What goes round comes around

Here is Walter’s story

In September 1953 following my return to Civvy Street from National Service in the RAF, I attended a meeting of the Midland Section of the Electrical Wholesalers Federation at the Queen’s Hotel, Birmingham and – as the new boy on the block – I was appointed EEIBA Collector and I have been connected with them to this day.

Besides collecting from the delegates at each meeting it was part of my responsibility to encourage companies to range for their staff to make regular weekly or monthly deductions from their wage packets in support of their industry charity. In addition through my connections with bodies like the Birmingham Electric Club and the ASEE Birmingham Branch, I found myself helping to organise social gatherings such as Annual Dinners and Ladies Evenings where quite substantial sums of money were raised from raffles, tombolas, etc which, I like to hope contributed consistently to EEIBA and helped it to help individuals in need.

At that time, there was one residential home – Broome Park – in Surrey which provided loving and caring accommodation for people from any part of the electrical industry needing rest and recuperation.

Over the years, the massive support from the major players in the industry like CEGB, Electricity Council, the GEC, English Electric, Ferranti etc, etc, enabled EEIBA to build other facilities.

In the 1980s, my father – then in his nineties – spent a very happy recuperation after his hospitalisation in one of EEIBA’s homes. EEIBA’s President at that time was Denys Johnson and he and I became good friends bumping into one another regularly at fundraising events in London and throughout the country.

With the break-up of the publicly-owned electricity generating concerns and the disappearance, one by one, of the ‘giants’ of the industry, income started to fall and, at the same time, the perceived needs changed and the emphasis switched to financial assistance in the home – not necessarily for medical help – so these residential centres were disposed of, one by one.

Financial help continued to come from the electricity boards, from companies like the Weir Group, from organisations like the Institution of Electrical Engineers and ELECTREX, the major electrical trade exhibition in the world, which continues to this day (for which – as a former Chairman – I am truly delighted). But the ongoing changes within the industry appear to have lost the “family feel” of days gone by, in my view. I know it is becoming harder and harder to maintain the funding at the level needed, despite the ever increasing calls for help.

Following an unfortunate episode, a company of which I was chairman, connected with the mobile phone industry, was forced out of business causing me to lose many tens of thousands of pounds, whilst the onset of the recession in 2008 lead to the termination of four of the five consultancies I had built up over the last 30 years. I was left with only 25% of my income and in trouble and who came to my rescue? Yes, you’re right – EEIBA. So, here I am thankfully in receipt of funds that have kept me going in my search for a new position where age and experience is regarded as as asset rather than a liability.

They say that what goes around comes round and it will soon be 60 years that EEIBA and I have been together during which I have gone from one extreme to another. The wheel has indeed turned full circle!

Walter Balmford
April 2010