Class of 1950 - 1959

Provided by his wife Marianne Fry

 26 August 1930 - 27 February 2019

Alan was born in London on 26 August 1930.  He was a St Paul's Cathedral Chorister, evacuated with the Choir to Truro during the war. He continued his love of music whilst at Dauntsey's School, singing and playing the piano and bassoon – to which he was allocated, being tall and lanky. His interest and success in science took him to Imperial College London to read physics at the Royal College of Science after serving as a Lieutenant in REME during National Service. Whilst there he continued his involvement with music as President of the Music Society and singing in the choir. He graduated with a First and was awarded an ARCS. He set up his company, Alan Fry Controls Ltd, manufacturing at that time state-of-the-art electronic controls for industry. He married Marianne who he met whilst both were studying at London University. They had three children, the eldest son to his delight has taken over the firm; the second son writes and performs with his sister as his PA.  Throughout his life, Alan was original, curious and inventive and will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

Brian Bartlett (PhD Chemistry 1956)
1932-2018
Provided by Brian's nephew, Robert Bigg.

Brian Bartlett was born in Salisbury in 1932. He was educated at Bishop Wordsworth’s School and Blandford Grammar. One school report remarked, “He says little, but his comments show that he misses little of importance.” Despite concentrating on Maths, Physics and Chemistry, he found time for the School Operatic Society, something that would become a passion for the rest of his life.

Brian went up to Reading University where he gained a First in Chemistry, Physics and Auxiliary Maths in 1952. In that summer vacation, he gained two months of research experience at the Shell Laboratory in Amsterdam before returning to Reading for a second BSc in Special Chemistry the following year. He then applied and was accepted for post-graduate research under Professor Tompkins at Imperial College London with a bursary of £325 per annum, to work on Explosive Decomposition. He gained his PhD in 1956 with a thesis on the “Mechanism of decomposition of solids”.

As a result of this work Brian, together with Tompkins and Young, published three papers on “The Decomposition of Barium Azide”, Mercury Fulminate and Silver Azide, the first being published in Nature and the last being the subject of a discussion meeting at the Royal Society in Burlington House in 1958. After Imperial, Brian joined the research department of Mullard in Southampton, working on semiconductor crystals.

The main focus of the work, was in Cadmium Mercury Telluride. It was first developed in the British government labs in Malvern, but they could not make it pure enough and stopped further development in 1958. However, a contract had been placed with Mullard to grow it as bulk crystal. Brian managed to solve the previous problems and first published on it in 1969. CMT is now a multi-million pound business and the work at Southampton (now under Selex ES) is classed as world-leading - a testament to his seminal contributions in the 1960-1970s.

Together with various colleagues he published many papers well into the 1980s in journals such as Infrared Physics, Journal of Crystal Growth, Journal of Materials Science, and the Philips Technical Review. He also participated in various international conferences.

At Mullard Brian was well respected and liked by all his juniors, peers and senior management, he was fair and even-minded, a great teacher and ran a happy and successful group for many years.

During his early years at Mullard Brian caught the eye of a young research assistant at the labs, Elizabeth Trigg. Romance blossomed, and they married in May 1964. They were a devoted couple complementing each other wonderfully. Elizabeth’s vivaciousness the foil to Brian’s dry wit. They travelled widely, especially in the south of France but also to Italy, to see the opera in Verona, Germany and the USA. Brian was also a keen photographer.

Sadly Elizabeth died of cancer in January 2002. They had no children. After a while Brian resumed his travels, kept up with their many friends, the wider family, his photography and of course his music.

Brian was a gentle and unpretentious person, since his death on 17 September 2018 various people, from a wide range of stages and situations in his life, have all said “we enjoyed seeing Brian, he made us laugh”. You could not want for a better epitaph.

Provided by his wife, Sandra

WALKER Brian R V of Buckhorn Weston, Dorset, sadly died peacefully in Yeovil Hospital on Good Friday, aged 92. He was a Mechanical Engineering student at City and Guilds College from 1950 to 1953.  

Brian’s years at Imperial College London were some of his happiest and he felt so privileged to have gained his degree at such a prestigious university.

Provided by Fred Barnard

1929 – 2018

Brian W. Hester passed away peacefully on 27 November 2018 at age 89. Predeceased by his son, Nicholas. He is survived by his loving wife of 59 years, Barbara; children, Ken (Fabienne) Hester; Jim Hester (Amalia Lukacs); Jenny (Mike) Telek; and Paula (Keith) Young. Grandchildren Nicholas, Andrew, Kelsey, Sydney, Laura, William, Thomas, Laura, Tony, Austin, Kaylee.

Brian earned a BSc in Mining Geology from the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College London in 1950. In, 1953-54 he earned an MASc in Economic Geology from the University of Toronto.

After graduation in 1950, Brian took a position with the Tanganyika Geological Survey in the service of King George VI, following by a year in the (nationalised) British coal mines. He was then hired by a mining company to work in zinc exploration in Ireland for a short time, thence seconded to Canada, where he eventually married. In the 1970s, Brian was transferred to the Denver, Colorado area by his employer, the then mining giant Texas Gulf Sulfur. His 25-year stay in the USA was punctuated by a year's secondment to Australia.

In 2000, Brian and his Canadian wife Barbara retired to Vineland, on the Niagara Peninsula of southern Ontario. He remained very active with Canadian junior mining companies.

Brian was a true British gentleman, universally respected for his technical expertise, decorum and wit.

Provided by his son, Andrew Quadling 

13 March 1929 - 26 February 2024

With sadness we announce the death of Christopher Quadling, who died of natural causes on 26 February 2024, just two weeks shy of his 95th birthday.  He leaves behind his wife of 65 years, Margaret Quadling, his sons Andrew (Lise Labrecque), Steve (Ghislaine Regimbald) and grandson Chris.  

Born in 1929 in Uxbridge, UK, the oldest of three children, Chris attended the University of London, Imperial College of Science & Technology, in London, England, for his BSc and the Faculty of Science for his PhD in Microbiology. Before attending university, he worked as a postman during WWII from 1940 to 1945 on school Christmas breaks. He was conscripted to the RAF (1948 to 1950) and worked as a nursing orderly in Malta for six months. He was very proud of his military service and recently received formal recognition of his service in the RAF from the National Military Cemetery of the Canadian Armed Forces in Ottawa.   

Chris worked at Agriculture Canada (where he met Marg), the National Research Council and the Ministry of Science and Technology in Ottawa. He became a Canadian citizen in 1962.  As a long-time resident of Drummond Centre, Chris, curious by nature, was a hobby farmer, avid reader, lover of cats, and music- including classical, ragtime and especially Abba. In recent years, he became the primary caregiver to Marg as her dementia progressed. Chris achieved his wish to live independently in his own home to the end.

David (Dia) Smith (Civil Engineering and Surveying 1950)

12.08.1923 – 07.02.2007

Provided by Elizabeth C Smith. 

After a period of ill health, Dai Smith passed away in late May, aged eighty-five. Dai, moved north from England for work reasons and settled with his wife Betty and family, in Killearn in 1967. After some time with P E Management Consultants he started his own business, Smith & East, management Consultants, specialising as a consultant to industry advising in energy conservation.

Born in Deganwy, N. Wales he was educated at John Bright's school, Llandudno and, on leaving, served an apprenticeship at BTH Rugby. From there he went to Imperial College London where war interrupted his university studies.

He served as an Engineer Officer in the Fleet Air Arm and completed his degree after the war. His work took him to many places in the world, in particular to Turkey where he was involved in the reconstruction of dams and to India where he was responsible for supervising large construction sites which were being funded by the World Bank to whom he reported. 

He was a lifelong promoter of the Welsh culture, organising singing festivals for the Welsh Society in Scotland, studying the native language for many years and was appointed President of the Glasgow Welsh Society. 

An enthusiastic singer, he was also an accomplished amateur actor, a lover of Shakespeare and a good comic. He was a keen rugby follower and in his younger days played for the second team of the London Welsh. Later he was a steward at matches at Murrayfield.  In the village, he was a member of Killearn Kirk and served as Property Convenor to the Kirk Session for some time. He was a member of Probus and the Neighbourhood watch and was a founder member of the Strathendrick Singers and appeared in all their productions. Classical music was his great love and listening to choral music, in particular Bach's B monor bass, brought him solace in his final years.  With his spectacles habitually pushed up on to his forehead, Dai was for many years a stalwart of village life.

He could be relied upon to bring to any task the benefit of his intellect and meticulous attention to detail. He was regarded as the patriarch of his large family. The courier offers sincere sympathy to his widow Betty, his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

David Baxter BEng, ACGI, DIC, CE, GP Eng. (Civil), MICE Australia, FICE

13.03.1935 - 15.09.2022

Provided by Eve Baxter, David's wife. 

Having finished University in 1957, David began his engineering career in the early 1960s by travelling to Jamaica with his wife and three-month-old son. David then worked on the stadium for the Central American and Caribbean Games. On a chilly return to UK in 1967, a ten-pound trip to Australia was an enticing lead to a 45-year career involved in major infrastructure projects.

David started work in Australia with Maunsell & Partners in Melbourne on the Lower Yarra Crossing as a resident engineer (foundations). He was on site at the time it collapsed, costing 37 lives.

He worked for Connell Wagner from 1972 - 1995 and was Senior Associate with them for the last ten years of his working life. He was also a Project Engineer on the Underground Rail Loop in Melbourne.

David’s next major project was working on the Sydney Harbour Tunnel. Here, David was the Design Manager for the land portion, which included liaison with construction activists. His final large project was as Project Manager and Senior Resident Engineer on the Brisbane Rail Tunnels, which received both state and national excellence awards.

