Victor Lees

I was so sorry to hear the news about Vic. When I first joined the company and worked on the Aircraft Carrier programme Vic was a fellow ‘commuter’ on the weekly flights from/to Glasgow and Filton before he moved to the Bristol area. Vic was always ready and willing to answer any project questions I had and help on IT related issues – he could not do enough. An absolute gem of a guy who will be missed – my sympathies go out to Vic’s family and friends.

Vic worked for me for a few years and and I remember Vic as the 'go to person' to ask if i had a question on a low level technical issue and how he was always keen to help however he could. He had a dry sense of humour and always contributed to the team ethic and spirit and was highly valued. He will be greatly missed both by myself and by BAE Systems. I am very sorry for your loss and will remember you and Vic in my prayers.

I first met Victor when I was working for a company called Ascent Logic in 1996, and he was one of the people who used the systems engineering tool that we sold. He had built a very impressive executable model, and he provided valuable contributions to the user group support sessions that we ran. After I left Ascent Logic in 1999 I lost touch with Victor – but our paths crossed again when he joined the Aircraft Carrier Alliance team in 2004. I had the privilege of working closely with Victor from then until I left the project in 2013. Victor was an excellent engineer, in many dimensions. His major tasks within the team were to configure the set of tools that we used to hold the engineering data for the Aircraft Carrier Mission System (DOORS, System Architect and several specialist tools), to maintain alignment of data mastered in one tool and copied and used in another, and to develop reporting tools to extract and analyse the data. Related to this, and in many ways providing the foundation for the engineering repository, he maintained the ‘Presentational Data Schema’ – a kind of London Underground map of the data elements and the relationships between them. Like Harry Beck’s iconic map of the London Underground, in Victor’s hands the Presentational Data Schema was a thing of beauty. It conveyed very complex relationships in a clean and elegant way, cunningly laid out with the minimum of clutter and crossing lines. As was inevitable, the Presentational Data Schema grew during the 9 years we worked together – and I remember the trepidation that I had every time I had to contact Victor to let him know of a proposed change (usually an addition) to his neat representation. His initial response was always the same: ‘Honey and fire ants’. As in – he would stake me out on an anthill and cover me with honey, and leave me to the fire ants for DARING to disrupt his perfect picture. Needless to say, on every occasion he would accommodate the change (addition) without destroying the aesthetic appeal of the Presentational Data Schema. As an aside on the question of ‘Vic’ versus ‘Victor’: he made it very clear to those who paid attention that he was happy to be called ‘Vic’ in face-to-face discussions or on the phone. But for any written communication he insisted on ‘Victor’. Just a little quirk of his. I liked and admired Victor hugely, and I am heartbroken that he is no longer with us. With best wishes, Paul Hicks

I suspect that all who are reading this know that Vic had a sharp sense of humour, a dry wit and a keen mind. That he was always ready to help and possessed a great store of technical knowledge that he was willing to share freely, even if, like me, you asked some dumb questions. My condolences to Victor's family and to his other friends. I consider myself lucky to have met Victor.

My sincerest Condolences to Victors family. I had many conversations with Victor during the last few years. He was always willing to help and offer his expertise and he had a wicked sense of humour too. He will be missed at BAE Systems he was a very clever Chap!

My sincerest condolences to Vic’s family & friends. Vic was a lovely person who has gone far too soon, take comfort that he is always in your hearts. Rest in Peace Vic x

My most sincere condolences to Victors family and close friends at this difficult time. He will be sadly missed by those of us who had the pleasure of working with him.

My sincere condolences to Victor's family. Victor will be greatly missed at BAE Systems, a true gent and so talented.