Ian David Gardiner FIET, April 1928 – January 2021
Published: Tue 2 Feb 2021
A lifelong innovator and dedicated engineer in the railway industry, IET Fellow Ian Gardiner passed away in January at the age of 92.
Ian’s career began with English Electric Traction in Bradford in 1948, which took him across the world to India, Australia, and then back to Newton-le-Willows in the UK.
He then joined British Railways Engineering Limited (BREL) and was appointed Director of Engineering at British Railways during the development of the Advanced Passenger Train.
In 1970, he was elected Fellow of the IET and Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineering, where he was also Vice President from 1984 to 1990.
Much of his working life was dedicated to the engineering of diesel-electric locomotives, and he shared stories of the high-speed express locomotive, Deltic, with his daughter Elizabeth. He retired in 1985.
Whilst at University, Ian met Dorothy, his wife of 59 years and had four children, Elizabeth, David, Anne and Andrew.
He was a very keen gardener, enjoyed fishing and swimming and belonged to many choirs late into retirement.
He married his second wife, Edith, in 2011 and will be greatly missed by her and his family of eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.