CitySafe Posted March 3, 2017 Report Share Posted March 3, 2017 A message from David Jennings, MD of UAP Tradelocks:"Some of you will know Chris Belcher, sadly for you some of you will not. Chris Belcher is to my mind, and the minds of many, a lock genius who created many tools for the locksmith industry that opened up the industry for skilled practising locksmiths. I don't use the word genius lightly. The way Chris could simplify difficult lock problems was astonishing. UAP Tradelocks have worked with Chris, and his lovely wife Suzzie, for the past 8 years. We first started to buy his tools, and then we licenced them, and then we entered into developing products with him. In the next month or so we will be launching a new tool to open and decode the almost impossible Polish Gerda lock. The engineering involved in the tool is complex but the solution to the problem is beautifully simple. So simple that you can explain the concept to a child in a minute. That is Chris Belcher's fingerprint, simplifying the complex, and doing it with humour and humility. I visited Chris and Suzzie yesterday in the Bristol Royal Infirmary where Chris is receiving palliative care for advanced lung cancer. "What the bloody hell have you been doing to yourself you silly sod" I said, "Yep, I've really buggered myself up this time" he replied with a smile. A few minutes later Suzzie was telling the Oncology Doctor that she had been giving Chris natural iron medication to help his tiredness for months, "oh what sort of medication" asked the doctor, "Guinness" Suzzie replied with a grin. Morecombe and Wise, Yin and Yang, Ant and Dec, Chris and Suzzie. All natural partners. Suzzie and Chris have a enviable warmth between them as they talk to locksmiths and students at trade fairs and open days and passing on their considerable knowledge without even thinking about getting a reward for doing so. There are very few people who would have anything negative about these 2 wonderful people. I also make no secret that Chris's input into our locks has in part been responsible for our growth over the last 8 years. His Timing Pin solution to cure Euro Cylinder lock bumping rather than using trap pins and other elaborate solutions, is a case study in the Chris Belcher fingerprint. The system features in all our BSi Kitemark cylinders. He took a really difficult problem. He studied it closely. He considered Newtons laws of physics, and then he developed a beautifully elegant and simple solution to cure it. His genius is right there in every cylinder we sell. And his genius protects every householder who has one of our Kitemark locks fitted. If you want to see poetry in motion, and British design and engineering at its very best, then go and open one of these cylinders and see the system in action. Suzzie asked me yesterday if I had any miracles up my sleeve. Sadly I do not. But what I can do, and what I will do, is make sure that the Chris Belcher legacy lives on. It will live on in every Kitemark cylinder we sell, it lives on in the way we now look at design and development and testing for all our products. Chris Belcher is a phenomenon. The locksmith industry, and UAP, will be the lesser without him. But we have all been graced by his gentle genius, and we are all the better for it. As for me, I am proud to call Chris Belcher a personal friend, and I am proud too of mine and UAP's association with him." Mike at Vauxhall, Suzzie and kobblers 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kobblers Posted March 3, 2017 Report Share Posted March 3, 2017 I don't know the guy but I wish him and his own all of the very best. Rick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapidlocks Posted March 3, 2017 Report Share Posted March 3, 2017 chris is an undeniable genius , but to me he is far far more than this , he is a mentor , an inspiration and has been a father figure in many ways throughout my career and someone im proud to have as a friend , i dont think ive ever met a more humble , generous , kind and moral person . The industry will have lost a legend , though his legacy will live on , of that im sure. genius like chris dont come along too often , im honoured that he had such an influence on my career , i will miss his genius but not as much as i will miss his friendship , humour and passion . Suzzie, kobblers and lock&quay 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenB Posted March 3, 2017 Report Share Posted March 3, 2017 Like Rick, I didn't know Chris, clearly he will be massively missed, however it sounds as though his legacy will live on for many years to come. Suzzie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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