Dr S. Martin Foggo obituary

Martin was born in 1937 in Dewsbury West Yorkshire and grew up and went to school in Mirfield not far from there. After leaving primary school he went to Heckmondwike Grammar School where he gained good grades at O level and A level. He then started at Sheffield University in 1956 studying Electrical Engineering.

During his first year he was very ill with TB and had to have an operation to remove a kidney which was a major operation so long ago. Because of his long recovery he had to restart his course but graduated in 1960.

He then went on to study for his doctorate and after gaining this he left the University in 1963 to take a job in the research laboratories at the Central Electricity Generating Board in Leatherhead in Surrey where he worked for the next 7 years.

In 1970 he moved to a CEGB department at Radcliffe-upon-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire, giving technical support to all the power stations in the Midlands. Martin worked there for 22 years where he led groups engaged on instrumentation which he found interesting and challenging. He then worked a further 3 years at Nottingham Trent University, working on research exploitation and management until his retirement in 1996.

Throughout his career and into retirement Martin was a keen member of the Institute of Electrical Engineers. In 1978 he was asked to serve on a working party reviewing the education and training of professional engineers which led to the accreditation of more than 165 relevant University degrees mainly in Britain but also in Hong Kong and Singapore. He was also involved with interviews and arranging technical lectures.

Martin enjoyed many pastimes such as gardening, stamp and coin collecting, photography, concerts and walking. His main passion however was for his cars which he took great care of and kept for a very long time. He was the proud owner (jointly with me) of a 1937 Austin 7 car bought in 1960 for £20! Sadly, all his cars had to be sold last year due to Martins failing eye sight.

In 2007 he became a trustee of his local memorial hall and worked tirelessly on their behalf. Martin never married or had children of his own but took great interest in the lives of our 2 daughters and in the last few years became a proud great uncle.

He was a sincere, genuine man, well liked and respected by all who knew him. He loved his stimulating, challenging conversations with all his friends, family and colleagues, many of whom he had remained in contact with for more than 50 years. He will be sadly missed.

Submitted by Martin’s brother Robin Foggo