Having climbed the Matterhorn in his student days, David’s retirement years required his two sons and wife to take part in outdoor activities such as skiing, bush walking and camping. David’s sons taking part in the first two activities and his long-suffering wife in the latter. Such activities included crossing the Simpson desert, the Tanami Track, Gibb River Road, and the telegraph track up to Cape York, among many others. These areas are places where most people with common sense don’t venture! His final years were spent annoying his wife and talking to his much-loved German Shepherd.

Provided by his son, Paul Draper

1936 - 2023

A Rugbeian through and through, David was born, lived, worked, and died in Rugby.  He was a proud old boy of Rugby School.

David commenced his studies at City and Guilds in 1954. During his time at Imperial College London, David and four of his fellow students purchased a rundown 1936 SS Jaguar Tourer that had been abandoned in Princes Gardens. A full refurbishment followed which included remetalling the big end bearings. The car was then taken on a celebratory tour of France by the students at the end of their final year.

David graduated in 1957 with an honours degree in Electrical Power Engineering and then started a Graduate Apprenticeship with BTH at Rugby.

He specialised in Steel and Aluminium cold strip mills rising to the position of Chief Engineer Industrial Applications in 1971. During this time he commissioned a number of strip mills both domestically and overseas including the Comalco Aluminium Cold Mill in Sydney, Australia.

Ultimately GEC took over BTH and its predecessor companies, and as a result of the reorganisation David took over responsibility for a new project which was an irrigation scheme in Romania. This covered a vast area and consisted of pumping water from the River Danube up three levels via a series of canals.

David worked for 40 years with GEC finally retiring in 1998.

In his professional life David had a long association with the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) and chaired the local Rugby centre. He rose to become a Fellow of the IEE and had the honour of sitting on the London Council.

Outside of work he was a keen sailor and went on annual sailing expeditions with some of his former student pals from Imperial. He also had a passion for railways, supporting the 229 club that undertook the restreamlining of the Stanier Pacific Locomotive Duchess of Hamilton which he had previously driven on this 60th birthday as a present from his family.

When in retirement he busied himself building a 1" to the foot Ruston Traction Engine. This was followed by a full size steam car based on the Locomobile of America which he drove at many shows along with his wife Beryl.

David has three sons Paul, Mark and John all of whom have followed various branches of engineering in no small measure due to his influence.

Provided by Peter Clifford

Derek died peacefully at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, on 24^th January 2021, aged 91. He was father to Geraldine and Oliver. Derek was educated at Bishop’s Stortford College and at Imperial College London where he obtained a degree in Engineering. In 1971, he received the Duke of Edinburgh Design Prize for Atom Physics Teaching.

Derek was a celebrated art collector, and a keen bowls and croquet player.

Provided by Jacqui Stanzel

Donald's research at Imperial College London explored the general subject of instability in active circuits using the newly introduced transistor as a practical application. This ground-breaking work led to his writing a major chapter for the 2nd and 3rd editions of McGraw Hill's first engineering Handbook of Semiconductor Electronics.

On returning to Canada in 1959, he joined the design team for Canada's first space satellite, Alouette 1. It was launched by NASA in September,1962. Alouette proved to be the most complex and reliable satellite of its time. Its electronics having to be switched off from the ground after a decade of providing the information about the structure of the ionosphere that was needed by designers of subsequent space hardware.

Don managed an engineering research group at the Defence Research Telecommunications Establishment (later known as the Communication Research Centre) in the 1960's. He was an adjunct lecturer at Carleton University where he participated in the development of their graduate electrical engineering program. Don supervised the programme’s first PhD and Masters students.

In 1968, on his appointment to lead a new Canadian radar research program, Don initiated the original Canadian engineering studies of synthetic aperture imaging radar. It was funded by the Department of National Defence and partnered with the Department of Energy Mines and Resources, and with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratories. Don's group produced a ground-based image processor for NASA's Seasat Satellite which, at its launch in 1978, carried the first space-borne synthetic aperture imaging radar. This Canadian image processor provided such excellent earth and ocean images that the US military immediately classified the Seasat project. This exclusion from Seasat led to Don's group transferring its technology to Canadian industry, MacDonald Detweiler Associates, resulting in Canada's successful program of satellite-borne imaging radar. This is currently known as Radarsat.

Feeling the need to pursue his humanist and democratic socialist interests, Don departed from engineering science in 1981. He retired to his successful farm operation in Lanark County, Ontario. He immediately became politically active in the New Democratic Party, running as a federal candidate in 1984 and twice as an Ontario provincial candidate in the 1980's. Throughout his early retirement years, until 1993, he was a respected spokesperson for the International Humanist Movement and was editor of Humanist journals including ‘Humanist in Canada’ (now Humanist Perspective), ‘International Humanist’ (the journal of the International Humanist & Ethical Union), and in 1993 ‘The Humanist’ (the prestigious journal of the American Humanist Association). Acting on a matter of principle in 2006, Dr Page created Canadian legal history by standing up to a lawsuit challenge by his municipal government regarding a house fire in which a person died. As a result of his principled stand, no Canadian may ever again be sued for criticizing any level of their government.

As per Don's wishes Aquamation has taken place. As expressions of sympathy, donations to the Canadian Cancer Society or the Ruddy Shenkman Hospice would be greatly appreciated. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Lannin Funeral Home. Don is predeceased by his life partner, Jean Purcell. He is survived by his children Jacqueline (Randy) Stanzel , Shannon (Barb) Purcell and Kerri Purcell.

Provided by Alex Cooper, Charles' eldest son.

Charles (Charlie) Frank Cooper 12.07.1932 - 01.08.2022 

Charlie was born to Percy William and Mildred Jessie Cooper on 12 July 1932. He was their second child, their first being his brother, Reynold. At the age of eight Charlie contracted TB and was hospitalised for four years and then, just after recovering, his father unexpectedly died. Alongside this, Charles was also in the midst of the London blitz - all of which toughened his resolve to get on with life and take opportunities whenever they arose.

After the war ended Jessie remarried, and Charlie also found a companion, Nancy Folland. Nancy helped pay for his studies at Kent Technical College where he obtained his undergraduate degree. The two were married in 1955.

Charlie continued his studies, obtaining a doctorate at Imperial College London for investigating foaming phenomena in molten slags. He built and used a custom furnace and gained a thorough understanding of physical chemistry by seeing fundamental principles applied at higher temperatures.

Charlie then obtained a job with Morgan Refractories which also provided an opportunity to travel. With this, the pair set up home in Pittsburgh, USA. A few years later, they return to England and the couple purchased a house in the south London suburb of Kenley to start a family. Charlie continued working for Morgan in their Battersea offices.

The company produced ceramics such as high voltage insulators for power stations and pylons, crucibles for the metal industry and other specialist parts. Charlie was instrumental in many of their new designs and had many patents in his name for developing advanced refractory materials, ceramic gas fire elements, nozzles for pouring molten metals and more.

Morgan had a factory and specialist laboratories in Stourport, so in 1969 Charlie and the family moved there and he became Director of Development and he soon became a respected industry “expert” in his field. He travelled internationally to attend industrial conferences and also spoke at many conferences.

His approach was always practical; how can we do this? Let’s try something - never thinking about reasons for not trying. This approach spilled into his private life where he encouraged everyone else to get on with things and also where he developed a love for musical instruments. He played the banjo in local folk clubs and hurdy-gurdy at festivals in France and, ever practical, he also became a luthier and made many examples of both instruments and violins in his workshop.

Later in life he found a new companion and inherited and embraced a second family when he married Anne Richards. After retiring from Morgan, Charlie continued to work as a consultant and also helped and encouraged his grandson (a nuclear scientist) in his work. He often travelled to France and lived there with Anne for large parts of the year. 

He died peacefully on 1 August 2022 with little fuss and bother after - to quote him - “letting nature take its course”.

Charlie in the Office at Morgan Refractories, Stourport.

Provided by his daughters Linda Bryant and Gill Van Santen

24 October 1933 - 7 February 2024

Dr Duncan Bryant completed his PhD in 1958, and in 1960, with his wife and new baby daughter, moved overseas to take up a 3-year posting as a resident research associate at NASA’s Goodard Flight Centre in Greenbelt Maryland, Washington DC.  

This was a tremendously rewarding period, being part of a team investigating charged particles emitted from the sun during solar flares, including experiments flown on the satellites Explorer 12 and 14. 

After the family moved back to the UK, Duncan took up a post at the Radio Research Station in Slough (later Rutherford Appleton Laboratory), where he became Principal Scientific Officer, leading a team which carried out a series of experiments on British, Scandinavian and European Space Agency rockets. His work on the AMPTE mission was described as being particularly significant and indeed it was said that the British involvement in the mission was mainly due to Duncan’s clear view and determination to seize the opportunity. 

Duncan became an acknowledged authority in the field of experimental space research, with involvement in the publication of 125 original papers and the publication of a book, Electron Acceleration in the Aurora and Beyond, in 1998. 

Duncan also lectured at the Summer School of Culham Laboratory, the Institute of Theoretical Physics in Trieste, and Birmingham University, as well as being a PhD examiner for a number of universities in the UK and Scandinavia. 

Outside of his scientific work, Duncan had many interests, including hill walking, painting and classical music, and was a keen student of Shakespeare’s plays. 

He was a talented pianist and was musical director for a number of productions in his local village, and also played for a local choir. 

Duncan also very much enjoyed being a member of several U3A groups and had a talent for making complex mathematical and scientific subjects accessible to all. He never ceased to be interested in a diverse range of subjects and was still preparing and presenting talks for the U3A at the age of 90. 

