In memory of Geoff Marston.

Geoff worked in the steel industry his entire life. Born in Nottingham in 1942 he survived a lightning strike when he was seven, which left him with a stammer. He studied metallurgy at Sheffield University, where he won a Freshgate scholarship founded by Harry Brearley, the inventor of stainless steel, who was his hero.

Geoff joined the steel industry as a graduate apprentice and moved to the River Don Works of English Steel, where he stayed for the rest of his career. He became a Commercial Director of Sheffield Forgemasters and was responsible for developing and selling the world’s first ultra-large steel castings, a manufacturing stream Forgemasters successfully pursues to this day. Geoff’s efforts assisted the firm in winning the Queens Awards for Export and Technology in 1989 and 1997. Geoff was made OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2002 for his service to Forgemasters and to Export.

In retirement, he did charitable work as a life-long Rotarian and supported the preservation of Sheffield's steelmaking heritage, including saving the Shepherd Wheel and the legacy of Brearley at Portland Works and the Freshgate Trust.

Geoff Marston died on June 1, 2024, at the age of 82, and is survived by his wife, sister, three sons, and six grandchildren.

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