Len Medlock - Obituary

Len Medlock (BGS 1935-40)

Len Medlock, who was brought up in the Fenside area of Boston, passed away on Thursday 25 April 2013 aged 89, after a long illness. Len was a regular feature in The Boston Standard in the 1980s and ‘90s through the generous work of the charitable trust he set up. In total the charitable trust, which Len ran with his son David, has donated £26 million.

One of the many things he gave to Boston was the voluntary centre in St George’s Road, which bears his name.

Len served in the navy at the end of the Second World War. He met his wife Brenda while in the navy and they married in April 1949, having their children Thea in 1950 and David in 1955. His wife died in 2010.

Len worked at engineering firm Westinghouse in Chippenham before leaving to join contract design company Guidar, where he met his future business partner Geoff Hebron. They then set up Hebron and Medlock, which served Government departments and the aerospace industry. The company now trades as Sitec, with more than 900 staff, and an HQ in Bristol.

The trust's grants have been mainly concentrated in the Boston, Bath and Bristol areas. Len was chairman of the Bristol Engineering Manufacturers' Association and of the Federation of Engineering Design Consultants.

Son David said: "Despite his tremendous success in business he was a quiet, unassuming and modest man – easily underestimated but always willing to help his fellow man without need for attention.

"He was always happiest in the background, helping out on the cash desk at school fetes and playing with his nieces and nephews at family gatherings. His wife, children and grandchildren together with his wider family were his life."

The funeral of Len Medlock, an Honorary Freeman of the borough of Boston, was held on Tuesday, 7 May, at St. Bartholomew’s Church, Bath.