Obituary: William Starkey

July 2015 News

It was with sadness that SA Instrumentation and Control heard of the recent passing of William Starkey, fondly known as Bill in South African mining circles. Bill was a legend in the sector and had worked in the mining industry for more than 69 years. He was the son of a miner and started out working with pit ponies in Gersley Colliery at the age of 14.

A position at the Londa Collieries group, as deputy chief engineer, saw Bill relocate from the UK to India. In 1969 Bill moved to South Africa and took up the position as sales and marketing engineer for Trolex Stockport, UK. He fell in love with the country and decided to stay. He started up Syscom, which was acquired by Davis of Derby in 1978. Bill stayed on as managing director of the company.

In 2001 Paul Wright approached him to take up a position at AST. Paul was looking for a person experienced in both electrical engineering and mining, which is a rare combination, then and now. Bill ticked all the boxes and held his position as divisional projects manager for the Pyrogen brand until 2014, when he retired.

Bill passed away peacefully in his sleep on 22 June. He will be missed.

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