Sadly, Lee Wilson, who was the chair of the re-formed branch, passed away suddenly in October. Lee was passionate about the Industry, and in particular the Institute of Corrosion, and was the driving force behind the regeneration of the ICorr NE Branch. He used all his contacts and managed to put a technical programme together starting with a joint presentation at the Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineering in Newcastle, to be given by Britt Gavaert of ACOTEC.
Lee had a wide range of experience with coating inspection techniques and methods. This experience began when he was a blaster and coating applicator in the NE, before moving into supervision and inspection. He was keen to pass on his experience to others in the protective coatings industry, and has published two editions of a book for inspectors – The Paint Inspector’s Field Guide. He is recognised as an expert on fabric maintenance and corrosion control in the Oil and Gas industry, and recently was becoming involved in the offshore wind industry. He had just finished another book aimed at this industry, “The guide to corrosion protection of offshore wind turbine towers”, but sadly his untimely death occurred before he could see this published.
The Institute of Corrosion would like to express their condolences to Lee’s family, friends, and colleagues around the world.
The new chair of the branch will be Matt Fletcher, International Paint Ltd.
