Third PHS Plaque

The life and work of Victor Yarsley were commemorated on June 18 2003 when Harry Kleeman (pictured left) unveiled a plaque at Dr Yarsley's former home in Holmbury St Mary, Surrey, UK.

Dr Yarsley was an eminent consultant, originally specializing in cellulose acetate but more generally running a consultancy and testing organization known as Yarsley Laboratories set up in 1931 in Chessington.

 This grew and sprouted another laboratory in Ashstead. When that was eventually sold there were some 150 employees in all.

Victor Yarsley was born in 1901 and died in 1994 aged 93. He, with his wife Louise, whom he met while studying in Zurich, shared a beautiful old house with their daughter Rosemary and her husband Dr David Collins who hosted the occasion and provided refreshments for the visitors.

Some two dozen people attended the ceremony, many of them former employees of the Yarsley Testing organisation. Nostalgic photos of the laboratories were pounced on by former colleagues.

Harry Kleeman performed the unveiling of the plaque and, addressing the visitors, mentioned his own experience of Dr Yarsley's advice and help in the 1950s at his company, 0 & M Kleeman Ltd in Welwyn Garden City, where they manufactured cellulose acetate moulding powder.

Dr Yarsley wrote a number of influential books on plastics and also contributed a regular monthly column to the Times Review of Industry. He had been both President of the Plastics Institute and Chairman of the Plastics Industry Education Fund and was honoured with the OBE in 1982.

Victor Yarsley was one of the real pioneers of the plastics industry and well worthy of this recognition.