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I E L

15th April 1923 ~ 10th July 2022

Ivan was born in Swanage on 15 April 1923. He
was the youngest of three children, having two
older sisters, Gwen and Betty. Their father was
the manager of the Co-op, which at that time was
in the High Street, and the family lived above the shop.

Ivan attended Mount Scar School until he was fourteen, and then
went to work as a Telegraph Boy at Swanage Post Office. Ivan was
also a proficient clarinet player and was a member of both the
Swanage Music Society and Swanage Town Band for some years.

Soon after World War Two began, Ivan was given the opportunity
to transfer to Bournemouth as an engineering apprentice.
Ivan would cycle from Swanage to college, and then, after the
evening's class, he would do voluntary fire watching at different
Post Office buildings around Bournemouth. There was usually a
camp bed to sleep on, but if the air raid siren went off, you had to
get up on the roof with your tin hat and fire fighting equipment, just
in case.

Most nights Ivan was able to sleep without being disturbed, but on
those nights when the alarn went off, his sleep was very much
disturbed; and then at daybreak, he had to cycle back to Swanage
via the ferry to start a normal day's work at 8 am. As he said, "You
couldn't give any excuses, you had to be there, or else!"

At the age of eighteen, Ivan qualified as an installation technician.
One of his first jobs, in the spring of 1941, was in a single under-
ground bunker at the top of the Downs. This bunker became part of
the Coastal Defence.

In time Ivan was called up and served four years in the Royal Navy.
He served on a number of ships including the battleship HMS
Vanguard, and the destroyer HMS Chieftain, where he was chief
electrician.

After leaving the Royal Navy, Ivan spent several years as a Special
Faults Investigator dealing with complex and persistent problems
affecting telephone services in the Bournemouth Telephone Area.

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