Leslie Silver, director of Cantor & Nissel, died recently at the age of 66 after a long battle with cancer.
Born in London, Silver was the only son of Lionel and Ruby Silver. With an ophthalmic optician at Moorfields Eye Hospital as an elder sister, Silver's career was practically chosen for him. In 1965, he formed Leslie M Silver & Co, making contact lenses in the basement of his father's practice in Paddington. In 1974 he joined forces with David Cantor, creating Cantor & Silver. The company relocated to Brackley in Northamptonshire in 1975 where it continues to operate with dedicated and long-serving local staff, all of whom were trained in-house - a practice introduced by Silver.
The company changed its name to Cantor & Nissel with the acquisition of G Nissel & Co in 2000, and although Silver took a back seat in the running of the company to pursue other interests in catering, he remained a partner and always took an active interest in the progress of the business and its staff. Silver leaves a widow Pat, daughters Kate and Nicky, and grandchildren Ben, Rebecca and Rose.