User:Bingo from Sholing

Profile Dr John Graham Williams

Dr John Graham Williams was born in Sholing, Southampton in 1952. He was the son of a boilermaker who worked in Thornycroft Shipbuilders in Woolston. His mother had been a crane driver at the same shipyard during WW II. He has one sister, Marion

John Graham Williams went to Woolston Secondary School as a Grammar Course pupil, having failed to gain entry to the town’s grammar schools at the 11 Plus stage of his education. He became Head Boy at School and broke the town’s record for achieving the greatest number of “O” Level passes.

At 19, after A levels, he attended the University of Dundee to study Chemistry. He was awarded a BSc in 1975. He went on obtain a doctorate by research at the University of Exeter within Professor Eddie Bishop’s research team. John Williams’ project investigated the production of lachrymators (tear stimulating chemicals) that were given off from the plastics that were used in modern airliners. It had been noticed that when certain plastics overheated they generated chemicals that made it difficult for the flight crews to see their instruments. The project took 4 years to complete and was sponsored by the Ministry of Defence at Farnborough. A device for detecting the overheating of plastics was patented as a result of the research.

After leaving the University of Exeter, John Graham Williams joined the Laboratory of the Government Chemist (LGC) at Waterloo, London. LGC was one of the Department of Trade and Industry’s research establishments. He worked on laboratory automation within Dr Peter Stockwell’s team. John invented a novel device for separating immiscible fluids, and worked on fluid injection analysers.

He was one of a handful of government researchers who were seconded to assist with the formulation of government policy. John joined the Civil Aviation policy division in 1982 and worked under Mr Daniel Instone and Mr Roger Clarke on the privatisation of British Airways. He then joined that CTP division working under Mr Ben Chapman and Mr Maurice Hunt formulating policy on the chemical, plastics, rubber and diamond industries, and international trade.

John returned to the Laboratory of the Government Chemist researching into dental materials and novel uses of polyacrylates, under Dr Alan Wilson, and Dr Colin Hicks. During that time he was heavily involved in assisting with securing further funding from Government’s Requirements Boards for research into biotechnology, dental materials and robotics.

John Graham Williams joined the Mars organisation in 1983 at pedigree Petfoods, Market Harborough, as the Analytical Studies Manager where he managed the company’s main analytical laboratory. He developed a robotic piece of laboratory equipment for preparing samples for routine analysis. He later became the company’s new product development manager. He was responsible for developing massive global pet food brands: Sheba, Whiskas Special Crunch, Cesar, and Whiskas Cat Milk, which remain prominent today In 1990 John set up his own consultancy The Consultancy for New Products. This consultancy sets out to stimulate innovation and product development in Industry. He developed major clients in several industrial sectors including food, plastics, engineering, animal feeds, fragrances, and coatings

In 1995 he became Chief Executive Officer at J Mackle (Moy) Ltd. This was a pet food company that was situated close to the border between Northern Ireland and The Irish Republic, that had staff from both sides of the religious and national divide. He successfully led the development of the brands and the technical performance of the products.

In 1996 John Graham Williams launched a pet food ingredients company with the aims of developing new and ethical materials for the pet food industry. The company trades globally and has produced many important ingredients, as well as having assisted other pet food companies to extend their range of products.

In 2010 Dr John Graham Williams decided to stand for election to the Westminster Parliament as the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) candidate for South Leicestershire.

John Graham Williams is married to a general practitioner, Barbara, and has two children. Adam Williams his son is an accountant in a merchant bank, and Emma Williams is a barrister in Guernsey. John likes to spend his spare time off-shore sailing. He is an official prison visitor and likes to support Southampton Football Club.