It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Robert Speth, who passed away in mid-January, a few days after his 85th birthday. He would be well-known to a great many of our readers and could rightly be considered as the father of the composites industry in South Africa.

Robert was born on a farm near Aschaffenburg in the south of Germany and qualified as a mechanical engineer. As a young man he was interested in aeronautics and qualified as a glider pilot. In 1964 he came to South Africa to further his career but the excellent gliding conditions here also influenced his decision. He joined the Aeronautics Research Unit of the National Institute of Mechanical Engineering of the CSIR and played a leading role in various projects, both in design and manufacture. One of the first composite projects, if not the first, was the manufacture of a blade for an autogyro.

Later the Aeronautical Research Unit was incorporated into the National Institute for Aeronautics and Systems Technology and Robert became head of the composite manufacturing facility. Over several years he was involved in the design and manufacture of many items, including different radomes, remotely piloted vehicles, drop tanks, a land vehicle cabin and possibly the most ambitious project, the composite trainer aircraft. Robert developed many useful contacts during his career and often acted as a consultant to them and their companies. His strongest ally was Gebi Bargehr of Ciba-Geigy, firstly, and then AMT Composites, who provided invaluable advice on material selection and supply.

Robert retired from the CSIR in 1998 and for a while he enjoyed a more peaceful life and travelled a little. However, this did not last very long before he was contacted by ATE to assist them with the manufacture of their RPV. After a few years at ATE, Robert decided to retire for the second time, to spend time with his wife.

We wish to extend our condolences to Robert’s wife, Marlene, his children Harald, Norbert, Winfried and Dominique and their families.