Meet The Team: Ben Marray

We are pleased to introduce Ben Marray, Laboratory Technician at The Lab at Brookes Bell. Ben blends practical engineering skill with forensic rigour, ensuring that every case passing through The Lab is prepared, tested and documented to the highest evidential standard.

Ben’s journey began on the Wirral, where A-levels in Engineering, IT and Applied Science inspired a passion for “hands-on problem solving”. He joined Brookes Bell at 18 as an apprentice, under a very experienced team that was, in his words, “the best workshop a young engineer could wish for”. Four years later, in September 2024, he completed his NVQ Engineering Technician programme with distinction and earned PCN Level II certifications in Magnetic Particle and Visual Inspection.

Today, his working day starts the moment a courier crate arrives. “We receive samples from all over the world, and because many of our cases end up in court, logging all articles is of great importance” he explains. Determined to maintain The Lab’s reputation for excellence and innovation, Ben designed a bar-coded system that gives shelf-level traceability for more than 3,000 exhibits.

Although his home department is Materials Failure Investigation, Ben is equally at ease on the quayside. “If the NDT team needed assistance, I’ll jump on a flight with our portable kit,” he says. Recent assignments have taken him from the Seychelles to the Great Lakes. “One week I could be in a dry dock, the next our microscopy suite on the Wirral. I really enjoy the variety and the chance to travel.”

Earning client confidence has been a milestone. “In this line of work, the client can literally be looking over your shoulder while you run the test, and later their own experts will pore over every result,” he says. “At the beginning they would ask, ‘Can someone else take this one?’ Now they call ahead and ask for me by name. Knowing I have earned that level of trust is something I am genuinely proud of.”

That trust was cemented during a complex bearing-pad investigation in 2024. “We had to find something on a microscopic level. I embedded the particles in clear resin so we could grind and polish without losing a speck, and the case went very well for the client.”

Awards have followed Ben’s achievements. In 2022, the Marine Guild named him Apprentice of the Year, citing his blend of workshop craftsmanship and analytical insight.

When his mentor took extended leave, Ben stepped up to run the laboratory schedule and warehouse. The experience accelerated his promotion and ignited a passion for coaching others. “I found myself in the at the deep end and it worked, so I am doing the same for our new apprentices and helping to inspire the next generation of scientific technicians,” he says.

As The Lab broadens its services, Ben’s blend of precision, initiative and composure positions him perfectly to steer the technical side of The Lab’s and Brookes Bell’s growth. He already mentors the next generation, and in time he may well be writing the methodologies they will rely on.

With his mix of precision, initiative and calm authority, Ben embodies the spirit of The Lab: innovative, exacting and ready to travel wherever the evidence leads.