It is with great sadness that I have to report that Alan C Short has passed away. He was 81.

A longtime stalwart of LBH Control Room, he'd spent much of his service in the one area, firstly as an operator and then, latterly, as an engineer.
However he fondly remembered that time he spent on attachment to the Film Unit at Maida Vale, and his conversing with the two Rays (Riley and White).

He was not a fan of Continuity operations - in fact I don't ever recall him doing a shift in any of the Cons! - much preferring to be involved with the operations carried out in the main body of the area. He was self-taught in electronics, computing and programming - skills he was demonstrably able to apply in the era of computerisation of BH. Only recently, he was telling me that 'one of his little projects' (involving wind direction) had been put into use in the mid-80s - and was still being used!!

With the reorganisation of BH Control Room staff in the late 80s, Alan volunteered to undergo the year's training to become a 'fully qualified' engineer, returning to LCR in 1990 as it was undergoing its' conversion to computer operation. With the remote control of equipment becoming the norm for broadcasting, Alan set about writing several programs to make the control and switching operations less onerous on the staff. Indeed, along with several colleagues, they effectively 'rebuilt' BH C/R a number of times over the following decade!!

So involved with what was going on in Control Room - whether it was known as that or as the EOC! - Alan took the opportunity to continue working there after his 60th birthday, albeit on a part-time basis, which didn't include night shifts(!) both to continue to challenge his brain as well as enhance his pension!!

Alan continued to act as organiser for "The Crumblies Annual Reunion" (held in North London) with the last one being in 2016, 25 years after its inception. He would also meet up with several of the older LCR staff who'd taken redundancy in the cull of 1989.

Sadly, he lost his beloved Lynn to cancer of the brain in the summer of 2021, distraught when she'd failed to recognise him when he would visit her.

He continued to live alone in the house they had shared in Enfield, feeling even more cut off when he became unable to drive, when it became evident that he was suffering from a form of dementia.

He passed away on Saturday, 26th August, 2023. Rest in Peace, my dear friend.