18.03.2015

Terry Duxbury R.I.P

We have just received the belated news of the death of crane driver and Lifting World website owner Terry Duxbury.

Duxbury, 62, died on the 30th of January after a short illness from an aggressive form of oesophageal cancer. He was diagnosed in November, but chose to keep the bad news to himself and his family. He was cremated at Breakspear Crematorium, Ruislip on the 17th of February, when Lee Lifting, one of his previous employers supplied a mobile crane for his funeral procession, which given his passion for cranes, he would have truly appreciated.
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Terry Duxbury

Duxbury spent more than 30 years as a crawler and mobile crane operator, and over the years worked for a number of companies including: Grayston Crane Hire, Kier Plant, Cox Cranes, Silwood Crane Hire, Westway BP Crane Hire, Baldwins Crane Hire, Marsh Plant and Lee Lifting Services.

Sadly his career ended prematurely when he stepped back into a large hole on a busy construction site in Greenford, west London in 1998. He had asked the groundwork contractors to fill the hole, however the late arrival of steel on the last day of a two week shift upped the pressure to complete the steelwork, so he worked around the pit. When done for the day he was pulling in the outriggers and inspecting under the crane when he stepped backwards in to the hole, badly shattering his leg.

Insisting on going back to work before it was fully healed his foot gradually got worse and five years later he had to have it amputated below the knee, ending his life as a crane operator at the age of 50. Later that year, in 2003, wishing to stay in touch with the crane industry he mastered the technicalities of setting up and running a web site, and launched: www.lifting-world.co.uk. A site specifically for crane operators and crane enthusiasts. It attracted a good number of operators, to chat, exchange comments and ideas and discuss safety issues.

He was also asked to help set up The United Crane Operators Association (UCOA) - a lobby group for crane operators - and became a founding director. His main interests in the association were to help promote crane safety and expose bad practices.

He leaves behind wife Christine and sons David and Lee who is currently trying to get to grips with the website, as the family would like to keep it going as a tribute to his work in his later years.