INVENTOR, explosives engineer and a doctor of chemistry Dr Sidney Alford has died aged 86. Dr Alford was the Chairman of Alford Technologies Limited of Trowbridge, a world-leading provider of explosive engineering and explosive charge technology, that he founded in 1985. A prolific inventor of explosive charges for many different applications, he is considered the pioneer in water projecting disruptors driven by high explosive which are used in bomb disposal and his inventions have been credited in saving countless lives over the years. Dr Alford was born in the London suburb of Ilford on January 11 1935 and was one of two children. During the early stages of the Second World War he was evacuated with his family to Bournemouth on the south coast where "hit and run" German aircraft raids introduced him to machine gun fire and air-dropped bombs.