Mr Dennis L. Trumpy (Electrical Engineering 1945)

Provided by Dorothy Podmore

Dennis Trumpy studied Electrical Engineering and graduated in 1945, although he admitted most of his time was devoted to the Imperial College rowing team, winning the Open Race for the Danesfield Cup at the Royal Henley Regatta in 1945. After graduating, he joined Standard Telephones and Cables, the UK company of ITT, working on transmission systems in their factory in Essex.

Following trips to Ireland and Spain to work on transmission systems he moved to Brussels to work on a coaxial cable system and then returned to the UK to start up the engineering of microwave systems; technology which stemmed from war time work with radar. One of the first uses of this link was to allow TV programmes to be transmitted to Scotland thus allowing Scottish TV to broadcast the funeral of George VI. A few months later my father was in charge of the project to connect the UK with the continent, allowing the coronation of Elizabeth II to be broadcast across Europe. He himself watched the coronation from a bunker in northern France.

After several more projects for possible microwave systems in Switzerland, South Africa and Canada my father was sent to Japan to supervise implementation of a link between Osaka and Fukuoka, via Hiroshima. Upon completion of this project my father was made STC Technical Representative for South East Asia, based in Kuala Lumpur. It was my mother's favourite posting, and where I was born. He spent three enjoyable years travelling in the region before returning to the UK in 1961 to work on marketing of transmission systems.

In 1965 he transferred to the Spanish company of the ITT group: Standard Electrica, in Madrid, where he stayed for 10 years, during a period of intense growth, including overseeing the building of a new factory for transmissions equipment just outside Toledo which was opened by General Franco. A move back to be based in London sent my father on frequent trips promoting ITT products to countries in Africa and the Middle East, with a subsequent move to be based in Brussels. During this time my mother bought the retirement home in West Cork, and when not on a business trip or exploring the Belgian countryside in his VW convertible my father spent many weekends commuting between Brussels and Ireland.

In 1985, aged 61, my father retired and took up travelling for pleasure, rather than business. After my mother passed away he moved one last time, to Canada, to be close to me and my family, and coincidentally to his brother's children and their families.

My father was always a keen explorer and never let an opportunity pass to see just round the next corner, hike up a nearby hill or travel to a remote part of the world that appeared interesting. In Canada he visited Saskatoon, toured Washington State, cruised the Gulf Islands, sailed around the Queen Charlotte Islands, travelled the Rocky Mountain Railway and steamed around the Aleutian Islands in a ferry.

Early in 2005 he bought himself a new car, a Sebring convertible, and he drove it around with the roof down even in the coldest weather. The car made an extraordinary number of trips to the ice cream shop with happy grandchildren in the back. My father was so proud of his car that he would stop to offer a lift to any acquaintance that he spotted out walking, and would drive many of his friends around the block just for the fun of it.

He has left a big empty space in our lives, which we are slowly filling with memories. All the people who knew him here in Canada have spoken of what a kind, gentleman he was, and I have been quite overwhelmed by the impression that he made on so many people and the touching letters I have received from his many friends and colleagues.