Duncan passed away in February after a short acute illness, and his wife of 66 years succeeded him by only two weeks. 

He will be very much missed by his daughters and four grandchildren, as well as the wider family and friends. 

George Gooberman (né Lancelot George Gooberman) received his BSc in physics and his PhD in ultrasonics from Imperial College in 1952 and 1959, respectively. After graduation he became a university academic who taught electronic engineering. He described himself as a physicist and an engineer, and he lived his life with dedication to his profession.

George specialised in ultrasonics, his PhD thesis was entitled ‘Ultrasonic degradation of macromolecules’. This focus continued with publication in 1969 of his book: ‘Ultrasonics: an introduction to theory and application’. A review by W. Stephens in ‘Nature’ the same year gave somewhat understated credit to its accuracy, stating: ‘The book is quite well produced, the errors appear to be few, and the author has produced a useful basic book for intending workers in the field of ultrasonics.’   

After completing his PhD, George took a lectureship at the University of Salford, where his office became full of equipment and inventions. In 1982, the funding cuts throughout the University sector led to his redundancy and a move to Ireland where he took a role at the National Institute for Higher Education in Limerick, now the University of Limerick. Despite the upheaval of a job move in his early fifties, George thrived in Ireland, where he paid close attention to his students’ learning and he produced detailed lecture notes for them, in a move that was ahead of his time.

George had always worked hard and focused on education throughout his career. He contributed to Open University summer schools for many years. This commitment probably related at least in part to George’s background, particularly the value that his father had placed on learning. His father, who was originally from Nikolaev/Mykolaiv, had been a draughtsman and engineer who specialised in propulsion in the shipbuilding industry. He encouraged George to study, and they must have shared an aptitude for all things numerical. George lost his mother to TB when he was 10 years old, just a few years before antibiotics revolutionised TB treatment. Family photos show how much she cared for him; she would have been proud of his achievements.

Outside work, George had been an avid mountaineer in his youth and had spent a year studying in Zurich in 1954 where he enjoyed membership of the Swiss Alpine Club and summited the Matterhorn. In his later years, George enjoyed his grandchildren, listening to classical music, travelling, and collecting scientific instruments.

George died in the summer of 2008 from cancer; he was 78 years old. He was survived by his wife Janet and three children, David, Rachael and Leon. His funeral was held at the Quaker Meeting House in Limerick. Whilst George wasn’t a Quaker, his wife Janet is, and the funeral seemed a fitting farewell. The meeting room was packed with friends and colleagues who shared their memories of George. Those memories centred on how much he had focused on encouraging students to enjoy and learn about the science that he loved so much.

Dr Maarten James Pikaar (PhD Chemical Engineering 1959)

22/11/1935 – 16/01/2018

Provided by Gertie Pikaar-Duistermaat, Jim’s wife, and Bernard Buntjer, brother in law of Jim.

Jim – the name by which he was known in everyday life – was born in Littleborough, England as a son of Dutch parents. He followed primary education in his home town and as his parents moved to The Netherlands, he received his secondary school education there. However, when his parents moved back to England again Jim was all too happy to start his university studies in the UK, which he finalised with a PhD from Imperial College London.

At the age of ten, Jim had made up his mind that he wanted to be an engineer and that is what happened. He spent his working life as a chemical engineer in various industrial corporations. The years working for Royal Dutch Shell plc, commonly known as Shell, served as the most influential ones for his professional development.

After a very short period with Kellogg International Corporation, he took up a position within Air Products Limited (APL). Much of his time was spent abroad: In the USA he was responsible for designing an ethane purification plant that was to be built in Brindisi, Italy where Jim, his Dutch wife Gertie and their first daughter also lived for a while. He was engaged in projects relating to heat exchanging and the vaporisation of liquid gas, including the financial aspects.

The experience with liquefied gases brought Jim to Conch – a company involved in transportation of liquid natural gas (LNG). He did so while remaining a Shell employee; Shell remained his employer for the rest of his career. During his Conch period the family – at the time composed of Jim, Gertie and two daughters – lived in Algeria for a couple of months, where Jim was involved in the overhaul of a plant in Arzew. In the auto-biography that Jim wrote in 2015, we read that “In Conch you could go (or be sent) anywhere”. Indeed, the USA, Trinidad, France, Brunei and Libya were among the countries he visited, mostly in the framework of the development of plants and the challenges relating to projects in the field of liquid gas.

Despite some early hesitations Jim decided in 1971 that he would respond positively to Shell’s request for him to move to The Netherlands and work at its Manufacturing division (MF). With a certain degree of regret the family – by then made up of three daughters – moved from Worcester Park to The Hague.

Jim was soon recognised as the expert in the field of safety and risk management. As a consequence, he was regularly sent to plants operated by Shell where accidents had occurred to find answers to vital questions such as: What were the reasons for the calamity? Had human errors been made? And, not the least important aspect: Who, or which organisation had to be held accountable for the accident? Could sufficient proof be found on the spot of the disaster despite the ruins that had resulted from the blast? The failure of a propane tank in Qatar, accidents in the USA, Abu Dhabi, France and Sweden are but a few cases in the investigation of which Jim was involved in, including the preparation of legal documents for use in court.

When he stopped working for Shell, Jim was known as someone you would need to consult and had to invite for conferences on safety aspects in the field of liquid gas. After his retirement, he set up his own consulting agency that, in addition to jobs for ministries in The Netherlands, also received assignments from his former employer.

Apart from being devoted to his work, Jim also had an outspoken love for music, not only as a passive listener but also as an active player of the harpsichord and the recorder, and as a member of the The Hague Choir. For the last eight years of his life Jim was physically impaired following a brain hemorrhage. Yet he managed to write an auto-biography from which, incidentally, most of the above given information has been gathered.

Jim’s ashes are buried in The Hague near his home, leaving wife Gertie, daughters Elspeth, Miriam and Madeline and grandchildren Boris, Max, Pia, Ruben, Jelske and Matthijs.

Provided by his brother, Henry Liebling

Dr Peter Liebling passed away peacefully on 31st January 2020 six days before his 86th birthday. Born in 1934, son of Hans and Steffy Liebling, and elder brother of Henry Liebling, Peter came to England from Vienna in 1937 aged 4. He was evacuated to Cornwall during WWII, then moving from London to south of Manchester in 1943. He went to school at Altrincham Prep School 1943-47 before going on to St Edwards School Oxford 1947-52, gaining a place at Selwyn College Cambridge to read for a Medical Tripos 1952-55. He sang in choirs in Oxford, Cambridge and later London when he started as a medical student at Westminster Hospital 1955-58, winning a prize for Clinical Medicine. He enjoyed rowing, mainly at bow, and writing music for Reviews at Cambridge, and was Captain of Boats at Westminster. His first house job was at Boscombe Hospital where he met Jean Sandison his future wife and a local GP who worked with her father, Dr J F W Sandison a retired RAMC Colonel.

Dr Peter and Dr Jean as they were known, developed a thriving General Practice from 1500 patients in 1960 to 5000 in 1972 and doubling to 10000 in 1990, blossoming into Talbot Medical Centre over the past 60 years. This involved much innovation on Peter’s part, organizing the first rota for sharing night calls between practices, building a modern practice of both staff and accommodation, as well as training all new staff and taking on GP trainees, 11 in all from 1979 - 1990.

Sadly, Dr Jean Sandison died in 1982.

After enforced early retirement as a GP, Peter continued unpaid as a Dermatology Clinical Assistant at the Royal Victoria Hospital Poole until 1999 when he became an Honorary Consultant in Dermatology, writing guides for GPs, teaching several GPs in their own practices every month, and also giving over 500 dermatology lectures to trainees, nurses, pharmacists and dentists. He finally retired in 2009 aged 75. Over the years he enjoyed sailing, tennis, skiing, walking, playing the piano with friends, going to concerts and plays and the company of his second wife Marianne, four children and seven grandchildren, just managing to meet his first great grandchild.

Provided by his son, John Harvey

On Tuesday 25 August 2020, Dr. Ernest A. Harvey, loving husband and father of four children, passed away at the age of 85 in Punta Gorda, Florida. Ernest was born on November 10 1934 in London, England, as the only child to George and Winifred Harvey. He received his bachelor and doctorate degrees in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College London, finishing first in his class at England’s most prestigious engineering university. On June 22 1954, he married Joan Elizabeth Rose Ashmore. They raised two daughters, Karen and Susan and two sons, John and Ernest (Graeme).

Ernest developed a passion for the paper making industry early in his career, quietly distinguishing himself through his knowledge and benevolent leadership, earning executive and ownership positions in pulp and paper processing, production and consulting. “Ernie” sought out opportunities to better the communities in which he lived and worked by volunteering his leadership skills, particularly for groups and activities for which he had innate interest. He loved and excelled at two of his native England’s most popular sports, rugby and football. His efforts over more than 20 years of coaching, refereeing, advocating and leading were instrumental in the development and growth of these sports in Wisconsin.

Ernest’s personal experiences with mental health, suffering and treatment, spirited him to be a leader in the support and early development of the Bellin Psychiatric Centre. He served on the board for years and as chairman in 1995. Ernest also had a strong commitment to higher education throughout his life; this was demonstrated through his support and affiliations with St. Norbert College. He and Joan endowed a generous, enduring annual scholarship that emphasizes and rewards community leadership within the student body.

Ernie’s valued quiet time would often include intently listening and meditating to the sounds of brass band. Many may recall a concert he organized and sponsored in Green Bay in 2005 that brought a prominent brass band from England to play a concert series in 2005. Finally, one of Ernest’s greatest passions was for the many Labrador Retrievers he and Joan loved over the years. His Green Bay neighbours, no doubt, still picture him on his morning and evening walks with his beloved dogs. Ernest was preceded in death by his father George, and his mother Winifred. He is survived by his wife, Joan, his children, Karen, John, Susan and Ernest (Graeme), and his 14 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren.

