A wide circle of family and friends attended a recent memorial service at St Mary’s Northleigh, Oxfordshire for Ron Swinden, an Institute member for many decades who also organised the five annual branch meetings in Oxford for a lengthy period, writes Peter Tankard. Ron Swinden died at home in Northleigh on 4 November 2008.
His engineering career began with an apprenticeship at James Brothers in Sheffield. He joined the NHS as a maintenance fitter at the city’s Children’s Hospital in 1955 aged 23 on a wage of under £8 for a 44-hour week. In 1956 he was promoted to assistant engineer, a few years later being promoted to senior engineer at the City and Sherwood Hospital in Nottingham. During these periods he studied at night school for his HNC and subsequent attainment of Chartered Engineer through membership of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. He later moved to Oxford to be chief engineer of the United Oxford Hospitals in 1965, where he was involved in the planning of the move of the Radcliffe Infirmary to the John Radcliffe site. In 1974 Ron Swinden became area works officer for Oxfordshire Area Authority. This massive reorganisation of the NHS brought together all the health departments previously managed by the numerous local authorities together with GP and dental Services and all the accompanying land and properties. Ron Swinden oversaw one of the largest geographical areas in the country. A true Yorkshireman, he was forthright in his views and leadership and possessed enormous resourcefulness and energy. Many of his former staff have reflected on how much they benefited from his encouragement. His early retirement, in 1982, gave him the opportunity to develop his many other interests, including sailing, diving, photography and flying. Aged 61 he went to Maldon, Missouri and trained as a pilot, subsequently building two twin-seated planes (one of which is pictured above). He leaves behind his wife Kath and three daughters.
