Noel Desmond Gray

Noel Desmond Gray (26 December 1920 – November 1999) was a senior design engineer at the Philips subsidiary Kriesler and medical student at the University of Sydney after War service in the Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. He formed the desire to start the Medical Device Industry at Med School and co-founded Telectronics Pty Ltd.

Early life Noel Gray was born to Hilda Alice Gray on Boxing Day 1920 in Crookwell, New South Wales, Australia. Separated from his father Jo Gray, Hilda took him to grow up with her father at Middle View near Dalgety on the Snowy River. His grandfather brought him up. George Hedger was son of a man that newspaper reports said was the original inspiration for the Banjo Paterson poem "The Man from Snowy River".

Noel and Hilda moved to Sydney and he attended a number of technical schools and at the Sydney Technical School passed the Intermediate Certificate. He then went to work in the radio industry culminating in a position at Kriesler as a technician before the War.

World War II Gray enlisted in the army in August 1942. During World War II he was trained at the Army School of Radio Physics, whereupon he became a radar technician and Senior Radar Artificer. He also attended No. 6 OCTU.

Gray returned to LHQ where he was placed in charge of the Drawing Office and maintenance section. He helped to install the radar defenses on Rottnest Island for Western Australia and was the Senior Radar Artificer at Exmouth Gulf. He worked on the first US-designed radar unit in Australia, which was subsequently used to direct bombers during the Battle of the Coral Sea. and was a founder of ESA (later called TESA). The corporate name was derived from "Television and Electronic Services", operated by Noel Gray as a sole trader from 1959 to 1964. In turn Nucleus Limited was acquired by Pacific Dunlop in 1988. Legal action over the sale of faulty "J Lead" electrodes, inherited by Telectronics in acquisition of pacemaker manufacturer Cordis corporation of Miami led to the company having to settle extensive worldwide compensation claims. This led to the sale of Telectronics assets to, eventually, St. Jude Medical of Minneapolis and Pacific Dunlop restructuring itself into Ansell.

Death Noel Desmond Gray died in November 1999. He was survived by his wife Beth, daughter Robyn, and son Christopher.