

17,765.-Alfred Wrench and William Engelke, of London. Improved means for effecting the synchronous running of gramophones and the like, and cinematographic apparatus.

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The Era, Londres, samedi 12 septembre 1908, p .27.

En 1911, il est toujours à Londres où il vit avec sa famille (recensement 1911). Cette même année, il dépose un nouveau brevet, toujours avec Alfred Wrench : 

Appliances for rewinding kinematograph films.-Nº 24,992. Nov. 9, 1911.-Alfred Wrench and William Engelke.

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Kinematograph Weekly, jeudi 23 novembre 1911, p. 177.

Il obtient sa naturalisation en 1912. Il continue de participer à la société "John Wrench and Son" pendant des années. En 1921, suite au rapprochement de l'entreprise avec la "Cinema Traders Ltd.", il en devient l'un des directeurs responsable du secteur optique et lanterne :

An Important Transfer.
We have received notification of an important change in the following lette:-
re John Wrench and Son,
I am pleased to inform you that this company has arranged to take the goodwill of this business, the assets, stock-in-trade, and book debts from Herbert Holmes Wrench, of 50, Gray's Inn Road, W. C. I, as from October 17.
William Engelke, who has been associated with the business for about eighteen years as works manager and technical adviser, is a director of this company, and will have the management of the optical and lantern department, which will be carried on at this adress.
For and on behalf of Cinema Traders, Limited, WILLIAM A. GUY (Secretary), 26, Church Street, W. I.

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Kinematograph Weekly, jeudi 20 octobre 1921, p. 65.

Quelques années plus tard William Engelke prend la direction de la "Cinema Traders, Ltd." fondée, en 1913, par R. I. Atherton :

A Pioneer Retiring
Henceforward those of us who wish to chat with Mr. Atherton will probably be wasting our time in looking for him at the offices of Cinema Traders, Ltd. Only seldom will he be there in future, most of his time being spent in Norfolk, whither he is gone into well-earned retirement after a business life a large proportion of which has been taken up in working out and perfecting various inventions for the improvement of optical projection. Among many things Mr. Atherton has achieved, he is a pioneer of the genuinely fireproof portable projector as well as of the application to projection purposes of the incandescent electric focus-lamp. In future, his work for the firm he created will be purely consultative. Active management falls to Mr. William Engelke, also very well known to most of us as a motion-picture engineer of the first rank, and a member of various technical sub-committees of the Kinematograph Manufacturers' Association. We shall all wish the firm of Cinema Traders, Ltd., a continuance of the best of luck under its new management.

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The Bioscope (supplément), 1^er avril 1926, p. ii.

En 1927, une nouvelle fusion se produit entre la "Cinema Traders Ltd." et la société "Kamm" comme l'annonce The Bioscope qui en profite pour faire un court historique des entreprises. On peut lire que le frère de William,  Frederick Charles Engelke, est également engagé dans ces mêmes affaires :

Accessory Firms Combine
Kamm and Cinema Traders Join Forces
It is of interest to learn that an association of the well-known firms of Kamm and Cinema Traders has taken place. The name of Kamm has been synonymous with cinema projector machinery throughout the history of the cinema trade, as has also that John Wrench and Sons, whose interests have for some time been vested in the virile and enterprising firm of Cinema Traders. It was as far back as 1896 that the late Leo Kamm turned his attention an inventive ability to the subject of projectors producing incidentally at that time his "Kammatograph" (a filmless cinematograph) and at a later date organising the very big business which bears his name.
In 1904, John Wrench appearing to offer a still wider scope for energy, he accordingly transferred to that firm. There, it may be noted, amongst other items of trade utility, he invented the Maltese Cross oil bath. Machine shop work and the practical side of the business combined to maintain his close attention until the war period, when Wrench's, to assist the Governor gave over their works.
First Home Cinematograph
It was early in 1921 that W. Engelke became associated with R. I. Atherton, in Cinema Traders, Ltd., a firm that has made a good name by specialising in projectors and who put on the market the first home cinematograph and made lasting history with the Howarth Portable Projector. The fusion thus made of Cinema Traders and John Wrench necessitated an increase of staff and opening of their present premises at 26, Church Street, W.1. In 1922, they became associated with Scientific Projectors, Ltd., and are now large shareholders of that concern. The next activity recorded was the opening of a new department for the manufacture and supply of stage lighting apparatus to which was added various types of studio lights, batteries and searchlights. In 1924, they invented the famous prismatic mirror bowl now so popular in dance halls.
Kamm Showrooms to Close
In March of 1926, and upon the retirement of Mr. Atherton from the active side of the business, W. A. Guy, who came to the company in 1919 as secretary, joined the board of directors. The death of Leo Kamm in September of last year brought about the return of W. Engelke to Kamm and consequently a further step was made by associating the two firms. The Powell Street section of this united business is now officered F. C. Engelke, who has been in close association with Kamms since 1913, as secretary, Leonard J. Kamm as works manager, and with W. Engelke continuing the technical and general advisory work. It has been decided to close the Shaftesbury Avenue showrooms of Kamms in order to conduct all sales at the headquarters of Cinema Traders, 26, Church Street, London, W.1.
The best of both the Kamm and Cinema Traders productions will be standardised. W. Engelke is a valued member of the Kinematograph Manufacturers' Association, and is also a member of the KInematograph Standards Sub-Committee which has done such good work in bringing the motion picture industry into line throughout the world.

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The Bioscope, Londres, jeudi 10 février 1927, p. 26.

William Engelke décède en 1936 :

W. ENGELKE DIES
We much regret to announce the death on Saturday, February 8, of Mr. W. Engelke, managing director of Cinema Traders. Ltd. The funeral takes place to-day, February 13 at Fulham Cemetery, at 12 noon.

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Kinematograph Weekly, Londres, jeudi 13 février 1936, p. 5.

Les funérailles ont lieu quelques jours plus tard :

W. ENGELKE'S FUNERAL
Well-Known Veteran Passes
The funeral of William Engelke, who, as briefly reported in last week's KINE., died suddenly on Sunday, February 8, at his home at St. Albans, took place at Fulham Cemetery, where he was buried in the family vault.
Mr. Engelke, who was only 57 years of age, was a director of Cinema Traders, Ltd., and had spent a lifetime in the machine and accessory side of the business. Many members of the Trade were present at Fulham, including a large deputation from the Cinema Veterans, and many of his fellow Townsfolk of St. Albans. He leaves a widow, a son and two daughters.

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Kinematograph Weekly, Londres, jeudi 20 février 1936, p. 18.

Ses enfants continuent de vivre ensemble en 1939 (recensement 1939).

Sources

"A Visit to the 'Wrench' Works", Kinematograph Weekly, Londres, jeudi 10 mars 1910, p. 1021-1024.

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