Jack Paley
This is a copy of the obituary notice written by Peter Condron for Prospero.
Jack Paley was born in Halifax in 1927 and passed away on 25th April 2015.
He was Transmitter Manager at Wenvoe Transmitting Station until 1987.
Jack was an only child, he attended Grammar School then was conscripted into the Army. He served in Palestine at a particularly difficult time there. One of the legacies of his Army service was a lifelong dislike for fish as Curried Fish was served often!
He joined the BBC as an Engineer 8th November 1952 and served at various Transmitting Stations e.g.Holme Moss (Holmfirth), Sandale (Carlisle), Pontop Pike (Newcastle), Beckley (Oxford), and Wenvoe (Cardiff) twice, from where he retired in 1987.
Jack married Kathleen Bloxham (Kath), on 30th April 1955. The three girls, Gwen,Beryl and Kathy, were all born in different parts of the country as Jack moved around, a quite common occurrence in Transmittters!! Kath passed away in 2007.
Jack was my Manager for a time at Wenvoe. Although his title was Transmitter Manager his ability as an Engineer was always evident - during the huge changeover to VHF/FM frequencies/services, we were at a VHF/FM relay in one of the S.Wales Valleys, at night. A Stereo parameter was wrong - Jack suddenly said ‘I know what the problem is’!!. An RF filter needed tuning. At Oxford Jack experienced the same problem on Radio3 - the Oxford service area had a large number of HiFi buffs (including college professors & a HiFi news contributor!!) meaning deficiencies were quickly reported. At home he kept a Tumble Dryer going for 45 years.!!
Jack had many interests and hobbies. He was a good ballroom dancer, a Church organist and played the electric organ at home. He was an avid reader and knowledgeable participant in any discussion, at work or outside. After retirement he showed an interest in cooking and cooked many family meals.
Jack is survived by three daughters, none of which followed his love of Engineering, but four of the six grandchildren are involved in Science and Engineering in some way.
7 June 2015