Lifetime Achievement Award - Gordon Newton

Gordon Newton was the sixth and last generation of his family to own and manage Israel Newton and Sons Ltd, a old boiler-making business founded in Bradford in 1803.   From 1979, under Gordon’s direction, the company became a major player in repairing and building rivetted boilers for the steam heritage sector – rail, road and marine. By the early 2000s the company needed a new owner and a new location. No suitable candidates appeared, but preservation steam faced a severe skills shortage and a threat to its future.  Hence was formed the Boiler and Engineering Skills Trust (BESTT) of which Gordon has been Chairman since 2013, designing and delivering training to support the safe repair and maintenance of heritage steam boilers.