Charles Irvine

Born in 1937.
I lived with my parents and sister in a house in Walthamstow.
 I went to Chapel End School from 1942 to 1949.
Then on to South West Essex Technical School which was located on three separate sites.
The principal site was within the SW Essex Technical College in Forest Road, Walthamstow, now, the Waltham Forest College. .
As I was hopeless at most sports, I took up helping with the stage lighting and props making for the numerous school plays and with local amateur theatre clubs.
I left school in 1954 and took up an apprenticeship with the leading manufacturer and installer of stage lighting in the UK and much of the world, The Strand Electric and Engineering Co Ltd, (SEECOL).
I was employed in the electrical contracting department.
I studied electrical engineering at the above college until entering into National Service at the age of 21, joining the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), where I was trained in transceivers.
I bought my first car whilst in the army and passed the driving test in 1960.
After National Service I rejoined Strand Electric and over the years have worked in all the major West End Theatres, most of the London based TV Studios and many provincial theatres, schools and Civic halls, installing production lighting, sound systems and audio visual equipment.
Over the years I progressed from electrician through foreman, engineer, manager and finally Managing Director.
The Company had changed hands on several occasions and when the installation division was closed in 1995, I started up my own Company, employing some of the engineers and electricians from the previous company and continued with the same client base until my retirement in 2002.
I met Jean at an amateur theatre group in 1961 and we married in 1964.
We bought our first house in Ilford in 1965and lived there with our two daughters until we moved to Hainault in 1988.
 My interests now are history, particularly Roman, gardening, although I tend to be the labourer and my wife is the actual gardener, also bird watching and the forest.
We have numerous pets, several having been rescued.

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