Obituary: Len Jordan
1930-2011
Posted by Paul Jacobs 1250 Scale
Editor on
11/21/2011
Len Jordan, died on November
14, 2011 at his home near Reading U.K. He was 81 years old. He is survived by
four children.
Len was an accomplished model maker well known for his
fine 1:1200 resin castings of merchant ships and liners, which were sold in
unfinished kit form, or as completed models by Wirral Miniships.
Len
spent some time in the Royal Navy, as a weapons electrical artificer, during the
1950’s & 60’s, and it is here that he learned the skills which would help in
model making in later years. On leaving the RN, Len spent some time working in
South Africa followed by a period running a hotel in Southsea (Portsmouth UK).
He subsquently worked at Newbury College, until he retired in 1995.
Len
started casting models in the 1980's and displayed some of his first work at a
show in Hemel Hempstead about 1987. Len and fellow enthusiast Roy Measday
displayed a model which had been cast in resin. This was a new feature in the UK
at that time and interested many people.
In 1988 Len displayed his first
productions in 1:1200 resin kits at a show in Christchurch, near Bournemouth.
Len became active in organizing shows, and after the successful Hemel Hemstead
swapmeet of October 1989, he organised the first show at Theale in March 1990.
Len ran this show annually, with his wife Kate making tea and sandwiches, for a
number of years were it went from strength to strength in popularity. He also
organised some meetings at Newbury College in 1993. Eventually, Len handed over
the running of the Theale show to the present incumbents so that he could
concentrate on producing his own line of resin ship kits.
After meeting
Les Hodder in 1990, Len entered a partnership with Les which allowed Les to
produce and sell completed (painted and masted etc) models of Len’s castings
under the name Wirral Miniships.
This partnership lasted until last year
when both Len and Les suffered strokes. Len was left blind in one eye and with
severe sight degeneration in the other. This situation was exacerbated because
of a stroke that Kate had a year or so earlier. As her condition deteriorated,
Kate spent long spells in the hospital, and Len had to rely on friends to
transport him for visits with her. Kate died earlier this year and her death
greatly affected Len.
Len’s passing is a great loss to those who knew
him closely, but his models live on as a memorial to a fine model maker.
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