My friend Les Squires, who has died aged 76, was a scientific specialist in non-woven fabrics. He developed many materials and fabrics for medical, hygiene, insulation, agricultural and construction uses.
After a long period in research at the chemicals company Johnson & Johnson, in the late 1990s he set up a business called Web Dynamics with a friend, Tim Woodbridge, to make new materials. They opened a factory near Bolton in Lancashire, and though they had some scary times as the economy fluctuated, they persevered and ultimately became very successful, opening a second factory in China.
Behind his gentle, unassuming exterior Les had an inner core of steel, and in his professional life he would not be taken for a fool, nor would he back away from a challenge. He was one of the most capable people I have ever met, diligent and thorough in everything he did.
Born in Wythenshawe in Manchester, Les was the first child of Bill, a post office administrator, and Joan (nee Rutter). Having failed the 11-plus, he left Sharston secondary modern school to work in Manchester for Geigy (later Ciba-Geigy) as a lab technician, using his time there to study for HNC and HND qualifications.
When his girlfriend, Jean Lawton, went to Leeds University to study English literature, he visited her there, and decided that if she and her friends could do a degree, then so could he. After acquiring further qualifications he was accepted on to a degree course in colour chemistry at Leeds, where we met, staying on to do a PhD in polymer chemistry, followed by an MBA at Dundee University.
Having married Jean in 1973, Les’s first postgraduate job was with Johnson & Johnson in Gargrave in North Yorkshire, where he joined a team developing sanitary and medical materials including wound dressings. Promotion took him to Portsmouth in Hampshire before he moved in 1990 to work for a different company, Don & Low in Forfar in Scotland, where he patented several non-woven fabrics for use in construction and agriculture before setting up Web Dynamics in 1997.
Les retired in 2018. He loved the outdoors, and he and I would often go hiking and climbing in north Wales and Scotland. He was also interested in gardening and home brewing, and the two of us played folk and classical music together, with Les on keyboards and me on violin.
He is survived by Jean, their sons, Andrew and Neil, grandchildren Ben and Alice and his sister Janet.
