Ed endured the war years with distinction, being a member of the British 1st SAS Regiment led by Col. David Sterling, and serving with such notable soldiers as Paddy Mayne. He also served in Palestine with the 6th Airborne Division of the Parachute Regiment.

Ed married his wife Mabel in Taiwan in 1951, had his own business as an importer and distributor and raised two stepsons and his own three children. He was appointed the honorary Australian Trade Commissioner to Taiwan, a position he held for six years. He came to Australia as the Vice President, South Pacific for the distillers Seagrams. A major achievement to note was assisting in the purchase of Montana Wines and the importation of the first Sauvignon Blanc grapes to New Zealand, the forerunner of the existing great white wines now produced in New Zealand.

Ed then retired from Seagrams in 1978 and formed the family company Thomic Australia P/L, and had several business ventures including being buying agents for Mitre 10 and trading as Australian Audio, suppliers of components to the Hi Fi Industry in Australia. Since 1985, Ed concentrated his efforts in the Australian Stationery Industry through his family business, Colby Office Products.

Since its inception, Ed had the vision to insist that Colby provide quality as opposed to commodity products, and products specifically tailored to suit the Australian marketplace. He has created and established the family owned brands Colby, Colby Art, KW by Colby, Harlequin, Pop, Waterville and Workmate. A firm believer in “orderly marketing”, he did his best to establish working relationships with wholesalers, distributors and retailers which were workable and profitable for all concerned.

More than anything, Ed has created a culture of customer service within Colby, and an attitude of “fix it first, deal with the nuts and bolts later”. He has ensured that quality, functionality and customer service are what Colby stands for in this marketplace. For the past 12 years he has been semi-retired, still Chairman of the Board, but leaving the day-to-day operation of Colby up to his daughter, the Managing Director, Doreen Laforest.

Ed passed peacefully on December 17th, 2010 after a struggle with cancer. He leaves behind his wife Mabel, children Timmy, Wally, Robin, Gordon and Doreen, and grandchildren Sharon, Diane, Shelton, Andrew, Jessica, Ilana, Caitlin and Sarah. He will be sadly missed by them all. A memorial service was held at St Andrew’s Scots Kirk in Rose Bay with a wake at the Royal Sydney Golf Club.