John Gozzard obituary

My friend John Gozzard, who has died aged 85, was an inventor and engineer whose most notable achievement was the creation of a zeppelin-shaped windshield for microphones, much seen on television and film sets, which stops wind and other extraneous noises interfering with sound recordings.

John's invention was not only far better than previous attempts at minimising unwanted noise, but was also lighter and more durable than the alternatives. Having established its usefulness he set up a company, Rycote, to manufacture the windshield, and the firm continues to this day from its base in Stroud, Gloucestershire. Throughout his time at Rycote John continued to apply his skills to produce items that perfected audio capture, and many of his designs are used worldwide.