One of the first employees to work at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in Ulverston has died at the age of 93.
Alec Murray Swann died peacefully at Furness General Hospital after his health began to fade earlier in the year.
He was one of the first GSK employees to transfer from the company’s site at Barnard Castle when the plant in Ulverston opened in 1948.
He and wife Helen, known as Nora, bought a plot of land and designed and built a new family home in which they and children Sara, Paul and Fiona could begin a new life.
Mr Swann was born in Barnard Castle in 1927. His father served as a batman (personal aide) for one of the Queen Mother’s brothers during the First World War, and later became her personal chauffeur.
He won a scholarship to Barnard Castle School, where he played rugby for the school team. While at the school, Mr Swann was taught by the famous mountaineer Bentley Beetham and visited Borrowdale with him on one of his expeditions.
Mr Swann served in the Royal Air Force between 1943 and 1945, working as a physical training (PT) instructor.
After his national service, he began working at GSK in Barnard Castle. It was here that he met future wife Nora. He moved to the Ulverston plant in 1948, working as a shift controller.
Mr Swann held a lifelong love of the outdoors, and would tell stories of fishing for trout and salmon in the River Tees as a boy.
While at GSK he began a walking club, introducing many of his colleagues to the Cumbrian fells and other walks in the area, pointing out birds and other wildlife en route.
Mr Swann also served as secretary of the North Lonsdale Foxhounds for several years.
He retired early, in 1989, to better look after his wife, who was suffering from Parkinson’s disease. She died in 2002 but was able to live at home for a long time thanks to Mr Swann’s devotion and patience.
When he retired, GSK treated him to a flight over Ulverston, taking off from Blackpool Airport. He even got to take the controls for 45 minutes.
New adventures lay in store for Mr Swann, who took his first international flight – to Canada to visit his daughter and grandchildren – at the age of 81.
In 2013, GSK Ulverston celebrated 65 years and asked him, as the oldest surviving employee, to raise a flag at a commemorative ceremony.
In 2016, Mr Swann moved into the Abbeyfield House retirement complex in Ulverston before a broken hip just before his 92nd birthday – in 2019 – prompted a move to Staveley House care home in Dalton.
His family has received many tributes following his death, and one that is often repeated is: “He was a true gent.”
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