Education
Symonds was born in Coventry and studied at the Coventry Art School.
Symonds was born in Coventry and studied at the Coventry Art School.
He competed in the same event at the 1956 Summer Olympics, but did not reach the finals. He was first coached by his father, a semi-professional football player. After retiring from swimming he worked at the technical publications department of the Armstrong Siddeley"s aircraft division.
He then designed tractors at Massey Ferguson, worked for Chrysler Rootes, and in 1967 joined Ford.
In the 1980sā90s he worked in Dearborn, Michigan, United States, designing medium and large trucks, such as Ford Transit. During that time he also competed in masters swimming.
He returned to United Kingdom in 1998 to assume the post of assistant director of design of small and medium Ford vehicles at Dunton Wayletts, Essex.