Malcolm Croft: One of our most inspiring employees

Malcolm Croft is 86 years old and is still working hard at our Structural Soils lab in Hemel Hempstead, UK! We heard about Malcolm from Nigel Austin , Director at RSK Geosciences , and Sharon Cairns, Laboratory Manager at Structural Soils, and caught up with the man himself to learn about his life inside and outside of RSK.

?“Malcolm is the rock in the Hemel Hempstead soils lab!” Nigel commented. “I like to start early, but Malcolm has always been at his workbench before sunrise and knows exactly what he has to do and does it quietly and well. The work is a specific type of test that needs a consistent approach day in, day out.?He has a cheeky smile and obviously lives life to the full outside of work. Malcolm is a true gentleman and someone I hope will be RSK’s first centenarian employee!”

Sharon writes, “I remember the first time I met Malcolm when STATS was due to join Structural Soils and RSK in 2007 like it was yesterday; that was when he was a mere 71 years old. Malcolm, with his cheeky demeanour, quickly became a cherished member of the lab family. We often get to hear fascinating stories from his time before Structural Soils and about his children and grandchildren; Malcolm is so very proud of his lovely family. Long story short, he is ‘our Malc’ and we love him dearly.”

?Read about his inspirational life here:

Tell us about your background

My name is Malcolm Croft and I’m 86 years old. I am the proud father of five children: Andrew, Dominic, Mark, Henry and Mary.

?I was born three years before the second world war started. My mother died during the war, while my father was fighting in France; he survived the conflict.

?After leaving school, I served an apprenticeship in the printing industry. In 1954, I did two years of National Service in the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery and six months at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Upon completing my service, I went to work at Times Newspapers Ltd, which was then owned by Lord Thomson of Fleet.

?In 1982, Rupert Murdoch made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, and then I retired. After that, I took an entirely new job at a lab in Elstree, where I worked for 13 years classifying soil. I started work at STATS in 1995, when offered a job by Sarah Smart, doing Atterberg limit testing. STATS was then acquired by RSK in 2007, and I began work in the Hemel Hempstead Structural Soils lab, which brings my orbit up to date.

?I get satisfaction from the work that I do in the lab, and I like working with my colleagues, or rather my friends. It also breaks up my loneliness, which I have had since my wife died seven years ago.

?

What do you do outside of work?

I played local football for 14 years. As an athlete, I have achieved 27 full marathons and many half marathons, my last race being in 2002.

?In 2010, I had both my knees replaced. I started running again three years ago, and each Saturday morning at 9am I compete in a park run. My progress can be followed?here. I now find myself very high up in the Great Britain rankings for my age group. I also have a silver pin for blood donation.

?

What have been some of your best memories over the years?

While working at Times Newspapers Ltd, in my official capacity, I had the pleasure of speaking to many notable people, such as the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret, Lord Snowden, Robert Maxwell, Rupert Murdoch, Dame Esther Rantzen, Sir Harold Evans and Marmaduke Hussey.

During my National Service at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, I met Field Marshall Bernard Law Montgomery, Brigadier Sir John Hunt and Sherpa Tenzing.