Thomas King MIET, September 1947 – May 2022
Published: Thu 16 Jun 2022
Thomas King MIET passed away in the early hours of the morning on 18 May 2022 after a year-long illness at the age of 75.
He grew up in Ballyclare, Northern Ireland, and after graduating from Queens University with a first-class degree in Applied Mathematics.
He went on to work with GCHQ as a radio technician, relocating to Birmingham, UK, with his wife, Dympna.
After moving to Bletchley in the 1970's with a period of employment at the famous park located there, he was recruited by a new partly state-funded mobile telecommunications company, Mercury.
During this time, he was part of a team of four engineers who were tasked with plotting out the initial GSM network for the United Kingdom, the foundations of which still remain today.
Mercury went through several changes of ownership and Thomas ended up as a Radio Spectrum Manager, working with cable and wireless in the early 1990's, until his retirement in the early 2000's, working out of the London and Bracknell offices.
He was a member of the IET for many years and enjoyed being a part of the community.
Thomas was always fascinated by the latest technology, building his own 3D printer, piece by piece, with parts printed by the same printer to complete later stages of construction!
He will always be remembered for his gentle and kind manner, not to mention exhaustive general knowledge and intellect.
Thomas will be sadly missed by everyone dear to him, always remembered, and cherished in their hearts.