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Introduction
By was of introduction, this page contains a short profile on each of the committee members covering:
- Title of last position held in IBA, NTL or ntl Broadcast
- Date of retirement
- Details of any previous roles in the NTLRA/NTLPA
- Present position and duties on the Committee and date of election/co-option
- Brief summary of leisure interests and activities in retire
Committee Members
Chairman
 Mike Thorne
My ntl pensioner career began in 2002 when I took early retirement from Crawley Court where I was a director in the International Mergers and Acquisitions group when ntl's financial difficulties were triggered by the telecom stock market collapse. Prior to those four years in international business I was the director of Broadcast Radio at Crawley Court, taking the business through from the IBA privatisation into the commercial world.
My earlier roles in the IBA were as an engineer and then an engineering manager at various transmitting stations and in the Crawley Court SD&C department. I was the project manager for the Channel 4 Marconi main station transmitter procurement and installation programme.
Since retiring from ntl in Jan 2002 I have been consulting occasionally in the Telecoms and Broadcast Transmission market. I joined the ntlpa committee at the AGM in 2005 and was elected Chairman at the AGM held in November 2008.
My leisure interests are predominantly gliding related, both as a cross country pilot and an instructor. I'm also an active member of a Rotary club in Romsey, and I'm assistant musical director of the Romsey male voice choir. I don't play golf! I think I could still tune a Klystron if pressed. I won't be eligible for my OAP until 2014.
Secretary
 Graham Sawdy
"My first job was at the BBC where I travelled around the UK commissioning UHF relay stations – largish vapour cooled klystron jobs in those days as well as smaller ones. This was followed by a stint converting all the FM main stations and networks to stereo followed by the work to upgrade the transmitters to 2x20kW and mixed polarisation. Finally I spent short while in the Beeb's Communications Department.
A move out of London was threatening and I didn't like the uncertainty. I'd visited Crawley Court and thought how much nicer it was than London. I applied and got a job in IBA Telecoms Department in 1986. The job again included a stereo conversion – this time the conversion of ITV and C4 networks to NICAM sound – as well as a number of links projects for TV and ILR.
With privatisation NTL telecoms was looking for new business areas and things really took off with a contract to provide links between Vodafone switch sites. More customers followed and soon we needed more capacity than our radio links could provide. So we started installing optical fibre - which possibly led to a small US owned cable company buying the whole company from its original private equity owners!
I saw the growth of the fibre transmission network right through from this small beginning to become probably the second largest network in the UK and ended up heading the Transmission Architecture team at Hook.
The Telewest/Virgin merger caused a lot of headcount reductions and I was happy to get redundancy in October 06, about 30 months before I would have retired anyway.
I live in Winchester with my wife and two teenage sons and am currently spending my time trying to catch up on all the jobs I neglected while I was at work! I also enjoy skiing and mountain biking."
Treasurer
Judy Lear
 I live in Littleton with Motorcycle Dealer husband Alan and 3 Cairn terriers, 4 Norwegian Forest cats and numerous rare breed bantam chickens.
After an early career in banking, I left to start a family and returned to work firstly at the Area Health Authority as a salaries HCO and prior to joining the IBA worked for a local architects practice. I started at the IBA in 1988 working in the Contracts department, then after all the reorganisation (sell off) joined the Structures Departments, latterly working with Martin Southgate in control of the NTL Listed Climbing Company Register prior to taking early retirement at the end of 2001.
I am still involved with running the local Motorcycle Business dealing with the accounts and associated paperwork from home, as well as having many interests and hobbies that come second to the home, family and business. One such interest that I really enjoy is the “NTL Ski” trip where about 30 ntl and Arqiva colleagues and associates past and present join up each year for a week on the slopes.
I was elected as Treasurer of the Association at the AGM held at Crawley Court in November 2006.
Committee Members
Bill Hartley
 “After some 10 years at the BBC, I joined ITA on 1 January 1970 (a date that is very easy to remember) as an antenna engineer in the Masts & Aerials Section. This was the time of the construction of the UHF transmitting systems in the UK. As the company progressed through IBA and NTL in its several formats, I became Antenna Maintenance Manager and managed the work of the group of engineers and technicians that look after the antenna systems we had built in those earlier years. After over 30 years with the company, I retired in November 2000.
Now that I have retired, I have got more involved in various activities in our village, including Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator, archivist of the photographs of our local history society, and husband of the chairman of the Twinning Association (and all that this entails)! I am still attempting to improve my golf and swimming abilities, targets which I promised myself on my retirement. There is much room for improvement!
I became involved with the committee of the NTLPA when I was elected to be Chairman at the November 2005 AGM”, a post I held until November 2008 when I handed over to Mike Thorne.
Chris Allerton
 My IBA career began in 1972 when I joined the Engineering Division to run the Planning and Progress function in the Station Design & Construction Department. Commuting to Knightsbridge every day was in marked contrast to my previous job with Marconi in Chelmsford where I cycled to work!
Later on of course we all moved down to Crawley Court. These were exciting days supporting the UHF, ILR, ROC and (later) Ch4 roll out projects. The engineers and staff I worked with were professional and nicely rounded people and many remain friends to this day.
