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Bernard Morris Ford 24-10-1925 to 09-07-2013
Born at home in Romford off South Street next to the coal yards and mill to Florence May (Boreham) and Sidney Frank Ford, the last generation born as Victorians and remainders of a generation wrecked by the Great War. They lived with the grand parents the last Fords known to be millwrights indeed the millwrights had travelled in from Danbury in Essex with the industrial revolution and have been traced back six generations in that village in the trade!
With a younger brother and sister the family secured (around 1932) a 'burbage' a plot of land one chain wide in Havering-atte-Bower where they built a small bungalow themselves from fruit crates, scrap and timber cut on site, this they developed as a small holding to feed themselves and to boost Sidney's income as a carpet fitter and furnisher.
In 1939 at 14 Bernard left school and went to work in local engineering tool rooms and with his brother spent their nights on fire watch through the Battle of Britain and the Blitz. At 17 he signed up for the Royal Engineers and trained at Gravesend and other locations. Following D-day the Engineers were deployed in France and Belgium putting in infrastructure such as bridges and railways for the advancing liberating forces. He worked his way across Europe and Asia ending up in India in 1945 for the end of the war, in the final months being part of the North West Front advancing into Afghanistan. He remained in India and was commissioned to the Railways and ended up a Sargent Major by the time of Partition in 1947. He returned to the UK by ship getting just an hour a day on deck weather permitting. They arrived in January 1948 at a snowy Southampton in jungle shorts and shirt!
He returned to Romford a full 7 stone of man and engineer. Bought a Sunbeam S8 motorbike, later an Ariel Square Four 1000cc with his own made sidecar. He worked for many local companies including Fords, May & Baker and Marconi. He met up with Brenda who he married at just 17 against her fathers wishes. In 1957 they bought a new build house in Romford and raised four boys.
Bernard a precision engineer had times of self employment making telephoto camera lenses, projectors and other optical equipment. He also went into business with childhood friends, indeed with the brother of his best friend Glen, who was sadly killed yards from him, Brenda and Glen's wife, at the Farnborough airshow disaster. Together they set up a factory making boat fittings, Bernard set up and ran the tool room. With another friend they pioneered injection moulding creating the range of Austin-Allen moulding machines. The tool room made many very complex moulds and formers, 316 stainless stamping and pressing being another area of development. In 1981 the factory was moved to Burnham on Crouch and Bernard took this opportunity to 'retire' and moved to Buxton, to be self employed once again and serviced local industries until recently. He did find time for hobbies, walking, geology, wine making and more engineering, building a 1:6th scale traction engine, a 12th scale scratch built Shay wood burner American locomotive and finally a pair of 5" gauge 0-6-0 saddle tank shunters modelled on those that worked the docks at Fords Dagenham plant he'd worked on all those years ago.
Always under selling himself he should also be attributed due credit for: the 'Rainbow' tree tie a buckled strap system for supporting trees that doesn't strangle the tree - still in use today. The Mirror dinghy - he thought to cut the front off so it could legally be towed by a family car. And the trailer tent; we had the first, it was built in our living room and all trailer tents available today are thanks to his genius. A few others in time: 1953 built his own TV, 1959 double glazed the house! 1968 invented the swivel arm, wall mount TV stand, 1971 he installed a suspended ceiling in the living room with no less that 18 fluorescent lights above so you could choose white or any combination of 6 colours (totally funkadelic man!). Many, many more for another day.
Against the odds, we got to celebrate him last year with a family get together, he made his birthday then Christmas to all our delights and we made mums 80th birthday special in January, he even made it to his first grandchild's wedding. Yesterday as he came to terms with his fate I had a lovely chat and so did all my brothers and mum, he still made us laugh at moments, commenting that when in Arabia he had not met Laurence!
My dad... Best one I ever had.
Born at home in Romford off South Street next to the coal yards and mill to Florence May (Boreham) and Sidney Frank Ford, the last generation born as Victorians and remainders of a generation wrecked by the Great War. They lived with the grand parents the last Fords known to be millwrights indeed the millwrights had travelled in from Danbury in Essex with the industrial revolution and have been traced back six generations in that village in the trade!
With a younger brother and sister the family secured (around 1932) a 'burbage' a plot of land one chain wide in Havering-atte-Bower where they built a small bungalow themselves from fruit crates, scrap and timber cut on site, this they developed as a small holding to feed themselves and to boost Sidney's income as a carpet fitter and furnisher.
In 1939 at 14 Bernard left school and went to work in local engineering tool rooms and with his brother spent their nights on fire watch through the Battle of Britain and the Blitz. At 17 he signed up for the Royal Engineers and trained at Gravesend and other locations. Following D-day the Engineers were deployed in France and Belgium putting in infrastructure such as bridges and railways for the advancing liberating forces. He worked his way across Europe and Asia ending up in India in 1945 for the end of the war, in the final months being part of the North West Front advancing into Afghanistan. He remained in India and was commissioned to the Railways and ended up a Sargent Major by the time of Partition in 1947. He returned to the UK by ship getting just an hour a day on deck weather permitting. They arrived in January 1948 at a snowy Southampton in jungle shorts and shirt!
He returned to Romford a full 7 stone of man and engineer. Bought a Sunbeam S8 motorbike, later an Ariel Square Four 1000cc with his own made sidecar. He worked for many local companies including Fords, May & Baker and Marconi. He met up with Brenda who he married at just 17 against her fathers wishes. In 1957 they bought a new build house in Romford and raised four boys.
Bernard a precision engineer had times of self employment making telephoto camera lenses, projectors and other optical equipment. He also went into business with childhood friends, indeed with the brother of his best friend Glen, who was sadly killed yards from him, Brenda and Glen's wife, at the Farnborough airshow disaster. Together they set up a factory making boat fittings, Bernard set up and ran the tool room. With another friend they pioneered injection moulding creating the range of Austin-Allen moulding machines. The tool room made many very complex moulds and formers, 316 stainless stamping and pressing being another area of development. In 1981 the factory was moved to Burnham on Crouch and Bernard took this opportunity to 'retire' and moved to Buxton, to be self employed once again and serviced local industries until recently. He did find time for hobbies, walking, geology, wine making and more engineering, building a 1:6th scale traction engine, a 12th scale scratch built Shay wood burner American locomotive and finally a pair of 5" gauge 0-6-0 saddle tank shunters modelled on those that worked the docks at Fords Dagenham plant he'd worked on all those years ago.
Always under selling himself he should also be attributed due credit for: the 'Rainbow' tree tie a buckled strap system for supporting trees that doesn't strangle the tree - still in use today. The Mirror dinghy - he thought to cut the front off so it could legally be towed by a family car. And the trailer tent; we had the first, it was built in our living room and all trailer tents available today are thanks to his genius. A few others in time: 1953 built his own TV, 1959 double glazed the house! 1968 invented the swivel arm, wall mount TV stand, 1971 he installed a suspended ceiling in the living room with no less that 18 fluorescent lights above so you could choose white or any combination of 6 colours (totally funkadelic man!). Many, many more for another day.
Against the odds, we got to celebrate him last year with a family get together, he made his birthday then Christmas to all our delights and we made mums 80th birthday special in January, he even made it to his first grandchild's wedding. Yesterday as he came to terms with his fate I had a lovely chat and so did all my brothers and mum, he still made us laugh at moments, commenting that when in Arabia he had not met Laurence!
My dad... Best one I ever had.
