Leon Crouch: Self-made industrialist gave to worthy causes and stayed true to local roots
AS a child Leon Crouch walked from his council house to school wearing vest and shorts since his parents were so poor they could not afford the uniform and he had to ask for free meals in class.
It was that early exposure to poverty which formed in Leon a determined approach to life and a tenacious desire to provide for his family. Both were key traits that spurred him on to become a multi-millionaire and one of the New Forest’s most successful industrialists.
Not only did it give him deep local roots but it also fostered a highly generous spirit and over the years Leon donated millions of pounds and swathes of his time to worthy causes, such as Oakhaven Hospice and Lymington hospital’s League of Friends.
Leon, who died last Friday aged 70 after a short battle with cancer, exemplified the rags-to-riches narrative and always stood by a cherished motto in business as well as life: “Start right to finish right.”
Born in Lymington in 1949, Leon was the youngest of six children to Thomas and Dorothy Crouch. His brothers were Dennis, Vic and Fred, and his twin sisters Maggie and Maureen.
They initially lived at Ada cottage before moving to a council house at the Flushards Estate. The family was very poor but his mother was known for being kind-hearted and willing to help anyone, traits Leon inherited.
As a young man Leon was heavily into sport: he was a cox at Lymington Rowing Club, played football, was a keen skier and sailor, and an active member of the Lymington Water Polo team.
He also loved boxing at the Lawrence Boys Club in the town, becoming firm friends with the couple who ran it. Small but tough, he was known under his fighting moniker of “the Whirlwind”.
At school Leon was not an easy child to deal with. He attended Lymington infant and junior schools before going to Priestlands where he could often be spotted outside the headmaster’s office waiting for a telling-off.
He had a strong will, knew his own mind and was protective of things he loved. That was evident during an early trip with the Scouts to Portsmouth FC’s Fratton Park home to watch a derby against his beloved Southampton.
Just before kick-off, a defiant Leon ran onto the pitch with a Southampton FC rosette and planted it on the centre spot, before making it back to his seat to watch the game.
Another aspect of his character already apparent was his entrepreneurial flair – he earned pocket money selling seagull eggs to the famous English author Dennis Wheatley.
Leon left school at the age of just 14 with no formal qualifications, although he was a good sketcher with an interest in art.
His brother Vic was friendly with Charlie Fuller, the owner at engineering firm SJ Fuller Lymington Ltd, and persuaded Leon to start there as a fabrication apprentice.
Leon’s father died while he was in his teens, and he held a dream he would earn enough money to buy his mother a home to help look after her as she entered old age.
Some years later she suffered a stroke and although he did his best he could not achieve the dream before she died. Leon did buy her a brown leather handbag – the only one she would ever own – and after her death it was his most treasured possession.
The bag took pride of place in his home and its worth to him was exemplified by his family’s decision that it be with him in his coffin at his funeral.
It was also while he was in his teens that Leon – who was a strong swimmer – was a regular at the town’s swimming club and became close to its chairman, Vince Keeping, and his wife, Bette.
Vince, who was in the Royal Navy, asked Leon and his friend Gordie Buckle to keep a watch over Bette while he was away on duty and Leon subsequently moved in to live with them.
When he came to leave, he bought the Keepings a greenhouse and a chair as a thank-you, and Leon regarded Bette as his second mum.
In his first few years working for Fuller’s, Leon worked long hours and would sleep in his car close to the scrapyard where he was sometimes stirred by unwanted visitors. He did so until he woke one morning to find a rat by his head, and decided to buy his first house at Boldre Lane Cottage.
When Leon was aged just 22, Charlie Fuller died and he was asked by Charlie’s widow, Freda, to help her run the business. He later bought the firm outright and soon it expanded rapidly.
Over the next decade, Leon’s can-do attitude and his creative flair for solving problems launched him on a meteoric rise, helped by purchasing the Gordleton gravel pit in Sway and small engineering firm Lymington Precision Engineers (LPE), after it had been liquidated with 12 employees.
He went on to found the Fullers Group in 1978 – a parent company that comprised LPE, Gordleton Industrial Park Ltd and S. J. Fullers Lymington Ltd.
The firms specialised in the manufacture, inspection and supply of precision engineered products.
Subsequently Leon founded Sea Talk Systems Ltd, which is still going today, and LPE Medical as well as partnering up with longtime friend Thomas Mocroft to found Midlands firm Accurate Section Benders, which is still going today and employs 36 people.
Today Gordleton is an established business park that hosts many firms. Leon built LPE to such an extent that when he sold it for millions in a management buyout, it had 150 workers, an £80m annual turnover and had just completed a £9.3m capital investment programme.
In July 2013 LPE made it into the Sunday Times’ list of the 200 UK companies with the fastest-growing international sales. It has since been sold again and is now a senior PLC company that operates within the Flexonis Division, employing more than 7,500 people and with a £820m turnover.
Longtime friend Joseph Grimshaw said Leon’s business acumen was underpinned by his tenacity, creative flair and direct problem-solving ability.
