Since Dad was a child he always had a keen interest in transport of various sorts, whether that was building, fixing or simply using it. He started off as a keen cyclist and then progressed from this to motorbikes and beyond.

Dad started his working career as an apprentice at Rolls Royce in 1968 at the age of 16. He applied for this position completely independently and without significant financial support. It was this tenacity and desire to achieve that helped him secure this opportunity enabling him to build the foundations he needed to progress within the engineering industry.

He not only had an appreciation for engineering but for the overall design, shape and form of products. He had a passion and in depth understanding of ergonomics and his creative abilities enabled him to find solutions to problems others couldn’t.

He later completed his art foundation course in Derby. Following this he attended Central School. It was this combination of further education and innate skill which lead him into the world of industrial design.

He soon started his own industrial design consultancy business, Parker Design. He went on to design many products that many of us still use today such as ticket machines on the London underground and the Oyster card of which he is a copatentee. Over the years he won many awards for his designs.

Later in life he retrained as a teacher through Cambridge university and taught design and technology to children with special educational needs. He always heavily invested himself in trying to provide creative opportunities for young people who in particular were somewhat marginalised, vulnerable or underprivileged in some way.

Although our Dad is no longer here to pass on his knowledge and skills, we feel he would be extremely proud to continue to support young people achieve their potential within the science, technology, engineering, art and maths (STEAM) industries. He never forgot his roots and how his journey began.

We have found a charity, Engineering Development Trust (EDT) which is based in Welwyn garden city who provides opportunities for young people ages 11-19 in these fields. They work with partners in these industries such as Rolls Royce, Air Bus, national rail and Arup to name a few. Any donations you can give would be hugely appreciated.

Thank you to all those who have visited Dads page. Sending love to you all.