Provided by George’s wife Amy and daughter Rowena

 1928 – 2018

 George Stanley Perry was born in Hackney, London on 20 July 1928. At the start of the Second World War, George's school, The Coopers’ Company’s School, was evacuated to Frome in Somerset.  This disrupted his education but gave him a love of the countryside and the opportunity for new adventures such as cycling home to London in the holidays.

 After the war, George did his National Service and strived to complete his education. In 1953 he gained his BSc at West Ham College of Technology (under the umbrella of Imperial College London). He then went to Canada to McMaster University to gain his Master’s degree in Chemistry, returning home to London to Imperial where he achieved his PhD in Physical Chemistry in September 1959. He then began working at AWRE, Aldermaston and remained there until he retired in July 1993.

 George’s work was a vital and very important part of his life. He worked on some challenging projects and he valued the teams of people he was privileged to work with both in this country and in USA. He enjoyed his years at Aldermaston and his working visits to Oak Ridge, Rocky Flats, Los Alamos and Livermore. He was respected as a man of intellect and integrity and an excellent and enthusiastic scientist.

 Outside of work George played golf and bridge and enjoyed the opera and the Proms – his most recent visit to Imperial was to stay over when attending a Proms concert last August. Together George and his wife Amy visited their friends in USA and Canada, later they did two world trips taking in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong and China. Within the last few years he discovered the delights of cruising and took up painting.

 On Thursday 27 December 2018 George died peacefully at home. He is survived by his wife Amy, daughter Rowena and son Douglas.

Provided by his niece, Caroline Worsfold.

George Walter Worsfold was born on 25 November 1931 and was the second son of Fred and Elsie Worsfold. He began life in a humble cottage at 2 Selden Lane, Worthing, where George and his two brothers shared one room whilst his parents shared the other. George was bright, even as a young lad, and won a scholarship to the local high school. His father, a bus driver, had to go to the union to ask for a loan to buy his school uniform. George never looked back. He wanted to go to university to read Mathematical Physics but the returning troops from the war had priority, and George had to wait another year before he could apply again. George was awarded a scholarship to study Metalliferous Mining Engineering at the Royal School of Mines, at Imperial College London. George notes that he was awarded the scholarship due to his sporting record as much as his academic one. He had been both the Captain of the school rugby team and Vice-Captain of the athletics team. He hoped that working in mining would give him the opportunity to go overseas, an ambition engendered by tales his father told of China and India, where he had been stationed during his army years.

George wrote about the thorough preparation his degree gave him for a life as a Metalliferous Mining Engineer.  Not only did he learn geology, he also learned general aspects of civil, electrical and mechanical engineering. This was needed to provide the infrastructure of roads, power supplies and housing for the mines that were often at great distances from general populations. He enjoyed his long vacation placements whilst at College. The first of these was in a coal mine in Yorkshire. For someone who had never been north of Oxford, the accent of the men was as difficult to fathom as the sheer hard work of a shift in the deep mine.

His second placement was three months in Ghana, formerly the Gold Coast, to work on an open cut manganese mine. He describes the journey as an insight into the convoluted travel arrangements of the late 1950s, as well as his love of food! He flew from London to Paris, stopped for lunch, then flew to Rome for dinner. From there, he travelled to Tripoli for late night refreshments and then “droned across the Sahara all night, eventually reaching Accra in the morning. Then with a lighter plane down the coast to Takoradi, to a guest house for lunch and then the train to Nsuta.” George had a great memory for detail and wrote many humorous stories about his travels and working life.

Whilst at the Royal School of Mines, George won the ‘de la Berche’ medal for 1952-53 and graduated with a first-class honour degree in the summer of 1953. His first job was a technical Mine Assistant for a British firm, mining and refining copper in Bihar, India. He moved on from there to work in Iraq on the construction of a dam. In 1957, he moved back to India and was married to Barbara Croft at the Ritz Hotel in Bombay.  He travelled widely on a vast variety of projects working in Kenya, Tanzania, Lesotho, Swaziland, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Nicaragua, Malawi, Guyana and Lebanon. By 1974, his main employment was with a Dutch firm called Nederhorst where he worked as the General Manager for the Singapore office. Between 1979 and 1986, he worked for another Dutch company, Boskalis, again involving much travel and a variety of projects. In 1986, George took the opportunity to work freelance as a consultant. He worked on dam projects in the Far East and in Denmark on the Storebælt crossing. During this time, he again travelled widely, working on projects in Hong Kong, Qatar, England, France and Malaysia.

In 1997, after working for 44 years from the depths of mining to the heights of bridge building, George finally retired in Holland which had been his home from the 1980’s. Babs, his wife, had faithfully stayed home whilst he had lived the international life. Babs died in 2008 and her daughter Annabelle died in 2010. Babette, George’s other stepdaughter, lives in New Zealand.

George died on February 102020 after a short illness. His funeral was held near Rotterdam on 15February. “Sis memor usque mei” is the inscription on the de la Berche medal. May George be well remembered by colleagues, family and friends.

Provided by Christopher Jenkins

 1928-2019

Ivor passed away on the 8January after a short illness. He was 90 years old and lived nearly all his adult life in Poynton, Cheshire. His wife, Edna, passed away in 2017. They were married in 1949 and had two sons, Christopher and Roland. Roland died in 1995.

Ivor was born in Tenby and lived at “Nythfa”, St Mary’s Street, Tenby. His parents were Margaret and Lewis (Harry) Jenkins and he had a younger brother, Mervyn, who passed away in 1996. Ivor was a former pupil of Greenhill Grammar School in Tenby.

Ivor leaves behind a son, two grandsons, a great-granddaughter and three great-grandsons.

Ivor was a well-loved father, grandfather and great-grandfather and will be greatly missed by family and friends.

1930 – 2019

Bradfield College; Cambridge, Emmanuel; St Mary’s Hospital Medical School, London; RAMC 1956 – 58;      

Consultant Neurosurgeon, Southampton 1968 – 1992; President SBNS 1991 – 1992; Secretary EANS 1983 – 1987; Honorary Civilian Consultant Adviser in Neurosurgery Army Medical Services 1986 – 1992; Council Medical Defence Union 1972 – 2000.

John Garfield qualified in 1954. While working in neurology at St Mary’s Hospital, he had a prophetic moment after three gin and tonics and decided to go into neurosurgery. He was trained by Wylie McKissock at Atkinson Morley’s Hospital between 1961 and 67 and was appointed Consultant Neurosurgeon at the Wessex Neurological Centre in 1968. There he formed a formidable team with Jason Brice and with energy, drive and considerable vision they developed a first-class unit.

John’s involvement with the new medical school, the university and postgraduate education in this partnership was fundamental in establishing and strengthening the place of neurosurgery in Southampton. John was a committed trainer of young neurosurgeons. His patience – even under the most trying moments – was enormous and enhanced his great quality as a technical surgical teacher. He taught trainees to be trainers.

As President of the SBNS (Society of British Neurosurgeons) 1991-92, he produced the seminal document “Safe Neurosurgery”. A surgical first in many ways, it defined the standards of safety and quality necessary for planning the future of the speciality. He was one of the first British neurosurgeons to embrace European neurosurgery (EANS) and became its secretary.

He wrote on many aspects of neurosurgery with definitive papers in cerebral abscess and the lumbar spine. He was involved in large European multicentre trials (EORTC) in the treatment of malignant gliomas. His contribution at the Medical Defence Union through his knowledge and clarity was immense.

John was an outstanding photographer (black and white) who produced a number of books, the most poignant called “The Fallen – a photographic journey through the war cemeteries of the Great War”. These photographs were exhibited at Southampton University (October – November 2018) as part of the centenary commemoration of the First World War and have been archived. Following this, John observed “I will die happy knowing that these photos have been preserved”.

Provided by his wife, Marilyn Jones

John was born in Gilfach Goch South Wales and went to Imperial College from Tonyrefail Grammar School before doing his National Service.  While at Imperial College he was active in the Royal College of Science Rugby Football Club.

After graduating he taught Maths and did an MSc in Computer Science at City University.  He lectured in Information Technology and Software Engineering at Thames Polytechnic, later the University of Greenwich, retiring from the School of Computing and Information Technology in 1995.

John’s interests in later life were rugby, hill walking, quantum mechanics and languages.  He learnt French and Italian, added to his native Welsh.  He followed developments at Imperial College closely and enjoyed the alumnus news and occasional phone calls with present day students.

He died peacefully of pneumonia just after his 87th birthday.  John is survived by his wife, Marilyn, and daughters, Siriol and Eluned.

3 July 1931 - 6 July 2017

Provided by Graeme Shaw, his son

Ken Shaw, former Director of Ove Arup and Partners, passed peacefully away at his home in Maidenhead at the age of 86. Ken was born in Paarl, South Africa, and studied civil engineering at the University of Cape Town. He moved to England on an engineering visit and worked over a few years as an engineer in London for Taylor Woodrow, FJ Samuel & Partners and then Richard Costain. In 1957, Ken took a year out to study a post graduate course in Concrete Technology at Imperial College. After completion, he joined Ove Arup and Partners. It was during this time that Ken met his wife, Sue, and were married in 1956.

