An intrepid explorer and beloved family man who once witnessed the UK’s atom bomb tests has passed away.

Barry Clifford Harrison died in Gloucestershire Royal Hospital on January 12 at the age of 80 after he suffered a stroke.

Born in Emsworth, Hampshire on May 1, 1938, he was the eldest of three brothers.

Over the course of his illustrious life Barry travelled far and wide but said that he always saw Stroud as a miniature version of the wider world.

Barry underwent the first of his adventures in 1948, when his family moved to Kumasi in Ghana.

The brothers spent much of their youth exploring West Africa and taking in the natural world.

As a fearless ten-year-old he was said to have skinned a green mamba, so it was little bother for him to fly 4200 miles alone in 1949 to take the eleven plus.

Always a bright child, Barry was educated at Cardigan Grammar School once he returned from Africa.

He then went on to work for the Met Office in Gloucester.

It was during this period that he was posted to Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean for the UK’s atom bomb tests.

Following his employment with the Met Office, he went to work at engineering company Dowty Propellers this was where Barry learnt his trade as a highly rated engineer.

After this he joined Lionel Hook and Sons, a small but enterprising engineering company.

Ultimately, the company gave way to Process Dipping Equipment and Diptech, companies in which he was a founding director.

The companies made various medical devices and balloons, so Barry travelled far and wide to sell, install and maintain the machines that made these goods.

Many of these complex but robust machines still operate profitably across the world today, in the Sahara, Turkey and China.

A monument to his technical skill and dedication in training the local workforce.

All the while, Barry retained his treasured family base in Stroud - a town that he loved for its balance of business, innovation and nature.

In his later life he explored Stroud’s rich industrial, social and scientific history.

Barry’s legacy is one of lasting innovation, he was a man with a seemingly endless curiosity, enthusiasm and the ability to fix anything.