Ivor Bowditch 1949-2023
It is with a heavy heart that we report the passing of our President Ivor Bowditch. Ivor held the position for more than 20 years and was a great supporter of the contest. As a 10 year old child, Ivor started visiting the Duchy for annual holidays with his parents from the family home in Shropshire. His parents were tenant farmers. As a young boy he was always taken aback with Cornwall , the beauty that unfolded before his eyes, the landscape, the sea, the beaches. The family made magical memories during their holidays in the Duchy, memories he would hold close to his heart his entire life.
However, it was the lunar landscape, the sand burrows of St Austell that fascinated and fired the imagination of the young Ivor, the conical tips a constant that played on his mind, so much so, that he vowed to work in the china clay industry as soon as he possibly could. His father was unfortunately killed in a traffic accident and this forced his mother to give up the tenancy on the farm. This in turn shunted Ivor to sit his O levels, he then applied for a job with ECC in St Austell.
In 1966, at just 17, he eagerly joined the company. At 20, he became Shift Captain and he had 51 employees under his wing. Ivor also held the posts of Regional Communications and Public Relations Manager between 1984 and 2010 , later working in this role for Imerys Minerals Ltd on a consultancy basis and this included the hosting of customer visits and china clay industry tours. He was also a founder member of the China Clay History Society which was formed in 2000. He was admired by everyone in all aspects of the industry, he also had a wonderful sense of humour.
He will undoubtedly leave a tremendous legacy and also leave an enormous void in everyone’s lives, his knowledge, passion, and enthusiasm for all things “china clay” was both awe inspiring and infectious. WEBF would like to send heartfelt condolences to Ivor’s family and friends at this difficult time.