Ian Robinson, Sanderson’s 1947 – 1952 (October 2015)

Ian Robinson

Ian passed away suddenly and unexpectedly but peacefully at the age of 81 on Tuesday October 20th 2015. Brother of David Robinson, Sanderson’s 1951 ‐ 1954, father of Andrew Robinson,Sanderson’s 1976 ‐ 1981 and Stephen Robinson, Sanderson’s 1978 – 1983. He was born 8th October 1934 in Sheffield to the parents of Madeline and Stanley and was the eldest of two brothers. He attended St John’s School and then went on to Lancing where he was an accomplished athlete and member of the Shooting Team. He continued his love of shooting well after leaving Lancing and became the Hon Secretary of the OL Shooting Club for many years taking an active part within the Club. After Lancing, he went on to Wandsworth Technical College where he graduated as a Chartered Mechanical Engineer. In March 1961 he married Ann Elizabeth Colquhoun and they had three children, two boys (Andrew & Stephen) and a girl (Louise). As a family they had many memorable holidays in Cornwall, Wales and South of France for which he was known for his meticulous planning. A huge loss came to him when his brother David passed away in 1999 very unexpectedly.

In 1955, he commenced a long and fulfilling career with BP at the Sunbury Research Centre, testing early strategic automotive applications. He then went on to spend the
next sixteen years at Britannic House in London travelling the globe facilitating the construction and implementation of Lube oil blending plants. In 1979 he was seconded, with BP, to a 9 month term in Belgium where he and his wife had a varied cultural experience living and working in a foreign country. He retired in 1985 at the age of 54 after adding a wealth of expertise to the oil industry. His passion was then ignited when the dot com era emerged. So passionate that he established computer workshops through the local borough councils on a purely voluntary basis, whereby he transformed the more mature students’ fear of computers into a social and empowering new way of doing things. He always wanted the best for all and would dedicate himself selflessly in religious perseverance to help others.

He is survived by his devoted wife Ann, his two sons Stephen and Andrew, daughter Louise and 6 grandchildren, Jessica, Emily, Amelia, Eleanor, Sebastian and Alexander.