This was an extremely dusty activity and he was often surrounded by clouds of asbestos dust and fibres throughout this period. He then learned to apply lagging himself, although he was often working close to others who were mixing up the powder containing asbestos to form the lagging plaster. He also stripped off old lagging which contained asbestos and cut pre-formed asbestos pipe sections. All of these processes exposed him to substantial amounts of asbestos dust and fibres. He continued doing this work until about 1966. His employers during this period included Cork Insulation, Kitsons Insulations Limited and the Ind Coope Brewery in Romford, Essex.
Mr Godfrey had also smoked until around the age of 64. The effects of asbestos and smoking acted together to cause his lung cancer. He had some breathlessness from 2001 as a result of smoking-related disease and asbestosis which gradually worsened. He was admitted to hospital in August 2012 as an emergency because of breathlessness and subsequent investigations led to a diagnosis of lung cancer in January 2013. Sadly, his condition deteriorated despite chemotherapy and radiotherapy and he passed away in December 2013 aged 77.
Caroline Pinfold was instructed to pursue a claim on behalf of Don during his lifetime but unfortunately it was not possible to complete the claim before he passed away. The claim was therefore carried on by his brother for the benefit of Don's estate and was successfully concluded in December 2014.