OBITUARIES
The instituiton is deeply saddened to hear of the deaths of two former presidents, Frank Haffenden and John WIlding. Both Frank and John played pivotal roles in shaping the association from its early days into the institution it is today.
Frank Haffenden was an astute commercial manager. He was a true gentleman with the highest levels of professionalism and integrity who commanded great respect amongst his peers without being overbearing or disrespectful in any way. Frank joined the institution in 1972 when it was known as the Association of Surveyors in Civil Engineering. Frank had the unique honour of being the only person ever to be president on two separate occasions; firstly from 1988-1989 and then from 1995-1996. As well as his presidential roles Frank sat on Council of Management for many years.
The early formative years of the institution were not without challenges. These were not easy times with many difficult constitutional decisions having to be made. Frank’s role in guiding and advising the institution through these decisions cannot be overstated. He had a great ability to summarise issues and to set out with clarity the risks and potential benefits of any situation. The institution earned great deal of respect in those early days and one cannot overestimate the effect that Frank had on Council of Management at the time and indeed the institution.
Frank became a retired member in 1997 and was subsequently awarded an honorary fellowship in recognition of his years of service to the institution. Even after he retired to live in Dalguise near Dunkeld, Frank joined and contributed greatly to the Scottish committee and the Commercial Management Practices Committee.
Sadly, Frank couldn’t attend the 50th anniversary celebration at Albert’s Shed in Manchester due to illness but many happy recollections were shared on the day and Frank’s name featured large. He will be sadly missed by those who knew him and it is the end of an era for those who served with Frank and so much enjoyed his company. Frank died just a few days after his 98th birthday and leaves a son, Vincent.
Words from Vincent Haffenden.
How can I sum up the life of my dad in just a page or two? Dad was born in Eastbourne on 1 November 1926 to Florance and Ernest Haffenden. His Mum worked for the Post Office, but it turned out that in 1939 she ended up working for British Intelligence at an MOD listening centre in Bexhill, to this day we have no idea what she did there, in fact no one seemed to know much about her history until she passed away at the ripe old age of 90. His dad, Erny, was a plumber and had joined his own father in the Royal Engineers during the First World War. He was 15 years old at the time. He survived the war and later became a senior sargent in the Home Guard throughout the Second World War, he passed away at the age of 88. Us Haffenden’s have long-life jeans it would seem.
My dad was evacuated during the Second World War to Hitchen where he went to the local grammar school until he was called up into the army in late 1944. Being a grammar school lad, he was made to finish his education before the call-up. His regiment was the Royal Core of Signals, they needed is brain he said (his joke). As the Second World War was coming to an end by the time his signals training was complete, he was spared the trauma of serving overseas, something that bugged him until his last day.
At the first opportunity after May 1945, Dad transferred to the Royal Engineers as a full-time soldier and quickly rose through the ranks to sargent. During his home leave in 1949 he met Jean Raynor and fell in love, they were married in 1950 and I was born in November 1951. Mum was a budding actress who had studied at the Royal Academy in London and was keen to tread the boards, as they say. Dad had no choice but to give up the army and take a job as a clerk in civi street. He hated it. Not a good basis for any marriage. Eventually and after a great deal of searching, dad was offered a job working for Lyndsey Parkinson (LP) in Wales, building the M4.
As he had no qualifications at the time he was paid as a labourer whilst LP trained him in quantity civil engineering. He studied and worked hard and began to make a name for himself as a professional in his field. His strong values added to his ability became noticed by others.
By this time, he and my mum had decided to separate, and they each found new partners. Now I had two dads and two mums, life for me and my new sister was good, thanks to the fact that mum and dad remained good friends. Dad’s new lady, another Jean as it happened, were married in Wales and where extremely happy until she sadly died in 1999.
During the years between dad leaving the army and up until he reached the age of 55, he had served in the Territorial Army as a company sergeant and later as a special police officer where he reached the rank of commandant. He was decorated twice for bravery whilst serving as a special police officer.
His professional life in the civil engineering world took him to Japan, the Bahamas and the Middle East on many occasions, dealing with a number of large projects and on a few occasions, he was even called as an expert witness. Dad and Jean had retired to Scotland some years before Jean’s death and had lived a busy life in the Highlands, making new friends and travelling. After Jean’s death dad became very lonely and later met Patricia. They moved to Norfolk, Trish’s home county and later to Okehampton in Devon. Sadly, Trish was not a well lady and she passed away in 2022.
Dad continued to live in Okehampton in a McCarthy and Stone apartment enjoying the camaraderie of the other residence, mostly ladies, he called them his harem, until his death. It is impossible to tell anyone about my dad’s 98 years of life in just these few words, other than to say that he was successful, that he had a full and happy life and that he was a man with strong Victorian values. There is so much more to tell, perhaps I should write a book.
Dad always regretted that he did not serve his country in WW2. I can tell you in all honesty that my dad, Frank Haffenden served his country, his family and his profession extremely well, I am proud to be his son. Thank you for taking the time to read these words, If I can be half the man my dad was, I will be happy.
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John Blake Wilding was a man of very high standing within his professional community and amongst his clients. John prided himself on his uncompromising ethics, honesty and integrity. This honesty and commitment to integrity did not appeal at times with some of his peers in senior professional institution management roles, but it is very much to his credit that he was uncompromising in this regard, with self-interest never taking precedence.
A quantity surveyor by primary profession John joined CICES in 1987 and served on many committees notably, Contracts & Dispute Resolution, Finance & General Purposes, Council of Management and was proudly elected president in 2003. John remained a very active member of CICES until his retirement.
As well as his inviolvment in CICES John was also instrumental in setting up the North West branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. John served CIArb NW for many years on its committee, including taking on the roles of chair and honorary secretary. At a national level John was elected onto the general council on several occasions.
John authored many articles in industry and professional journals, not only of a technical and contractual nature but also of a more thought-provoking, philosophical nature, not always necessarily construction industry related. His regular articles included one in Builder and Engineer journal called Wilding Writes.
On BBC Radio Manchester John was co-host on a regular programme highlighting homeowners’ legal problems concerning construction work on their properties. In his spare time he was an avid 10k runner right until into his 70s and was a very talented 100m sprinter in his earlier years. As a person John Wilding was personable to a fault, always very approachable with a great sense of humour. John leaves a widow, Jennifer. The institution would like to pass on its deepest condolences to the families and friends of both Frank Haffenden and John Wilding.