In 1957, he joined the East Africa division of Ove Arup and Partners as an Associate Partner. In 1958, his wife joined him, after giving birth to their daughter. They had two more boys while in Kenya but left in 1963 following Kenya’s independence. Ken was then invited by Fraser Anderson to join Ove Arup & Partners in Edinburgh. He stayed for 4 years, after which, Poul Ahm asked him to set up the Newcastle Office as a Founder Associate, and subsequently Director.

In 1979, Ken and the family moved to Maidenhead, where he was invited to become a Director of Ove Arup & Partners in London, responsible for a multi-disciplinary group of engineers, designing buildings in the UK and the Middle East. Ken was an active member of various professional bodies, with various publications to his name. He was made a Fellow of the Institute of Civil Engineers, a Fellow of the Institute of Structural Engineers as well as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He also won a number of awards including the British Steel Award for Richmond swimming pool and the Structural Steel Design Award in 1976. Ken retired from Arup in 1991 but continued to work as an expert witness for several years.

In retirement, Ken kept busy with his various hobbies, including: gardening, bee keeping, croquet and furniture restoration. His main passion was sailing and even circumnavigated Great Britain. Ken is survived by his wife of 60 years and his two sons.

Provided by his wife, Susan Ketchen

Michael Entwisle was born in French Guinea on October 31, 1927 and died on July 31, 2020, in Courtenay, B.C., on the hobby farm he dubbed Guineacres.

At the age of five, Michael and his parents returned to England where Michael attended St. Alban’s School. After he completed his military service as an officer in the Royal Artillery in Gibraltar, he studied medicine (1947-1954) at St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London. He married Rosemary Moore in 1955 and they raised four children. Michael was in general practice in Wisbech for eight years, followed by two years in regional hospital administration in Sheffield and Leicester, and three years training and practice in psychiatry in Leicester leading to the Diploma in Psychological Medicine in 1969. In that year the family emigrated to Calgary, Alberta, Canada where Michael joined the new Foothills Hospital and the new medical school at the University of Calgary. He was appointed to the Department of Psychiatry in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary in 1971; in 1991 he was appointed Professor Emeritus. During those years he was Director of: the Residency Training Program in Psychiatry; Adolescent Treatment Programs including Wood’s Christian Homes; the medical staff of Alberta Mental Health Services, Calgary Region. He also served on the Admissions Committee of the Medical School and as Associate Director in the Department of Psychiatry at Calgary General Hospital.

After the dissolution of his first marriage, in 1988 Michael met Susan Ketchen who lured him to Vancouver Island where for six years he was Director of Psychiatry at St. Joseph’s General Hospital Comox and Consultant Psychiatrist to B.C. Mental Health Services in the Comox Valley and North Vancouver Island, linking with UBC as an Honorary Clinical Professor of Psychiatry. He retired in 1997 and developed the skills needed for the country life. He happily learned to use a chain saw, herd chickens, operate a tractor, and enjoyed his ride-on lawnmower until the last month of his life. He took special pleasure in sharing his rural paradise with his children, grandchildren, friends and colleagues. He had an easy laugh, and behind his gentle exterior was a remarkable determined spirit. He died on his terms, in his own bed with a view out over the pasture to the mountains.

Michael is survived by his wife Susan Ketchen, children Alison, Christine (Lance), and Stephen, and grandchildren Kaela (Andrew) and Alexandra (Matt). He was predeceased by his son Jonathan.

Provided by David Knuckey 

1 August 1936 - 5 May 2022

Mike passed away at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital on 5 May 2022, losing his battle with pulmonary fibrosis.

Born in Cornwall, England, Mike graduated from the Royal School of Mines in London and immigrated to Canada in 1957. His stellar career led him from New Brunswick to Ontario, Quebec, and Nicaragua. He was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame in 2004 and has the discovery of at least 10 mineral deposits to his name.

After retirement, he instilled the same passion into new hobbies and activities, in particular cooking, gardening, travel, golf, and wine drinking.

Mike was predeceased by his wife Chris and will be dearly missed by children Susan, David (Christina), Ian (Brenda) and Tony, and by grandchildren, Daniel, Xavier, Emily, and Aidan.

Provided by his daughter, Merinda Wilson

10 April 1929 - 2 March 2024

Neville was born in the Derbyshire village of Youlgreave on 10 April 1929. He studied at Lady Manners School, Bakewell, then took on an apprenticeship with Plowright Bros. engineering firm in Chesterfield. He was also studying part-time at Chesterfield Technical College, and when he realised he could get a scholarship to study full-time on a graduate course, he jumped at the opportunity. He had offers from both King’s College (now the University of Newcastle) and City and Guilds, but by all accounts, it was the lure of life in the big city that brought him to Imperial College. He did not forget his roots however, and made lifelong friendships with Brian Walker (Mech Eng 1950-54) and John Radford (Mech Eng 1951-1954), also Derbyshire boys. 

Along with stories about jazz nights at the Coal Hole on the Strand and Head of the River boat races, the stand out story related to a speech by Sir Hugh Ford (Professor of Applied Mechanics 1951-78) about the use of germanium to make semi-conductors that would replace thermionic vales in radios, and that ultimately would lead to the computer revolution that we have now all embraced.  

After graduating in 1954, Neville’s ambition was to work in the Copperbelt, but an opportunity with Mount Isa Mines Queensland, Australia, led him to the other side of the world where he began his career in power generation. After Mount Isa, Neville specialised in power generation at Ravenscraig steelworks Glasgow, La Collette power station Jersey, Kainji hydro-electric project Nigeria, TANESCO electricity company Tanzania, Derna power station and desalination plant and Tripoli West power station Libya, Morupule Power project Botswana, Ras Kanatib power station in Yemen, and Suez Ataka power station Egypt. After retiring he took on a consultancy role at RNAD Coulport nuclear weapons base in Scotland.

Neville returned to his native Derbyshire and enjoyed a long retirement. He followed his passion for gliding with the Derbyshire and Lancashire Gliding Club at Camphill, Great Hucklow, where he had had his first introduction to flying at the age of 16 as an Air Training Cadet. Neville was also keen to inspire young people to take on a career in engineering. Throughout his retirement he volunteered as a STEM Ambassador for Derbyshire schools, and took part in the Young Engineers and Scientists of Derbyshire annual Design Challenge event. 

After a long and very well-lived life, Neville died on 2 March 2024.

Paul Minton -  B.Sc (Eng) ACGI. C.Eng. MICE. MRAeS

30 May 1932 - 5 February 2024

Provided by his wife, Lorna Minton

Paul studied Aeronautical Engineering at Imperial in the 1950s as an undergraduate, and a few years later he joined the staff as a lecturer in Civil Engineering, specializing in Hydraulics. He also accepted the post of Warden of Garden Hall, then became the first Warden of Linstead Hall when it was built in the 1960s. 

He became Assistant Head of Civil Engineering, but at the age of 51, he opted for early retirement under the university retirement scheme introduced by Margaret Thatcher.

He then commenced an interesting  career as a consultant, which resulted in a number of overseas appointments including Australia , Brazil, Newfoundland, Mauritius and Turkey, to name a few.

Paul died at the age of 91 and he leaves behind his wife Lorna (who is a botanical artist), three sons, 7 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren.

Provided by Jane O’Neill (daughter)

1936 - 2023

Paul was born in Prague, Czech Republic 19.01.1936. He was a Holocaust survivor who survived two camps and was rescued and placed in hiding until the end of the war. He came to the UK and was eventually adopted.

Paul had an interest in science, this took him to Imperial College London to complete his doctorate. He married Joan in 1964 and has three children, Claire, Jane, and Michael. He lectured in Metallurgy at Manchester Met University and was councillor for Cheadle for 40 years.

He was a truly special person who triumphed against great adversity. His family and friends will sadly miss his kindness and his understated determination

Provided by Phil Gallant, Peter's son.

1929 - 2022

Peter Edward Gallant passed away peacefully on 3 June. Peter studied Chemistry at Imperial from 1948 to 1951 and went on to have a successful career in the industry with Albright and Wilson and later ICI. Upon leaving ICI, Peter took a role with the Council for Voluntary Service in Leeds which involved providing management advice to inner-city groups. Peter was awarded an MBE for his services to the community in 2005. 

Provided by David Ewins

1924-2020

Peter Grootenhuis, who passed away before Christmas 2020, spent all of his professional life in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College London. In 1940, Peter came to England from Holland with his parents. By the time his parents returned home 6 years later, Peter had graduated in 1944 with a BSc in Mechanical Engineering at Imperial. Peter was already working on his PhD research which was undertaken partly at Imperial and also as a Graduate Apprentice at the Bristol Aeroengines Co. Peter was appointed as Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 1946. Following his PhD, he was appointed as a lecturer in 1949.

During the 1950s, Peter was one of a small group of staff who participated in the development of the College’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. The decade leading up to the transformation, new courses were designed, and the new course structure was led by Sir Owen Saunders, with whom Peter had undertaken his PhD research on Transpiration Cooling of Turbine Blades. Early in the 1960s, Peter spent a sabbatical year at Cornell University in the USA where he developed contacts with several notable US colleagues and brought many up-to-date ideas – such as Random Vibration - to the new courses at Imperial. He designed two of the laboratories in the new Mechanical Engineering building and these remained fully operational for over 50 years.

Peter was an inspirational teacher, and a skilled user of chalk and board, although he would concentrate on ensuring his students understood the physics, rather than leaving just with a tidy set of notes. He had poor eyesight throughout his career but had an uncanny knack of being able to point to exactly the right spot on the blackboard when referring to a specific equation – a skill which unnerved some students. In addition to the mainstream undergraduate Dynamics and Vibrations courses, Peter also developed an MSc course on Sound and Vibration in collaboration with the Department of Physics.

