Tribute to AND Group founder Clive Richardson

It is with sadness that we announce that Clive Richardson, former AND Group director, has passed away following a hard-fought battle with cancer. Clive was a founding member and owner of AND Group, and friend and colleague to many past and current members of Satcom Global. 

John Temperley, a fellow founding member and owner of AND Group, and friend for over 60 years, has kindly shared with us some memories of Clive, and how they studied and worked together before setting up AND Electronics toegther. 

• John and Clive met in 1956, studying at South Shields Marine and Technical College, before they qualified as Merchant Navy Radio Officers in 1958 and headed off to sea.
• Whilst working on different ships they kept in touch using morse code, but in 1959 John and Clive happened to dock within a day of each other in Montreal. They met ashore and had a great time catching up, before bedding down on settees on John’s ship and putting the night stewards to work for 4am snacks.
• Working back on dry land a number of years later, and following time at LM Ericsson and Welwyn Ltd, Clive joined John in working for Staveley Smith Controls repairing radars and communications around the world.
• Firm friends and trusted work mates, Clive and John decided they would like to work for themselves, and in 1972 they started AND Electronics. Although some in the industry were skeptical of their success, they got their first contract; a passenger ship called the VISTAFJORD and they had to work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for 3 months to complete the telephone exchange and communications systems.
• Worth the long hours and proving the naysayer’s wrong, they made AND Electronics a limited company in 1974 and began to employ engineers. They eventually employed 115 people across 6 offices across the UK and Greece.
• Clive retired from his full-time position in 2008 but remained involved with the company for a number of years, maintaining its Quality Assurance status. John tried to retire, but he was less successful and is still with us today working on marine and offshore projects and keeping our North Shields office building in good working order.
• In 2013, Clive and John sold the company to current owners, Ian Robinson and Bob Howes, who had been managing AND Group for a number of years, which they subsequently merged with the Satcom Global business they had also recently acquired.

Clive had a varied and fulfilling working life, and on speaking to a number of people who knew him at Satcom Global's headquarters in North Shields, it is clear that he was very well liked.  He will be missed and remembered as someone who was genuine and friendly, overcoming difficult times in his life with courage and dignity. We send our best wishes to his family ahead of his funeral this week.

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