Bill Gulliver, 1936-2008

The FIRA is very sad to report the death of colleague Bill Gulliver on 24th June. He was 71. Many in the industry - particularly anyone involved in the technical aspects of furniture design and performance - knew Bill, who joined FIRA in 1973. He was instrumental in the development of many of today's furniture standards, including British, European and ISO standards.

‘He began his career as an aircraft engineering apprentice with De Havilland before he completed a degree in Mechanical Engineering at Southampton University. He remained at De Havilland for a further eight years after his graduation, specialising in structural analysis, and he used this expertise in positions with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the Irvine Parachute Company.

He joined FIRA as Structures Research Officer, and was appointed Head of Product Performance two years later. He represented the UK on various standards committees; he was convenor of three ISO Working Groups, served on 12 sub-committees and working groups, and sat on 13 BS Committees and several CEN Committees.

‘In 1979 he introduced a naturalist seat loading pad to improve chair testing, and having been involved in the creation of the ISO standard for High Chair Performance, he pioneered nursery furniture testing at FIRA. He also devised tests for drawer slamming, horizontal impact testing (to authentically reproduce the effect of people bumping into furniture) and tilting/reclining chairs.

‘He became particularly adept at analysing pedestal chair gas lift cylinders, and his knowledge proved invaluable to manufacturers worldwide; in the early 1980s there were a number of safety issues surrounding their use, but Bill was instrumental in establishing safety tests and the revision to BS 5459 Part 2 which covered the test method. The eight part standard on the durability of domestic and office furniture, published in 1985, was based on research Bill and his team conducted between 1979-83.

‘Despite having officially retired from full-time employment in 2001, Bill continued to work for FIRA as a consultant until the end of his life, and his expert knowledge was always in great demand; not just in solving problems, but also acting as a mentor to others. For many companies he remained the first choice as an expert witness.

‘Bill was very proud to receive the British Contract Furnishing Association Lifetime Achievement Award for his service to the furniture industry in November last year.

‘He was passionate about his 1930s Morgan Supersports three wheeled car, which he had lovingly restored; despite it not having a roof, he used to drive it in all weathers.’

Susan Revell, Programme Manager Operations - Risk Sector Fire, Health and Safety at the British Standards Institute said: ‘Bill was very knowledgeable and supportive in some very tricky situations over the years. It is very sad to hear of his passing, especially as he had battled so long and hard with ill health’.

Andrea Giavon of Italian furniture research, development and test centre CATAS, said: ‘Friends are very rare. Bill was one of them for me and I think also for other people. I'm very honoured to have had his friendship. He really was one of the most important reference points in my professional life’.

Kjeld Bjulow, Denmark's representative on European standards committees, said: ‘Bill has been so much a part of my work since I first met him just after he started working at FIRA. When I started with standardisation in 1975, Bill became a close friend not only in furniture but also in our common interest in British humour, where we shared laughs, cassette and video tapes’.

Hayden Davies, Managing Director of FIRA, said: ‘Bill Gulliver made a unique and invaluable contribution to the furniture industry. His knowledge was valued not just in the UK but all over the world and many of today's furniture standards and tests were developed as a result of Bill's expertise. He was also a coach and mentor and also a friend to all he worked with, especially the staff at FIRA. We have lost a special individual who will be greatly missed’.

He is survived by his wife, Anne, and a son, Angus, to whom we extend our sincere condolences.