In 1987 I joined the newly formed Facilities Leasing team who were pioneering the development of a business (profit orientated) approach by IBA to the burgeoning demands of the UK Telecommunications Industry. In 1991 IBA became NTL and we took the sites business forward into the commercial world as a market leading force. Through the 90’s I enjoyed roles in Sales, Business Development, Product Management and Mergers & Acquisitions and finished my career in 2002 as the Wireless Solutions Sales and Marketing Director.
Retiring at the tender age of 55 gave me the opportunity to acquire and totally refurbish a lovely property here in Wiltshire. After 5 years my labouring and toiling activities were complete and I now divide my time between golfing, travelling, walking & cycling and my family – for me the greatest and most pleasant surprise of senior life are the demands and love of/for my grand children.
Paul French
 I joined the IBA in 1983, starting at the Harman Engineering Training College on an 18 month training course; those were the days! I was 'posted' to Emley in 1985, working in the ROC and on field operations.
Since the early 90's I've worked in lots of different areas of IBA/ntl/Arqiva, even in the ex-Cabletel super head-end at Langley. I'm currently Head of Public Safety Operations, still based at Emley. I've been married to Gill for 21 years, and we have 3 children, 18, 16 and 14.
I'm a governor at the local high-school, but my other hobbies of dry stone walling, grandfather clock building, tennis and motorcycling are all on hold due to the pressure of taxiing children and work. The motorcycling is particularly on hold after an accident in 2006 where I fractured my pelvis. I do enjoy messing around with my computers, and enjoy DIY of all types.
I'm not due for retirement for a few years yet, and of course I am now a deferred IBA/ntl pensioner, contributing to the new Arqiva pension. I've got involved with the group to get in amongst the vast of information that is available and tap in to some good opinions..!
John Fuller
 “I joined the IBA on the day it moved in to Crawley Court in September 1973 as a Junior Engineer (Trainee), arriving before my new section's furniture and being sent home for a few days until it turned up!
Most of my time with the IBA/National Transcommunications/ntl was spent on the TV side, working on video, audio & telemetry system design and implementation. Following many reorganisations, I ended up as the Analogue TV Product Manager a post I held until leaving at the end of July 2003 having worked at Crawley Court for nearly 30 years.
I took over as NTLPA's secretary at the AGM in 2004 for a three year period, then in March 2008 I agreed to take on the responsibility from Bob Wellbeloved for monitoring and reporting on all pension matters. These include not only issues relating to our own Pension Plan but also what is happening to occupational pension schemes nation-wide as a result of all the changes in pension legislation in recent years. I also represent the NTLPA at meetings of the Occupational Pensions Association and produce a short report for the Committee on each meeting, which is normally included in our Newsletter.
My main interests outside NTLPA are in athletics, I'm Chairman of Winchester & District AC and officiate at Track & Field meetings amongst other things. I'm still trying to find the time to do more of those things I promised myself I'd do when I had more time - walking, bird watching, sorting out the garden, skiing and travelling more ........”.
Newsletter Editor
 Gordon Verity
I joined what was then the ITA in 1967 as a senior engineer in transmitter section with Bob Wellbeloved as my boss. After several years in the Leeds Regional Engineer’s office I moved to Black Mountain in Northern Ireland and eventually became Engineering Manager there. When the IBA was privatised in 1990 I returned to Crawley to head up the projects group. With the advent of digital TV I became the engineering manager for the DTT group and saw through the build of the initial networks. A spell in Australia to help win DTT contracts there brought me almost up to my retirement in 2000.
I was immediately “press ganged” into becoming secretary for the NTLRA. During that 3 year spell I was instrumental in starting up our first website as well as setting up our own newsletter separate to the ITCRA one that we had shared previously. With the growing membership numbers it was thought reasonable to split these tasks from the secretarial role and my role of web master and newsletter editor was created. I am delighted that this role has now been further split and that Steven is now the NTLPA webmaster.
My interests, apart from hassling people to send me copy for the quarterly newsletter, are fishing of all types, DIY, computing, a bit of consultancy, trying to not get too involved with my wife’s horsey interests, holidays, pets and all the other things that make me wonder how I ever had time to go to work.
Webmaster
 Steven R. Cole
“I joined ntl in 1994 following the acquisition of DTELS, formerly known as the Directorate of Telecommunications, during which time I had worked in various technical and managerial capacities for 24 years. I was a Principal Engineer in Tower & Sites based at Crawley Court and then went on to set-up a centralised engineering group supporting larger PMR projects and developing multi-operator In-Building Systems for the cellular market. I went on to become the Engineering Manager of ntl Broadcast Wireless Solutions and was the Product Development Manager for Citycell before taking early retirement at the end of 2002.
Given my background with DTELS, I was co-opted to the committee in February 2006 to widen the representation and provide an added communication route with former colleagues who are members of the NTL-DTELS final salary pension scheme. Like many in my position, I am currently a deferred pensioner and have an active interest in the future well-being of the scheme.
My main leisure activities in semi-retirement are computing, digital photography, playing keyboard, amateur radio and travel. I am actively involved in designing and managing a number of web sites, including a large site devoted to DTELS tracing the history and people associated with the organisation. My travels since leaving ntl have included a number of cruises, 4 weeks exploring Western Canada and Alaska and nearly five weeks in New Zealand and Hong Kong ... more planned in the next few years.
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