Although Peter spent the great majority of his career at Imperial College London, he had many interests and connections in the industrial world where most of his students would join after graduation. As a result, his teaching was heavily infused with the realities of the outside world. His greatest expertise was in practical and experimental activities. He passed this on to all of his students and to several of his younger academic colleagues. This connection with the real world was strengthened by his many and varied links with industry. One of his earliest and grandest projects was in the Barbican development in the 1960s. He ensured that the apartments and concert halls which straddled the Metropolitan railway line could eliminate any noise from the passing trains. Peter incorporated new and imaginative vibration isolation designs. Several other building projects followed the same approach. Alongside these civil engineering applications, Peter also had strong links with a number of defence research groups, including with the Admiralty and the RARDE.

Peter met Sally in 1953 and they married in 1954. She and their two children, Felicity and Hugh, survive him. They lived within easy walking distance of the Department and this meant that Peter was closely associated with the College’s interface with its neighbours. In the early days, Peter was also active in various sports including rowing and sailing - both of which he pursued at the College. He was a Churchwarden of Holy Trinity Church in Prince Consort Road for 18 years and he was also a member of the PCC for a span of 53 continuous years, from 1957 to 2010. Peter was a member of the Council of Imperial College between 1974 and 1979, reflecting his keen interest with the internal running of the College. He was President of the Old Centralians and was elected to a Fellowship of the City and Guilds of London Institute (FCGI). He was elected to a Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1982.

Provided by his wife, Nancy Breslin

1931 - 2020

Peter Caws was born in 1931 in Southall, Middlesex, in a house that can still be seen from the train between Heathrow and Paddington.  He was brought up in the Exclusive Brethren. In 1952, Peter attended Imperial College London and received a BSc (Hons) in Physics. In 1953, he emigrated to the US and received his PhD in Philosophy from Yale University in 1956.

There followed teaching stints at Michigan State University and the University of Kansas, and a brief interlude as an officer of a major foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York.  Back in the academic world, Peter taught first at the City University of New York (Hunter College and the Graduate School).  In 1982, he was appointed University Professor of Philosophy, and later also Professor of Human Sciences, at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. He retired as University Professor of Philosophy Emeritus.  Teaching his last seminar in 2017, Peter was very dedicated to his students.

Over the years, Peter sat on the boards of many organisations. This included The Society for General Systems Research, the American Philosophical Association, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. 

Peter was the author or editor of books on various topics. This ranged from philosophy of science to structuralism, Sartre, moral philosophy, political philosophy and religious indoctrination. Peter authored over 150 articles and reviews. His final publication, released in 2019 by Barsuk Records, was a unique book-vinyl project produced by his son, Matthew, entitled The Book of Hylas.

Peter has three children, Hilary Caws-Elwitt, Matthew Caws, and Elisabeth Caws. He died at home in Washington, D.C. in April 2020. Peter was in the care of his second wife, Nancy Breslin, to whom he had been married for 32 years. 

There is more information at www.petercaws.com.

Provided by Jillian Lindon, Peter’s wife.

1939 - 2018

Peter Lindon was an alumnus of Imperial College London. He attended the university in 1957 as an undergraduate where he read Engineering. He continued with postgraduate studies until 1961 when he moved to Glasgow where in 1966 he completed his doctorate.

On leaving university, Peter considered following the family tradition. He came from a gifted artistic musical family – his father was the Principal Violinist and Leader for the London Symphony Orchestra. Peter worked for BBC Television in adult education as Director and Producer but returned to his main interest of electrical engineering.

Peter was a man with many interests. He had a fine, analytic, scientific mind and he was one of the founding members of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the newly formed University of Sussex in 1966. Peter was extensively involved with university life – writing papers, developing curricula, supporting students, working with the Vice Chancellor, linking with industry and local and international enterprises.

Peter and colleagues worked on a funded research project to investigate a novel form of linear electric motor for advanced ground transport. This was a coordinated programme involving the Universities of Bath, Manchester, Nottingham and Sussex. Later, Peter concentrated on power electronics and he was also able to combine his love of electrical engineering with the theatre when he helped to design a novel new lighting system for Andrew Lloyd Webber's Starlight Express.

Peter had many and varied interests outside university life. He made an exceptional contribution to the community through his work in the NHS for over 20 years. He was appointed Chairman of East Sussex Area Health Authority in 1977 and later became Vice Chairman of Hastings and Rother NHS Trust.

After he retired, his musical interest came to the fore and he became determined to learn to play the French Horn and was able to play with the Lewes Concert Orchestra. Peter was chair of the New Sussex Opera Company and this reflected his deep love of classical music associated with the musical heritage from his violinist father.

Peter ended his life battling with the devastating consequences of Alzheimer’s, He was dearly loved by his family and friends and respected by his professional colleagues. He died of a brain tumour in January 2018.

Provided by his wife, Bonnie Lind

Peter was a civil engineer graduate of City and Guilds, Imperial College London, and obtained his MBA at Harvard Business School. Within his career, he was awarded several US patents in the plastic extrusion company and developed a device that made it possible for worldwide companies to save on plastic waste.

We met and married in Boston whilst he was attending Harvard Business School. We returned to England after graduation where we had two children. Here, Peter worked for his dad at PETER LIND & CO and had the opportunity to travel all over Canada and the USA. Whilst in the USA, Peter one day decided that he wanted to live in California. We moved and had two more children in San Francisco. Peter was a member of the City and Guilds alumni organisation and remained active in volunteering with the SF Symphony, international student exchanges and the usual activities associated with our children. He always followed the news of the developments and expansions of London University.

We all miss our dynamic husband and father who was the centre of all our lives.

Provided by Alma Barlow, John’s wife

1934 – 2020

John was from a farming family but from an early age it was obvious that he would not go into farming. His interests were always scientific and mathematical. He attended Nottingham High School where he excelled in the science subjects and in his final year, he was awarded a scholarship which helped him gain entry to Imperial College, London, to study electronics and electrical engineering.

After graduating with a first-class honours degree from Imperial he went on to complete his PhD in 1959. His research work was concerned with the ultrasonic, viscoelastic, and dielectric properties of liquids and polymers. This research work continued for some years after he moved from Imperial to the University of Glasgow in 1961. From 1985 his research work was involved with coherent optical communications.

John enjoyed his time in the University of Glasgow and professionally contributed a great deal to the Department he worked in. He was proud to have introduced the Electronics with Music course (1992) which brought in a group of highly motivated students with different skill sets and ambitions. John was greatly appreciated by his students. He quite often received letters acknowledging his influence as a teacher from ex-students from the UK and other parts of the world.

Outside of university life, John’s DIY skills were legendary, there did not seem to be anything he could not do. He was never happier than when taking precise measurements, doing intricate calculations and creating diagrams for all manner of projects. He was also very interested in the history of the Romans in Britain, and his knowledge (and his book collection) on this subject was impressive.

As a person, John was the sweetest man, with a quiet unassuming manner and a dry, witty sense of humour which endeared him to his friends, and to anyone who got to know him. He was a loving and supportive husband, father and grandfather and his family will miss him always.

31.12.1934 - 23.09.2024

Provided by Chris and Leonora Hill

Peter Charles John Hill (BSc, PhD, DIC, CEng, FIEE, Life SMIEEE), a distinguished electrical engineer known for his sharp intellect and warm personality, passed away peacefully on September 23rd. His journey in electrical engineering began with a State Scholarship in 1952, leading him to study at Birmingham University where he graduated with first-class honours. He subsequently won the very first BBC Research Scholarship - and also an IEE Scholarship - before furthering his studies at Imperial College, London, earning a PhD under the supervision of Nobel Prize winner Professor Dennis Gabor. His doctoral research focused on Television Bandwidth Compression. This pioneering work laid some of the groundwork for the development of modern video compression technologies like MPEG.

Peter's career was marked by significant contributions to both research and education. He conducted research at the BBC, before joining the Royal Military College of Science where he became Professor of Communications and Information Systems Engineering. He was a beloved mentor, inspiring generations of students with his passion for engineering. He ultimately retired as Emeritus Professor, but his love for the field never waned.

Beyond his academic achievements, Peter was a dedicated advocate for his profession. He remained actively involved in numerous extramural professional bodies, including the IEEE, IET, AOC, and DEHS. He played a key role in the IEEE's efforts to commemorate significant milestones in engineering history, such as commemorating the development of public key cryptography at GCHQ. He served as President of the UK Chapter of The Association of Old Crows from 2003-2006, having been an active member of the Board of Directors - an organization that promoted collaboration between the military, industry, and academia.

Peter Charles John Hill's dedication to advancing the field of electrical engineering, coupled with his commitment to nurturing future generations of engineers, leaves a lasting impact on the world of technology and education. He will be deeply missed by his colleagues, students, and all who knew him.

08.07.1930 - 14.07.2021

Provided by Mylene Hodgson Curtis and Roberta Hodgson

Raphael William Hodgson was born in Stone, Buckinghamshire, England in 1930 and died peacefully on July 14 2021 at 91 years, surrounded by his family after a stroke. He was the devoted husband of Roberta Reichenbach Hodgson for 63 years, loving father of Mylene, Suzy and Julia, and grandfather of Morgan, Austin and Silas Curtis, William and Nathan Hodgson-Walker, and Anja, Marcel and Stefan Kottmann.

A nationally ranked mathematician in his teenage years, Raph graduated from Imperial College London in 1951. Raph subsequently traveled to the US on a student visa, and within months he was drafted into the U.S. army and stationed at Aberdeen Proving Ground. He graduated from Harvard Business School in 1957 and began his career at Citibank in Paris. Back in New York as part of Goldman Sachs corporate finance group, Raph executed the first derivative transaction in 1976, which he later described in Birth of the Swap published in 2009 by Financial Analysts Journal. In 1990 Raph gathered younger colleagues and founded General Re Financial Products, serving as CEO until his retirement. 

