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OBITUARY
Mr John Edwards

John Edwards peacefully passed away at the age of 94, with his wife Madeleine at his side.  John was much loved by his son Simon, stepchildren Jonathan, Elaine and Simon, Jonathan’s wife, Sue, and Elaine’s, husband Steve.  Along with six grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild, he will be sorely missed by all the family.

A dedicated supporter of BICSc, John was instrumental in working with the City & Guilds of London Institute writing the initial course curriculum, then writing and marking the exams for the first cleaning science qualifications, leading on to become their Chief Examiner. A long-term friend and colleague, Terry Brooks, commented that John Edwards was a fervent supporter of the British Institute of Cleaning Science. Terry was chairman of the North West Region for many years and John was the secretary of the branch working with Terry. John was one of the early members of the Institute and he was one of only two life Vice Presidents (the other being Colin Hasson).


John was Technical Director of Russell Kirby Ltd., based in Kirkby (now part of Liverpool); various subsequent take overs and mergers over the years meant John ended his career and retired from Unilever in 1993.

In 1968 John established The Cresta Publishing Company along with fellow and past chairman of BICSc, Harold Russell.  John was author of a number of books that were used by and sold by BICSc for many years.  At the age of 80 he ‘retired’ from Cresta, passing on the business to son Simon, Cresta finally closing its doors in 2016.

His quick wit and humour will be remembered by many.

Membership | Training | Standards

BICSc is the largest independent, professional, and educational body within the cleaning industry providing training and education, setting standards and procedures for cleaning. BICSc membership now stands at over 50,000 individual and corporate members in the UK and Internationally.

We are a membership organisation that strives to bring recognition of the vital role cleaning operatives play in everyone’s day-to-day life.

Whether you’re shopping, travelling, working, holidaying or recuperating, every one of these scenarios has cleaning staff striving to ensure that the environment is not only clean but also safe.

Founded over 60 years ago, BICSc key objective is to promote the value and professionalism of the cleaning industry, providing training in the key skills required to enhance a cleaning operative’s core role whilst keeping them safe and encouraging them to work in a more effective and efficient manner.

With a range of both practical and theoretical qualifications available, BICSc has something to help further the career of every cleaning professional from entry level, through to supervisor level, and up to an employer with your own business tendering for cleaning contracts.

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