Curriculum Vitae
EMPLOYMENT.
1996 – present.
Proprietor, The Cordwainer, Leigh, Lancashire.
After initially setting up business at premises in Prescot, Merseyside, I moved to the present shop in Leigh where the business has become established as a market leader in the provision of bespoke and orthopaedic footwear to clients with serious disabilities.
2005 – 2008.
Undergraduate Teaching, The Department of Orthotics and Prosthetics, Salford University.
In May 2005 I started a series of seminars and workshop sessions for Undergraduate students who are required to learn the function and manufacture of orthopaedic footwear as part of their training to become orthotists working within the NHS, responsible for the prescription and supply of footwear to patients.
1990 – 1996.
Departmental Manager, C. S. Bullen Ltd, Liverpool.
Soon after joining the staff of C. S. Bullen, I was promoted to joint workshop manager for a short time before being asked to set up a new department responsible for the in-house manufacture of shoe uppers. In the latter years of my employment, I set up a home workshop to develop the idea of opening my own small business and this led to my resigning my post in 1996.
1984 – 1990.
Workshop Manager, Prince and Fletcher Ltd, Manchester.
I was offered the opportunity to re-organise the workshop at Prince and Fletcher, a company who were renowned for their traditions but had fallen behind in development of staff skills and manufacturing processes. As Workshop Manager I successfully introduced new work practices and an in house training programme as part of the restructuring of the company. However continuing financial plight forced the sale of the company to C. S. Bullen Ltd and the closure of the Manchester factory.
1977 – 1984.
Orthopaedic Shoemaker, S. Reed and Co Ltd, Blackburn, Lancashire.
Following my move to the North of England, this was my first opportunity to work in a commercial environment. During this time I attained experience of working closely with patients developing a range of new workshop skills including Shoe Upper making.
1971 – 1977.
Orthopaedic Shoemaker, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Stanmore, Middlesex.
My first employment after leaving the Lord Mayor Treloar College was within the Surgical Appliance Department of the Hospital. I spent twelve months seconded to the London Institute of Orthopaedics under the direction of Bill Tuck and City & Guilds examiner Stan Knight, researching new materials and construction methods for orthopaedic footwear.
EDUCATION.
1965 – 1971
Lord Mayor Treloar College, Alton, Hampshire.
The Lord Mayor Treloar College is a specialist college for students with disabilities and offers vocational training courses along side general education. The college sports teams regularly competed on equal terms with teams from throughout the region and I was captain of the football, archery, water-polo and athletics teams with which I won five gold and two silver medals at the National Games of the British Sports Association for the Disabled. It was here at aged 11 that I was introduced to surgical shoe making and I made my first complete pair of shoes three years later.
GCE “O” level Art.
City and Guilds, Hand Sewn Construction, Distinction
City and Guilds, Pattern Cutting, Distinction
City and Guilds, Complete Shoemaking, Credit
1961 – 1965
Staplefield Place School, Haywards Heath, Sussex.
Staplefield Place School was a residential establishment for children with disabilities. The school had a reputation throughout the UK for instilling an independent nature in children with special needs.