Death of inventor Ron Hickman
Friday 18th February 2011, 2:59PM GMT.
Inventor Ron Hickman has died
THE inventor of the Black & Decker Workmate has died in Jersey, aged 78.
Ron Hickman, the multi-millionaire inventor and St Brelade resident since 1977, died yesterday following serious health problems over the last six months.
Mr Hickman, who was born in South Africa, will be best remembered for helping millions of DIY enthusiasts with his work bench, which at one point was selling 15,000 units a day.
His friend and colleague Derek Bernard, who worked as managing director of all Mr Hickman’s companies, said that he was a kind and generous man with a tremendous work ethic. ‘Ron was a lively, lateral-thinking man,’ he said. ‘He was very able, honest and enthusiastic.’
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Jersey has lost a gentleman and a gem. I only met Ron a few times and spoke to him a few more but he was someone who had a true passion for helping people and exploring his creative genius.
His legacy isn’t just the Workmate but the respect and admiration so many had for him.
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I was sad to hear that Ron Hickman had died.We had the pleasure of visiting his home on an open day In the 1990,s. A photograph of us with one of his many cars, his house, & the beautiful view, of St Brelades bay in the background taken in his beautiful garden,still stands FRAMED in our home to this day as a memory of a lovely summers day together.
When our family or friends visit from the U.K the photograph is often mentioned as it is there to see on display.
Dennis Welch ST BRELADE
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A person can be measured in many different ways, but from knowledge and experience of Ron Hickman, he was a man that was way above the majority. As written above, Jersey has lost a gentleman and a gem. R.I.P.
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Sad to hear of Ron’s death. A real gentleman, employer and inventor. Having worked for Ron at Hickman Designs prior to the move to Jersey, and for Lotus Cars on the Elan and the Elan Plus 2, the Workmate gained iconic status and the two cars became my all-time favourite Lotus products. To Helen and Family my sincere condolences.
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