SSAIB are saddened to hear of the untimely passing of SSAIB-registered Crosby Intruder Alarms owner Roy Williams – after he sadly lost his fight against COVID-19 on Friday April 17.
Roy had been instrumental in the setting up of Crosby Intruder Alarms in 1984, with the project initially running alongside his full-time employment until he decided to grow the business up alongside wife Ann. The pair continued to develop the company – which has enjoyed nearly three decades of third-party certification – until 2009, when son Gareth was brought in tell help them get to where they are today.
A real asset to the security industry, the 63-year-old also taught at North West Training Council for over 20 years – in addition to passing on his knowledge at both Skills for Security and Tavcom Training as well.
SSAIB chief executive Alex Carmichael said: “Everyone at SSAIB is saddened to hear that Roy Williams has passed away, unfortunately taken by the vile coronavirus.
“Roy was a strong advocate of standards and quality within the alarms industry and worked tirelessly with other likeminded SMEs, to ensure that the security alarm standards provided a common playing field for all.
“Roy was passionate about training and the upskilling of the security alarms industry and, through this passion, he trained many engineers over his lifetime. Many of these engineers now hold senior positions within the industry, which is a fantastic legacy for Roy to leave behind.”
SSAIB chairman Geoff Tate added: “Roy was one of the original firms from Merseyside to become approved by AISC and - subsequently - SSAIB, when the two bodies merged. Roy strongly believed in third-party certification for all security alarm firms, to set a level for any firm who wished to work in the security sector.
“Roy believed the security industry and its clients would be best served if installers were certificated, by UKAS-accredited certification bodies, and systems installed to British/European standards by trained and qualified engineers.
“Everyone at SSAIB will miss Roy and his drive to improve the security alarms industry we all work in.”
With Crosby Intruder Alarms being based in Liverpool, both field operations manager David Roscoe and security systems scheme manager Frank Smith audited the company during their stints as North West auditor for SSAIB and the pair – who have audited 11 of the last 12 audits that Crosby have had between them – couldn’t hide how much of a pleasure it was to deal with Roy and his family.
Dave revealed: “I commenced my time in the security industry in 1984, which I believe is the same year that Roy started Crosby Intruder Alarms.
“I joined the SSAIB back in 2008 and one of the first audits I undertook was at Crosby. It’s fair to say that not all companies welcome our audit, but Roy and his family always have and I can honestly say it was a pleasure to go to work whenever I visited Crosby Intruder Alarms.”
Security Systems scheme manager Frank Smith added: “I was so shocked and saddened to hear that Roy had sadly passed away.
“During my time at SSAIB, I have conducted several audits at the company and always looked forward to meeting Roy, who was a well-known and respected figure in the industry. This was especially the case in Liverpool and the surrounding areas, where you’d frequently meet someone who had been one of his students.”
Everyone at SSAIB would like to send our thoughts and condolences to all of Roy's family, friends and his colleagues at Crosby Intruder Alarms.