Ron was born on 8th January 1938 in St Peter Port. In 1940 he was evacuated with his parents to England just before the occupation. It was said he was on one of the last boats because his father, who was a good footballer, knew a fellow footballer who was one of the senior crew members. He spent some time in Southampton where there were some other Bridels. His father joined the fire service putting out fires during the bombing and Ron remembered when a little older staying in the Anderson shelter in the garden at night when the blitz was ongoing.

The family then moved to Montrose, Scotland and his father became an aircraft engineer at RAF Edsell and played football part time for Montrose in the Scottish League. Ron started school at the Montrose Academy and for that period often wore a kilt.

On return to Guernsey after the war he had a Scottish accent and went to Amherst Primary school. He then passed the entrance examinations to Elizabeth College but in those days that was not enough. He had to pass a leadership course to receive a scholarship so his father suggested he give orders to the other boys. So Ron told some boys to pick up ropes and others to lift barrels and planks from here to there. Anyway, he won a scholarship in 1949.

He was an excellent mathematician, winning the Le Marchant Prize at College in 1951 and also the Gibson Fleming Prize in 1953. He joined the RAF Officer Training Corps at College where he was awarded his solo wings in 1954. He also played tennis for the Guernsey Junior Team.

After College he decided to become an Accountant so joined Black Geoghegan and Till, later KPMG, as an articled clerk and became the first person in the Channel Islands to qualify as a Chartered Accountant. He passed his professional examinations writing with his left hand because he could not use his usual right hand and shoulder after a motor bike accident. He was also a founding member of the Guernsey Society of Chartered and Certified Accountants and used to mark some of the professional course examinations.

After qualifying, he joined Tektronix as a management accountant. He was subsequently promoted to Finance Director in Guernsey and Head of Finance for Tektronix Europe. He particularly enjoyed creating and using the latest technology to manage the business and was very innovative in developing new management systems. During this period he also enjoyed table tennis and was a member of the Round Table.

On the closure of Tektronix in Guernsey he negotiated very hard with the USA head office to get the best possible redundancy payments and benefits for all the Guernsey staff whilst also taking responsibility for the successful winding down of the business. The site subsequently became Specsavers. After Tektronix, Ron joined Ansbacher, working directly for the Chairman as a trouble shooter travelling around various European offices. He also secured roles at Ansbacher with good packages for several of his Tektronics finance team. He retired at 60 after which he enjoyed bowling and family life.

Ron was a quiet and unassuming man who achieved much during his career. His role at Tektronix was pivotal in supporting the Guernsey economy for many years before the finance industry developed. In those days, as he said, Guernsey relied on the three T’s: Tourism, Tomatoes and Tektronix.

He was a great and insightful business manager of purpose, determination and ethics who never ever raised his voice in anger as either a business leader or as a father – just raising his eyebrows along with his signature stare was enough to get his message across.

Ron was the nephew of Jacques Le Provost* (OE 3981). He was married to Ann (nee Jeffries) for 63 years, the father of Jon (OE 6699) and Jane and had four granddaughters. He was also grandfather-in-law on Jon’s side to Roman Brewer-Marchant (OE 10954).
*Not Le Prevost as recorded in the Elizabeth College Register 1911 to 1939.

Jon Bridel (6699)