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Trevor Hodgkin was born in Birmingham, England, in 1930 but lived most of his early childhood on the island of Jersey in the Channel Islands. His father, Thomas, worked in the design department of Morris Oxford in England as a skilled panel beater before moving to Jersey and establishing a panel beating and radiator repair company.

In 1939 the Second World War broke out. Jersey was occupied by the Germans and many locals evacuated the island. Trevor’s family decided to remain. Times were hard but the Germans acted fairly towards the islanders.

Trevor’s education was compromised, however. Many of the teachers at his school had evacuated and some of the teaching was done by more senior students at the school. He left school at fourteen years old with the only certificate he achieved, and that was for swimming 25 yards unassisted.

Trevor realised that he had serious deficiencies in his education and sought to resolve this in attending evening classes at a local technical college. Reading technical journals became the norm for him. He had a passion for knowledge and never stopped reading and keeping abreast with economic news especially that which related to metals.

In 1954 Trevor decided to migrate to Zimbabwe and in 1956, with the skills that he gained from working with his father, he established a panel beating and radiator repair business in the back yard of his home with Philemon Mzizi, his first employee.

He soon realised that working from home was not an option and moved to a small workshop on Herbert Chitepo Street, near the Railway Station in Bulawayo. That was the beginning of Radiator and Tinning.

Radiator and Tinning became Trevor’s passion. He was able to channel his enormous energy and zeal to build a business. The company grew, the team got bigger and soon the company was producing a vast array of products spearheading import substitution and getting to the point where the company was exporting products into Africa and beyond.

His hands-on approach had him climbing over and under machines getting things done alongside his colleagues. He knew his staff personally which made the eventual demise of Radiator and Tinning especially difficult. He felt deeply that his staff were adversely affected by the liquidation of the company.

Trevor was a member of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), ZimTrade and the Matabeleland Chamber of Industries. He passionately sought to put forward the welfare of Zimbabwean Industries, especially those based in Bulawayo.

Trevor became known for his passion and zeal, his enormous energy and sharp mind. He was a character to remember. His Christian faith was a strong influence in his life and remained with him until his death.
Trevor is survived by his daughter and two sons and their families mostly living overseas.