My father, Peter Lewis, who has died aged 76 of cancer, was a forensic engineer, Open University lecturer, expert witness and author. His investigations into product failures contributed to safer designs for a number of household items, manufacturing products and medical devices.
He was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, son of Rhys Lewis, a former coal miner who became a college history lecturer, and his wife, Louise (nee Jorgensen), who was a secretary for a publisher. After completing his schooling at the Forest grammar school in Winnersh, Berkshire, Peter went to the University of Manchester in 1963 to study chemistry, and stayed there to complete his PhD.