Raph had a life-long love of the countryside. On the board of the Aspetuck Land Trust for over twenty years, he headed up many projects in Connecticut to preserve meadows, trails and local parks. 

16 January 1936 – 3 July 2018
Provided by Reginald's wife and daughter. 

Reginald Noel Shield (Reg) was born in Peterborough on the 16 January 1936, to Rex and Mabel Shield. He was educated at Hookergate Grammar School near Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where he met Laureen, who would become his wife, before going on to study aeronautical engineering at Imperial College London. While at university, Reg joined the Imperial College Motor Club and would drive Boanerges (the only surviving 1902 James and Brown car) around the streets of the capital, causing traffic to come to a standstill as passers-by admired the vehicle.

After leaving university, Reg worked for English Electric, building aeroplanes at Wharton in Lancashire, including work on the Lightning and the ill-fated TSR-2. During this time, he and Laureen had two children, Christine and Ian. In 1966, he returned to his native Tyneside to work as a Project Manager for Parsons, later moving to Vickers as a Commercial Manager.

In 1980, the building where Reg worked was closed down and, still with Vickers, he moved to Eastleigh in Hampshire as a director of the Special Projects Group, which designed and delivered one-off engineering projects into the aerospace, defence, nuclear and high-end civil markets. A colleague from that time described Reg as “very much a people person, always open for discussion and always offering encouragement, never criticism - even when we were really up against it.”

Reg won a contract for Vickers to provide some unique sub-sea equipment for use in the North Sea, which required a great deal of time being spent in the USA. Consequently, he and Laureen moved to Dallas for six months in 1982, living in a hotel and working in a cramped portacabin. Laureen provided secretarial support without pay, to fill her time.

In 1987 came one final move, to Plymouth and Devonport Management Ltd (DML), where Reg became Commercial Director. DML took over the commercial management of the Devonport dockyard from the Ministry of Defence, requiring a great deal of work to renegotiate all the ongoing contracts in a short space of time. As the workforce was cut, Reg became focused on supplementing a rapidly reducing Royal Navy workload. Sales of ex-RN warships to foreign governments were an area that Reg and his team pursued vigorously: at one stage, Reg’s claim to fame could have been that he had turned the dockyard company into a global top 40 naval force. The company literally owned two Leander Class frigates and a couple of Oberon Class submarines while overseas buyers were sought. A major theme that Reg initiated and followed up was the super-yacht market. The cachet of a Royal Dockyard working on an owner’s yacht proved to be a sound marketing angle.
As Reg approached retirement, the business grew and his initiatives resulted in a number of extremely challenging design-and-build contracts for some very demanding owners. These one-off contracts were worth many tens of millions of pounds and provided important jobs and experience, both in Devonport and later Appledore in north Devon. Reg finally retired at the age of 65.

A capable engineer and businessman at work; at home Reg was a skilled craftsman, building intricate and authentic model boats, planes and baroque musical instruments, many of which he also played. He enjoyed a glass of fine wine, travelling in France and spending time on the English canals on his narrowboat Debdale.

A sudden and catastrophic illness in July 2014 left Reg with significant disabilities. He was nursed with dedication by Laureen, his wife of sixty years, and he fought hard to recover, defying the doctors’ expectations. However, his many illnesses finally got the better of him and he passed away peacefully at home on the 3 July 2018.

Reg’s long life might be summed up by Bessie Anderson Stanley:

He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much;

Who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children;

Who has filled his niche and accomplished his task;

Who has left the world better than he found it;

Who has looked for the best in others and given the best he had;

Whose life was an inspiration

Whose memory is a benediction.

Provided by his son Julian Lorkin

1934-2023

Mr Rex Ernest Lorkin BSc FBCS (1934-2023) studied Mathematics at Imperial College London from 1951-1955 and was one of the first students to engage in the then novel field of computing.

Rex was born in Sutton on 7 May 1934, and taught himself to read by studying his father’s copy of Daily Mail. His father, being an electrical engineer, encouraged him to study Mathematics, French, and Physics at Sutton County School where, by all accounts, he was an excellent pupil. Gaining a place at Imperial College he cycled from Sutton every day through a London that was recovering from the Blitz – indeed Rex remembered sitting in the family bomb shelter in 1943 when the neighbouring house was destroyed in a late night raid.

His favourite memory from Imperial College was learning to drive around Hyde Park and the Science Museum in 1952. After marrying in 1955 he took one of the world’s first jobs as a computer programmer at GEC Stanmore, and then at the De Havilland Aircraft Company in Hatfield using a vacuum-tube (valve) Ferranti Pegasus computer, where he developed the first computer loading models for the fuselage for later versions of the De Havilland Comet.

Taking a more senior role with the nuclear research establishment at CERN in Geneva, he moved to Switzerland in 1960. He wrote the first I/O (general input and output) package for the then new IBM 7094 system, and developed the first practical operating system for the CDC6600.

Continuing his interest in the practical implementation of computer systems for studying nuclear physics, he became the principal scientific officer at the science research council at Daresbury Nuclear Physics Laboratory in Cheshire. Managing a team of 17, he was responsible for all operations at the computer centre, and invited the then Prime Minister Harold Wilson OBE to open the new Laboratory in 1967.

Noting the rise of procedural, imperative computer programming languages for scientific and engineering applications, he joined IBM Hursley Laboratories in 1968 to become Chairman of the PL/1 Language Control Board. Known as Programming Language One, he argued for a function rich language, with a wide range of data types, and with a performance equal to native machine language. He and his team wrote the Language Specifications, GY33-6003, which are still in use to this day.

Performance in processing became a significant area of development at IBM, and Rex became manager of the system support group, and designed and implemented the first system performance analysis from 1973, delivering an academic paper on the subject at EUROIFIP79. By 1980 his responsibilities had widened to include analysis of all data processing systems on the IBM networks.

Retiring from IBM in 1991 at the age of 55, he enjoyed a decade living just outside Winchester, before retiring to Helston in Cornwall in 2000.

A keen cyclist, he explored the Hampshire countryside on two wheels from the 1950s onwards, and as a railway enthusiast joined the Mid Hants Railway when the line, which ran close to his house, closed in 1973. He was one of the original shareholders, helping to fund the purchase of Alresford station, and invested in the rebuilding of the now vibrant Heritage Railway.

In recognition of his groundbreaking work in the field of IT, he was made a fellow of the British Computer Society in 1972, became a life fellow in 1977, and finally a Chartered Fellow of the BCS in 2004 for his dedication to innovation in Computing.

He leaves two daughters and a son, all of whom followed Rex into IT, and various roles at IBM Hursley Laboratories at times in the 1970s, 80s and 90s.

Provided by his wife Barbara Parsons (née Somerville)

1930 - 2023

It is with great sadness that I have to let people know that my husband, Richard (Dick) John Parsons died on 31 October 2023, aged 94.

 Richard was born in Benenden, Kent and educated in Ashford. After doing his military service in the Royal Navy Richard attended Wye College, graduating in 1952 with a BSc Agric. He and I met at Wye, in 1949, and were married in 1952. Richard thoroughly enjoyed his years at Wye - he joined the hockey team, became Captain, was awarded his colours and represented the University of London team.  

 After leaving Wye Richard and I emigrated to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where he worked in the department of Conservation and Extension for 32 years, finishing his career in Zimbabwe as Provincial Officer for Matabeleland South, based in Bulawayo. His work in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe included the supervision of the building of earth dams and contour ridges on farms and advising on general farming matters. In later years he had to help tobacco farmers gain the knowledge to diversify into growing other crops and farming cattle, after sanctions were applied to the country following the declaration of independence in 1965 – a complex time in the country’s history. On his retirement, in 1984, we moved to South Africa where Richard worked for KFC (Kwazulu Finance and Investment Corporation) for 9 years, assisting local sugar producers.

After he retired (for the second time), we moved to Australia (Canberra) to be closer to two of our four children and their families – one other is still in Harare (Zimbabwe) and the youngest is a vet in Zambia. Richard’s years of retirement were spent being involved with volunteer community work, (including delivering Red Cross Meals-on-Wheels, door-knock collections and helping with a charity card stall), enjoying travel overseas and within Australia, gardening, reading and spending time with family and friends.

A former work colleague of Richard’s is quoted as saying: “I remember Dick as the epitome of a gentleman. He was a wonderful boss and it was a privilege to have worked with him. At the same time, he was a great friend, full of wise counsel, and I owe him a great debt of gratitude for all his help through both good and bad times. All who knew him will remember him with great affection and feel a deep sense of loss.”

A great tribute to the man we knew and loved. Richard will be greatly missed by me, our four children and their families. 

25.01.1926 – 28.12.2019

Provided by her niece, Sally Roberts

Rosemary suffered serious asthma through her childhood and was originally refused medical training.  She obtained a BSc degree at Exeter then argued she was fit enough to train.  Charing Cross was her father’s Alma Mater (Dr William Leslie) and Rosemary was eventually accepted on the proviso that she did pathology or other laboratory work, rather than front line medicine.  She graduated in 1956.

After 10 years of such work, including two years at Tedhidy Chest Hospital, Rosemary was released from her undertaking and was able to follow her heart to work as a GP.  She joined an all-female practice in Torquay where she worked happily until she retired. Rosemary was very active in the St. John’s Ambulance, first training volunteers then becoming an examiner.  This led to her being inducted as a Sister, then Member of the Order of St. John.

