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Harold Aitken Slade

1920-2008

Leaving school in 1938 Harold entered university but was soon enlisted in the army and joined the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers spending much of his early war service maintaining and repairing Coastal Defence Radar.

Following demobilisation he went back to London University, Birkbeck College, to complete his Chemistry degree. He then started work for a specialist paint company “Detel Products” in Uxbridge Middlesex. Here he developed coating products to protect materials in corrosive environments, including some pioneering work in sprayed thermoplastic road markings (Yellow Lines!), and rapidly progressed to becoming Technical Director. Detel was acquired at the end of the 60s and Harold worked in a variety of roles in the successive mergers of the 70s and 80s.

He remained a chemical engineer all of his working life and was a Fellow of the Oil and Colour Chemists Association.

Harold retired in 1986 and returned to Althorne, Essex which had been home to both his and Brenda’s parents during the war and in their later years. He indulged in his passion of gardening and participated in the local community, becoming treasurer of many local institutions.

A regular attendee of the Essex OF Suppers (and an occasional attendee at others), he compiled reports for the Suppers section of the OF magazine for a number of years. This kept him in touch with a number of notable OFs including his old friend K K Knight (K 32-38)

Harold had a major stroke in September 08 and died on 19th December 2008. There was a memorial service on 21 January 2009 in Althorne which was attended by OF representatives Norman Porter and John Rankin. The family would like to thank OFs for their kind messages following Harold’s death.

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