Howard Layton, Engineer

As a boy, I was always interested in electrical toys, and by the time I was fourteen I was able to totally re-wire the electrical panel and fuse box in our home. Even in my school days I had learned how to make one-valve (vacuum tube) radio receivers, by winding my own tuning coils and mounting the components on a plywood base. Since I was able to trade these home-made radios for Erector sets, I eventually owned the largest Erector outfit of anyone in my school.

When, at age 14 1/2, the need to help out with expenses at home made it necessary for me to get a job, I started work at the General Electric Company near our home. At that company, I applied for part-time schooling at the Coventry Technical College and studied there for three years. Thereafter, I continued my training at the GEC factory itself, and later at the Royal Air Force College in Cranwell. Still later, as a member of the Institute of Electrical Engineers, I won the coveted title of Chartered Electrical Engineer, eventually becoming Vice Chairman of the New England Chapter of that organization.

Needless to say, in later years, that long and varied background served me well in the development of my high-tech manufacturing company.