Engineer appointed master of prestigious City of London livery company

AN engineer has reached the pinnacle of his career after being appointed Master of a prestigious City of London livery company.

David Kent, who has lived in Wendens Ambo for 40 years and is church warden at St Mary’s The Virgin, will represent the livery industry at major events in his role for The Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers (WCSIM).

He will also interact with other organisations and support scientific engineering and manufacture with universities and the Government.

The 72-year-old told the Reporter: “I am delighted because it is an opportunity to make the success of our industry better known and, hopefully, attract young people into it, which is the overriding aim of the livery.”

A specialist in the field of measurement and control, Mr Kent is the honorary secretary and past president of the Institute of Measurement and Control(InstMC) – the professional body for the UK’s automation industry – which he joined as a student apprentice 55 years ago.

City of London livery companies are medieval firms which have a pedigree stretching back to 1640.

Originally developed as guilds, the companies were responsible for the regulation of their trades, controlling issues such as wages and labour conditions.

The relatively recent WCSIM was formed in 1955 and pursues wide-ranging programmes to support the science and application of measurement and control instrumentation.

Particular emphasis is placed on helping young people aspiring to careers in engineering science and technology.

Livery companies are governed by a Master, a number of wardens and a court of assistants, which elects the master and wardens.