“I always saw him as a sort of Alan Sugar and I was not surprised when he told me they threw the mould away after he was born,” he added.
“His abilities ranged across the complete spectrum of business with tremendous emphasis on ‘starting right to finish right’. Everything he touched was immaculate from housekeeping to the introduction of a new computer, management, environmental or quality control system. He had the innate ability to identify new business opportunities.”
In all of his dealings, business and personal, Leon was assisted by his best friend and right hand man Martin Saunders, the pair having met at school and struck up a very close bond.
Away from the boardroom Leon was passionate about the New Forest and Lymington especially, and he freely gave his spare time to community causes.
He was close friends with the town’s former county councillor, Adrian Evans, and the pair were leading lights in spearheading the drive for funding to establish Lymington’s recreation centre.
Leon was also on the committee which stopped the closure of the New Forest community hospitals. He was an active and prolific campaigner for the establishment of Lymington New Forest Hospital as well as the chairman of its League of Friends, the hospital itself and a patron of Oakhaven Hospice.
He donated huge amounts of money to the hospital and Oakhaven – which was very close to his heart. Every year he held an annual golf day at Barton Golf Club with the proceeds going to the hospice, and he also donated it a minibus.
In sport he was a former chairman of Lymington Town Football Club and provided financial assistance to it and Bashley FC, and also bought a boat for Lymington Town Rowing Club.
Leon was appointed as an independent member of Lymington Town Council in 1979, serving for 12 years – during which he acted as chairman for the recreation action committee.
Always a passionate Southampton Football Club fan, he effectively saved the club with his generosity when it was in financial trouble. His involvement led to him being appointed its chairman twice, in 2008 and 2009.
Leon also paid out of his own pocket for a revamp of the statue of club legend Ted Bates which stands outside St Mary’s stadium in a gesture that was hailed by fans.
He also helped out friends and employees, and even total strangers whose plight he had been moved by – on the provision it was kept private.
One such occasion saw Leon donate £30,000 to Hythe mum Vikki Mills after spotting in the A&T an article stating she had launched a crowdfunding campaign to help her son James walk unaided.
He was born with cerebral palsy and needed an operation not available on the NHS, which he was able to have, and James now walks unaided the majority of the time.
Leon’s life was not without its scrapes. In the 1970s he somehow survived after crashing his sports car and suffering serious injuries.
He once ran the London Marathon and his favourite holiday destinations included Barbados, Tenerife and Dubai. Leon, who always referred to himself as “A Lymingtonian born and bred”, also enjoyed walking his dog, Nugget, around Lymington sea wall.
Leon married once, to Jill Simons, and they had two daughters, Hannah and Lara. He had a daughter, Louise, by ex-partner Pauline Currie. Leon also leaves behind sisters Maureen and Maggie, five grandchildren and partner Barbara Jadrych, and her daughter Alexandra.
“He was a vibrant person with a caring nature and generous heart. We shared many wonderful times together, never to be forgotten. I will miss him for the rest of my life,” Barbara said.
Hannah said she would remember his “drive and determination”, his clarity about what was right and wrong, and how to behave.
“He was very, very clear: he did not want people to be sad, he wanted his life to be celebrated,” she said. “He had a desire to help people, his generosity knew absolutely no bounds.”
Lara said: “I am incredibly proud of our dad, he was such a huge character and did so much for so many. We will always miss him.”
Louise said: “My dad was a truly exceptional man whose kindness and generosity touched the lives of many. I will miss him dearly and am so incredibly proud of him and his achievements.”
After a private family funeral there will be a public thanksgiving service at St Thomas Church in Lymington at 2.30pm on Wednesday 25th September.
Leon left one specific instruction – that attendees do not wear black, but instead colourful attire and Southampton fans are welcome to wear their home shirts. His family have requested no flowers but asked for donations to Oakhaven Hospice or Lymington Hospital League of Friends.
Lymington League of Friends
“His impact was immediate through the significant time, energy and money he invested into the league through raising the profile of our appeal to support the new scanners with new visuals, signage, logos etc, investment in the volunteers with new uniforms and also improvements to our cafe and shop facilities.
“He will be sadly missed by the volunteers, staff and trustees of the LoF but the impact of his actions will still be felt and he has left it well placed to move forward with its fundraising and aims.”
Oakhaven Hospice
Head of fundraising Amanda Clapham said the hospice was “incredibly grateful” to Leon, adding he had “given generously” to it for over 25 years and competed annually at the Fullers Cup event – which Leon organised – with the proceeds going to Oakhaven.
“He was a quietly generous man who was a well-known figure in the area, who gave back so much to the community in which he lived,” she added.
“We cannot pay tribute to him enough for his loyalty, kindness and generosity. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this sad time.”
Southampton Football Club
“Everyone at Southampton Football Club would like to pay tribute to Leon for the commitment and passion he brought to the club throughout the years, and our thoughts go out to all of his loved ones at this time,” the club said in a statement.
