Toast to the Immediate Past Master, Christopher Sneath
By Assistant Robert Burgon
Master, Upper Warden, Members of the Court, fellow Liverymen and of course our Immediate Past Master,
I first met our new Immediate Past Master over 20 years ago when he served the first of two terms as President of the Heating and Ventilating Contractors’ Association- the HVCA. Since that time, and more especially in recent years, we have worked together on a wide range of issues and I have never ceased to be amazed by his energy, drive and unrivalled passion for professionalism and excellence in our industry.
For several years before he became actively involved in the Plumbers’ Company, I worked with the IPM on the Plumbing and Heating Industry Alliance of which he became Chairman. I even seem to recall suggesting his name as a possible candidate for that role as I knew that he had rare skills which were appropriate for that function. The Alliance aimed to create a single voice for our industry from the many disparate representative bodies which work on behalf of different sections of the industry. Sadly, the mission of the PHIA was not achieved and the Alliance no longer exists but I know that the IPM’s desire to see more of a joined up approach between our industry bodies is as strong as ever. He never misses an opportunity to bring people closer together for the sake of the industry.
For those of you who take a keen interest in the affairs of your Livery Company, it is no doubt hard to remember that our new IPM only served as Master for a period of 12 months. The last year must rank as one of the busiest and most successful in the Company’s long and distinguished history. We have celebrated the 400th anniversary of the granting of our Royal Charter in style with events including a Reception in the House of Lords, a church service at which the Bishop of London preached and of course, the wonderful achievement of the unveiling of the Plumber’s Apprentice statue in Cannon Street Railway Station just a few weeks ago. As if this was not enough, our IPMhad the brainchild of creating a special industry conference prior to the Annual Lecture. Agreement was reached at that event that the industry bodies would continue to meet at least twice a year and it is good to see this commitment being honoured. In whatever spare time he may have had, the IPM chaired meetings which have led to the creation of a WaterSafe Installers’ Scheme which has the potential of doing for water safety what a body called CORGI once did to raise standards in gas safety. He has also continued to campaign on behalf of the many people who have been duped into paying for inappropriate training courses which do not lead to industry-recognised qualifications. If all of that sounds like someone who has been busy, we must, of course, not forget that the IPM also conducted his full quota of “normal” Company commitments which can be as many as 300 during the year.
Those of you who do not know our IPM well might think that I am mixing him up with some form of Plumbing Superman but I can honestly say that it is hard to do justice to the energy which our IPM has shown to every task and challenge. As I was preparing for the evening, one word kept coming to mind as a way of describing our IPM. It is a word which has been used as thename of a first world war battlecruiser and was often used by the late Leonard Sachs in his somewhat verbose introductions at the City Varieties in Leeds which were televised in my youth as “The Good Old Days”. Younger members of the Livery will have no idea where this is going, but some of you who are of my vintage or older might have realised that the word I have in mind is “in-de-fat-ig-able”. One dictionary says that this is a word used to describe someone who is “always determined and energetic in attempting to achieve something and never willing to admit defeat.” What a good word for our IPM! Above all, our IPM is a thoroughly nice person and has been a superb ambassador for the Plumbers’ Company.
You may have noted that I have not yet mentioned the IPM by name. Having worked with him over a period of two decades, I have struggled during the last year to accord him the respect and title which his role within the Plumbers’ Company deserves. Indeed, Master, on at least one occasion you had to have a quiet word with this relatively new Court Assistant reminding him not to address the Master by his first name. I regret that I failed to use the proper form of address on many occasions. This was not out of any lack of respect but was simply due to the fact that when you have known someone as a close business colleague and friend for so long, it is quite difficult to remember to call them by other than their name. Chris, I apologise for my lack of courtesy when I forgot to call you “Master” and I hope that you understand.
Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me enormous pleasure to invite you to stand and join me in a Toast to a truly remarkable man in appreciation of all that he has done on behalf of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers. The Toast is: Our IPM Chris Sneath