To many of you visiting this website, mostly former friends and supporters of The Swift Gallery, Andrew was all things F1 and motorsport. And it is true one couldn’t find anyone (non-professional) more knowledgeable, more passionate and enthusiastic about F1 and motorsport, I believe, than Andrew. The Swift Gallery was a testimony to this, and it is this that we celebrate, showcase and remember here. Yet motorsport and F1 really was just one side of Andrew, just one aspect of his life and of the l man that he was and the man I loved. 

Andrew was a man of great intellect, a thoughtful man, with an in-depth knowledge of and a deep and equal passion for so many things. His ‘in-the-midst of’ reading at the time of his untimely death reflects this: McMillan’s The War that ended Peace, Le Carre’s Call for the Dead, Belton’s Putin’s Politics, Tolstoy’s War and Peace... Then there was his music, an ever-present soundtrack to his life, our lives, Bach, Verdi, Coltrane, Davis, Bob Dylan... And who but Andrew, learning Italian, would choose to read and study Dante’s Divine Comedy, cover to cover, and in the Italian?

 

As I list these things, I know I can never capture here the man that was Andrew. His immense creativity: his beautiful writing (and you will find evidence of his gallery writings on the website), his landscaping, and the beautiful Japanese garden he created for us here at our home in Congleton. And how do I convey his intelligence, his meticulousness and the attention to detail in everything he did?

And where and how do I speak of his, our shared, deep love of Italy and all things Italian, la bella Italia, our home from home?

Yet all of this is the Andrew who created the Swift Gallery and gave it its life. And there is no doubt in my mind that Andrew, all aspects of him, was and is evident in every aspect of the gallery and its carefully selected and curated collection.

 

And finally, what I must say before I continue, is that Andrew was the most human and the kindest of men (and the sharpest, wittiest, and most laugh out loud funny) -with only a tiny grumpy streak-a people person and the best. And reader, I should know, I married him.

 

Early Life and Education

Andrew, the eldest of three children, was born in Stoke-on-Trent on the 7th of October 1957, to parents Jim and Irene Swift. He was first educated at St. Theresa’s Primary, Stoke-on-Trent, and St. Bede’s Preparatory school, Stafford, where he became Head boy (his leadership skills evident from a young age!) His Secondary school years were spent among monks and scholars at Downside School, Somerset. As an undergraduate he studied History and Law at the University of Keele (1977-1981) followed by postgraduate studies in International Law at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University in Bologna, Italy, (1981-82). Here he excelled in his studies, quietly and modestly coming top in his year; he developed his Italian and enjoyed the best of Italy. Maranello, the home of Ferrari, was, of course, also just next door! On the less good side it was also during this time that Andrew developed an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) a lifelong medical condition, diagnosed on his return to England. 

 

Professional and Business Life

After a short time out, Andrew returned to the University of Keele, first as a PhD student researching ‘the Law of the Sea’ and later, simultaneously, he continued as a lecturer in International Law. As much as he embraced the research and teaching, Andrew became somewhat disillusioned with some of the internal politics of the world that is academia, and soon, in addition to working part-time on his PhD and teaching International Law to Masters’ students, Andrew started his own garden and landscape business, SwiftScape, (one man, one dog, and one bright yellow van) specialising in Japanese styled gardens. The business drew upon Andrew’s natural creativity, his good design eye and his latent love of things Japanese, the art, the architecture and the spiritual.  Swiftscape, without a doubt, also satisfied Andrew’s need to be his own person and in charge of his own destiny. Paradoxically, it was whilst he was juggling the worlds of academia and landscape gardening and contemplating his future that fate decidedly interrupted. 

In 1991, his father, Jim Swift, a well-known and much respected member of the Stoke-on-Trent business community, founder of Swift Electrical Wholesalers, suffered a debilitating stroke. Andrew, ever the loyal and responsible son stepped up and agreed to stand in for his dad, to oversee the family business, for just three weeks. The three weeks became just shy of thirty years, with Andrew becoming owner, director and CEO of Swift Electrical. 

 

The period was often a challenging one, with some business struggles, including the global economic crisis of 2008. However, Andrew’s intelligence, interest in and knowledge of the macro world of finance, industry and economy, coupled with his interest in people and ability to work with, relate to and connect with people both within his own company and across the ‘white goods’ industry at every level, meant he made it work, and he made it work for him.

 

For much of his tenure, he managed to continuously employ around 70 people, and in 2019, after almost thirty years, Andrew was able to sell a very successful and profitable Swift Electrical. Furthermore, I do not know of one ‘employee’ who would describe Andrew other than the ‘best of bosses’. He was more than a boss and often formed genuine and longstanding friendships with many of those whom he employed. Andrew was a natural leader, and he reaped the benefits of his compassionate, intelligent and caring approach to management, with unparalleled loyalty and mutual respect. This was particularly serendipitous and evident when he launched the Swift Gallery in 2012. There were always ready and willing Swift Electrical employees on hand to support and contribute to Andrew’s new venture and he would be the first to say that without those colleagues the success, and, I am sure, much of the fun of The Swift Gallery would not have been possible.

 

F1, Motorsport, Ferrari & How it all began

We cannot conclude our introduction to Andrew without returning to his love of and his passion for motorsport and F1 that ultimately led to The Swift Gallery. His brother John gives us some insight into how it all began. It was certainly a family affair:

“Given his start in life, it is little wonder that Andrew was so heavily into motor racing, almost as soon as he could walk. Dad had raced first a Jaguar XK120 and later a C-Type with considerable success during the 1950s, and he sometimes told us his stories from Dundrod, Silverstone, Goodwood and even lesser-known tracks such as Gamston. Andrew was rightly proud of Dad’s achievements and the Jim Swift Room at the Gallery later paid tribute to them.

Better still, by far, than Dad’s tales were the annual trips to nearby Oulton Park for the Gold Cup. Many years later, Andrew still spoke wistfully of being able to wander around the paddock among stars such as John Surtees, Chris Amon, Jack Brabham and Jim Clark almost as if it were a humble club meeting. If his school reports had been particularly positive, then a journey to Silverstone for the International Trophy might be the reward in those happy days when there were two non-championship Formula One races in this country. Unfailingly, they were, and perhaps only semi-jokingly did Andrew say it was the spur which eventually led him to become the school’s Head Boy!”

I shall conclude this section with John’s words, too:

 

“Andrew’s love of motor sport was deep-seated, and the Gallery provided scope for him to bring his academic mind to bear as he laid out the story of its evolution, each room telling a new story and highlighting a different theme through the photographic displays. That said, one did not have to be an expert to notice a slight bias towards Ferrari!”

 

It has been strange for me to write about Andrew, my husband and love, in this abstract way, but we hope this page serves as an introduction to Andrew and as some context for you as you visit the website.

 

Yvonne Sinclair