Ivor supported students and colleagues over some 30 years, but what is truly remarkable is that his career in education was post-retirement, and scarcely shorter than his original, distinguished career in the aerospace industry: Ivor was still regularly teaching undergraduate students at the age of 94 and only stopped when forced to do so by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ivor was born in Devonport on 24 July 1925. The only son of a Regimental Sergeant Major, his early years were spent moving around southern England and Wales until his family settled in Cardiff. After an impressive school career, Ivor started as an apprentice at a local engineering works where he first became interested in aircraft. He initially studied for a Higher National Certificate which, owing to his good progress, soon became a fast-track degree in Mechanical Engineering at Cardiff University. He graduated in 1946.
After graduation, Ivor briefly worked for Armstrong Siddeley in Coventry before joining Dowty (now part of GE), where he undertook stress testing of the Lightning Jet undercarriage and designed the multi-axle undercarriage for the Bristol Britannia turboprop airliner. In the late 1950s he was invited to join the team developing, in some secrecy, the Blue Steel nuclear missile, which set him up for his next move to the British Aircraft Corporation at Stevenage to continue pioneering work on guided weapons and space systems. When this work moved to Filton, Ivor moved to Bristol where he lived for the rest of his life.
Ivor went on to have a very distinguished career in the space industry, including leading the team at Filton that designed and built Britain’s first satellite, Ariel 3, and working on the successful communication satellite business Intelsat 4. He also contributed to the control system of the Hubble Space Telescope. His ability in languages (he could speak both French and German, as well as Welsh) was of great value to him and the company. His last post before retiring was Head of Future Business at BAe Filton where, among other things, he advocated for futuristic technologies like solar power generation using geostationary satellites with a high-power microwave downlink to earth.
Ivor had been delivering guest lectures for the Department of Aerospace Engineering for several years before his retirement in 1987, and greater involvement with the University was a natural progression. Over the next 30 years he became a key member of the Space Group, and his knowledge, enthusiasm and keen brain inspired many graduates to enter the space industry. He contributed broadly to teaching in Aerospace Engineering and his knowledge of design and his industrial experience were invaluable.
Ivor was an excellent undergraduate tutor, and he loved the interaction with younger generations. In his early days in the department he was older than most of the students’ grandparents, while in his later days he was older than many of their great-grandparents, yet he was able to relate to them and help and inspire them in many ways.
Outside of engineering Ivor was a skilled organist, playing in many famous venues including St Paul’s Cathedral, and a successful amateur yachtsman. Ivor was a truly rounded and gifted individual, and his former students and colleagues remember him with great affection and fondness.