APA News

  • Death of Ian Hampton


    Ian Hampton


    Ian Hampton with Peter Maynard (left) and Jon Griffin (right), fellow Public Analysts at Kent Scientific Service

    The APA are sad to announce the death of retired Public Analyst Ian Hampton who recently passed away aged 67 with his funeral having taken place on the 27th of July.
    Ian was born on the 14th of November 1947 in Ludlow where he spent the first few years of his life. The winter of 1947 was a severe one with the snow almost up to the top of telegraph poles in the area.  In 1950 the family moved to Glasgow to find work for Ian’s father.  Ian eventually attended Hillhead Primary School followed by Hillhead High School in the West End.
    Ian then headed to Glasgow University and graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Agricultural Chemistry. It was then time to head out into the world of work.
    In 1970, Ian’s first job was to find out about their sugar loss at Tate & Lyle in Greenock. He was over qualified and, 7 weeks later, Ian took a job with BOCM Silcock in Liverpool.
    Here, he supervised the lab but after just 2 years, the factory closed and the family was moved to Selby in Yorkshire with Ian now supervising a group of 40 analysts. The job was great but the pay was poor and it wasn’t “home” for Ian and the family.  But, in the summer of 1975, Ian was offered a Chemist post in the Public Analyst lab based in Hamilton, Scotland. This brought Ian, Lucy and the family close to their families again.
    Ian’s drive set him on a course to become a Public Analyst. The first hurdle to this was passing the MChem A exam which he successfully did in 1987. He had previously also gained an HND computer Science at Strathclyde University.
    During Ian’s time in the Hamilton lab, he was also a founding member of Strathclyde Fire Service’s Technical Support Team. This was an alliance of Fire Officers and Chemists that would attend chemical incidents offering advice on how best to tackle the various hazards. This team has become what is now regarded as the “Gold Standard” response model throughout the UK and beyond.
    Despite the family being very happy and settled in first Hamilton and then Uddingston, Ian was still ambitious and so, when the opportunity to become Additional Public Analyst for Kent came along,  Ian accepted.
    He came to Kent from Scotland in 1991 to take up a post as Deputy to the then Public Analyst Ron Andrews.  He joined the laboratory, which was then based at County Hall in Maidstone, in the January and came down alone ahead of his wife Lucy and the family.  He initially rented and shared a house at Queen Elizabeth Square in Maidstone but Lucy and children Ross, Gail and Jill soon followed and the family moved to their home in Wateringbury.
    His appointment was at quite a critical time for the laboratory as there were a number of challenges which soon lay ahead and Ian’s presence would be influential in its success.  Firstly the laboratory had to gain national accreditation to continue, which it successfully did in 1993.  Then it was faced with a move from County Hall and merger with the County’s Metrology Laboratory which was sited in West Malling.  This was negotiated in spring of 1994 when the laboratory was built in Kings Hill, West Malling not far from the site of the calibration lab.  This was quickly followed with the task of setting up a working partnership with the Public Analyst Laboratory in Hampshire in an attempt to secure the future of both labs.
    If that was not enough, Ron Andrews retired in 1994 and Ian became the senior Public Analyst.  In moments of reflection, he could hardly believe that he had accomplished this dream and all of this in the first three years of Ian’s appointment in Kent.
    Ian revelled in the challenges he was faced with and helped to steer the laboratory through at this demanding time.  Kent Scientific Services, as it was then named, never looked back and Ian continued to develop his role as Public Analyst and Agricultural Analyst where he became appointed to 38 Authorities.
    He was well respected by all the staff he worked with and is remembered for his gentle and kind nature and his fantastic sense of humour.  He was well respected within Public Analyst profession and represented them on many committees and working groups.  He also counselled and taught students studying for the MChemA qualification introducing a multi-sensory approach and worked closely with Trading Standards and Port Health clients to maintain a professional link.
    Ian will always be remembered for playing a big part in the success of the Kent Scientific Services and as it continues his memory lives on.