Derek Coombes
ISTEL Automation
1986 - 1989
After a five year apprenticeship followed by two years post graduate studies I found myself working in an IT department when computers in factories was a fairly new.
Marriage, and finding an affordable house led me to Leicestershire and eight years in a user company and six year working for Honeywell computers. Looking to continue to develop my career I applied for a job at ISTEL in Redditch, a town I had never been to.
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John Leighfield
ISTEL Chairman
1972 - 1992
John Leighfield CBE was a pioneering IT user, applying the technology offered by vendors to the benefit of users, particularly in manufacturing. He started in IT with Ford in Dagenham in what would now be called systems analysis.
He joined Plessey in 1965 and was on the board of Plessey as the head of IT. John moved to British Leyland in 1972, working in BL Systems, later renamed as ISTEL. It was privatised and John and others succeeded in a management buyout.
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Dave Handley
Project Manager
1977 - 1998
In the 1960’s I worked at British Leyland at Longbridge ( always known as ‘ the Austin’  to us brummies) as an apprentice.  IT was not a term used  in those days, we worked in the ‘ Computer Dept’.  Coming from other office environments where people wore ties and tweed jackets, the computer operators were seen as very ‘rock and roll.’ They came to work in  leather jackets,  wore  flowery shirts, loons and ridiculous platform shoes.  So as a young impressionable lad it was a great place to work and I wanted to be part of it. I never did however manage to be as ‘cool’ as my colleagues.
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Your memories of ISTEL could be here.  Please put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, and write your memories of your time at ISTEL for us to include here.

I was working as a Business Technician (apprenticeship) at BL Cars Castle Bromwich when the IVN for a Systems Trainee was posted. This was around 1980, when I was 19. I was successful and joined BLSL, starting at Drews Lane. People there included Tony Reeves, Bob Fearn, Nigel Mullis, Gary Smith, Mike Smith, Susan Naisbit, Paul Phillips.

Tony McCormack
Software Development
1980 - 2004
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People Profiles

I was working as a Business Technician (apprenticeship) at BL Cars Castle Bromwich when the IVN for a Systems Trainee was posted. This was around 1980, when I was 19. I was successful and joined BLSL, starting at Drews Lane. People there included Tony Reeves, Bob Fearn, Nigel Mullis, Gary Smith, Mike Smith, Susan Naisbit, Paul Phillips.

Peter Copestake
IT Support
1976 - 1995
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Phil has been a good source of information, photographs and memorabilia about ISTEL.  WE have het to persuade him to give us more details of his long and varied career in ISTEL but here are a few photographs to be getting on with.

Phil Coathup
 
 
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Galery Index