Rosemary retired to Holywell Bay but continued to do some part time and locum work in the area, eventually moving to Penzance to be near family.  For someone who was not supposed to grow up or live to middle age, Rosemary passed peacefully away just short of her 94^th birthday.

1 December 1926 - 8 February 2020

Provided by his daughters Anuradha Sen and Anasua Chakraborty

Sankar was born in Calcutta, India, in 1926. He was a brilliant student in school, graduating with distinction marks in Mathematics, Additional Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. He enrolled in the Electrical Engineering degree program at B.E. College (now IIEST) and scored record marks throughout his college exams. He graduated as a Gold medallist with a first class in 1948. He had an avid interest in music, theatre, poetry and sports. He also played cricket as a left-handed pace bowler. 

He was the first engineer after India became independent to receive a research fellowship in engineering by the Government of India. He enrolled as a research fellow at B.E. College in 1949. In 1952, he received a full scholarship from the Government of India and was the first Indian student to enrol in the engineering doctoral program at Imperial College, London. Under the guidance of Professor Bernard Adkins, he achieved his PhD, received a D.I.C. and returned to India in 1955.

In 1956 he began teaching in B.E. College and became the Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering in 1965. In 1986 he became Vice Chancellor of Jadavpur University. In addition to his duties as Vice Chancellor, he continued to teach classes at the university. He has authored two books for undergraduate studies on Electrical Machinery which are still used as texts and references by electrical engineering students. As a leading Indian academic, he was on the board of the IIT Kharagpur, the Senate of Calcutta University and the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore. At the same time he was a Director of the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation and of the West Bengal Power Development Corporation.

In 1991, Professor Sen was appointed the Minister-in-Charge of Power, Science and Technology, and Non-conventional Energy Sources of the Government of West Bengal. During his tenure as a Minister, he accomplished the herculean task of turning around the power situation in the State. He also initiated many projects in Bengal, including Science City, WBREDA and the Energy Education Park for children. He was the first person to introduce solar power in India. WBREDA, under his supervision, installed the first photovoltaic plant at Sagar Islands in West Bengal.

In 1997, Professor Sen was conferred the great honour of a Fellowship from Imperial College, London.

Since 2000, he had served as a member of the State Planning Commission of Sikkim and advisor to the Chief Ministers of Sikkim and Assam for several years. All his life he was actively engaged in the development of various grassroot organisations in the city of Calcutta and in rural Bengal. Even in his 90’s, he travelled to remote villages to meet with teachers and students of schools to share thoughts and advocate pedagogical means and methods to make learning a fun activity for children. He had been the President of the Institute of Open Technology and Applications and Science Communicators Forum - both organisations dedicate their services to train school teachers. 

His dream was to see India with hundred percent literacy, where children grow up in an environment of peace and happiness.

Provided by his brother, Roger Woodcock

11/9/1931 – 15/10/2020

Sidney was born in Hampton, Middlesex, England, 11th September 1931, and educated at Hampton Grammar School. After A Levels, he took an apprenticeship at W H Allen, Bedford and was awarded a State Scholarship on the results of his HNC. Sidney joined City & Guilds Engineering College in 1954, graduating in 1957 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He was offered a post graduate opportunity but on Professor Ford’s advice decided to go straight into industry.

Sidney joined GEC at Erith working on large steam turbines. However, the demand for power station steam turbines dried up as the CEGB (Central Electricity Generating Board) had installed excess capacity. After a spell at a GEC plant in West Hartlepool, he left GEC and joined the Admiralty at Bath to work on the new aircraft carriers ordered by the UK Government; there was a change in Government and the carriers were cancelled. The only work then being offered was PDS (Post Design Services) on nuclear submarines. He decided that the prospects in the UK were bleak and applied for a position with GE America, a totally separate company from UK’s GEC, and was successful.

By this time, he had married Gillian and they had three children. Sidney joined the GE Large Steam Turbines Division in Schenectady in 1968 and the family moved to the USA.

He had a very successful career with GE who recognised his value as he had shop floor experience, the academic qualification and the intellect. Sidney spent some time in Korea when GE turbines were being made there under licence and also in Mexico. After a short retirement, GE asked him to come back and eventually took full retirement aged 80.

Sid and Gill had a large house and garden in Niskayuna, New York State, and decided in 2020 to downsize due to failing health. They moved to an apartment in Portland, Maine, where they were near their two daughters. Sidney died on 15th October, shortly after the move – he had done his best for Gill.

Provided by his son, Robert Skinner

Stan was born in North London in 1927 to Stanley and Edith and a younger brother to Joan. The family moved a few years later to Acton in West London. At the outset of war, Stan was evacuated to South Devon but returned a few months later to attend Acton Grammar School. Despite having the family interest in Arsenal F.C. and visits to Lords to watch Middlesex, Stan was not gifted at sports but excelled academically. Good A Level grades earned him an offer to study at Imperial College London.

At the College, Stan studied Chemical Engineering on the grounds that he was interested in chemistry and engineering. Upon completing his degree, Stan stayed to write a PhD, which he completed in 1951. As well as academic subjects, Stan developed a lifelong love of climbing and mountaineering, and a love of classical music which was strengthened by visits to the nearby Royal Albert Hall.

In Autumn 1951, Stan started work as a Chemical Engineer for the American company Monsanto at their plant at Ruabon, North Wales. He was to remain with Monsanto for his entire working life. In time, he transferred to the factory at Newport, South Wales, where he met Margaret in 1956. They married in September 1957 and had two children, Robert and Shirley. Stan’s work took him to other Monsanto sites in the UK and occasionally to Europe and the US. Spare weekends were invariably spent walking in the surrounding countryside, with particular favourites being the Black Mountains and the Wye Valley.

In 1975, Stan transferred to the Safety Protection Group based at head office in Victoria, London, and moved to Hertfordshire. He settled in Hemel Hempstead. Stan spent several months of 1976 in the US learning about his new role. By 1985 Monsanto had downsized their head office and relocated to Basingstoke. Stan’s last overseas trip was as part of a large but ultimately unsuccessful delegation to the Soviet Union. In 1990 Stan was awarded the prestigious Ned Franklin medal by the Institute of Chemical Engineers, and he retired a year later in Autumn 1991.

Upon retirement, Stan became active in the Basingstoke Ramblers, where he enjoyed the Hampshire countryside and New Forest, and was still walking until the age of 90. He and Margaret joined the U3A and Stan gave several talks to the local Science & Technology group. Stan was also an active member of the Monsanto Pensioners Group and the IChemE. He continued to take an interest in events at Imperial College.

12 May 1933 - 6 April 2022

Provided by Andrew Long

When Tim left school in Altrincham he went to Wye College from 1956 to 1959.

Tim spoke with great fondness about Wye. Set in a small Kent village in the North Downs, the heart of the College had beautiful buildings dating back to the fifteenth century. It specialised in agriculture from late Victorian times and had a farm, woodland, and ancient grassland along with specialist laboratories.

Tim told us of playing in the football team and how much he learnt there. He was with like-minded people who like him, cared about nature and good farming methods. He was a life member of the Wye Agricola Club for those who graduated from Wye.

After a few years of practical experience working on farms, he joined a new research station created by the Potato Marketing Board. It was set up on the former RAF Sutton Bridge airfield in Lincolnshire and the building he worked in was part of the airfield’s main hangar, still standing today. He joined in 1963, before the research station was officially opened and so he was there to set up the facilities and to start the research programmes. He was always interested in the history of the RAF station and stayed in touch with Sutton Bridge long after he retired. He was there at its 50th birthday celebrations, 25 years after he retired from the institution.

Before Sutton Bridge was established, the potato growers used traditional methods of storing potatoes, but this led to large losses due to weather and disease. Tim led the research and development team working on potato storage, establishing the storage of the crop indoors as an integral part of the potato industry.

Tim was involved in developments which are now routinely used by all the major processing business like McCain and PepsiCo, all the supermarket retailers of fresh potatoes and, as Sara remembers, the makers of potato crisps.

Colleagues still in the industry and research said that they learnt much about potatoes from Tim which put them in great stead throughout their careers. He was generous in sharing his knowledge and insights about crop storage and potato physiology.

He travelled widely sharing knowledge and he told us of various trips he had made including to India and to the home of the potato, the Andes. When Sara and I were in a remote part of northern Ghana, we met a travelling Lincolnshire potato farmer who of course knew Tim well from his work and shared stories over the campfire.

Tim retired in 1988 at the age of 50 after working at Sutton Bridge for 25 years.

23.5.32-10.9.24

Provided by daughter Elizabeth Denton

After spending several years at night school gaining enough qualifications, he was accepted by the City & Guilds College of Engineering, part of the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London University. Where he obtained his B.Sc.(Eng) with first class honours. He became interested in the properties of materials and continued to do research in the ultrasonic properties of materials, for which he obtained his M.Sc.(Eng). Whilst at Imperial College he joined the college fencing club receiving his college athletic club colours.

He joined GEC Hirst Research Centre (HRC), working on research and development of germanium switching transistors and diodes, tunnel diodes and MOS transistors. He later did similar work on Silicon switching diodes, planar thyristors and microwave power transistors. He joined STL, Harlow, to head a project on design, development, reliability and failure analysis applied to microwave transistors for underwater cable applications. Over the years at HRC and STL he received several patents, gave lectures at universities, the Institute of Electrical Engineers and the Institute of Physics and at international conferences. He was a member of the IEE and Inst of Physics. He remained at STL (later Nortel) until his retirement in 1995. He had a life full of Christian faith, charity, duty and service.

He was immensely proud of his association with Imperial College, and would often talk fondly of his time there.

He had a long, happy marriage to Margaret, his wife of 61 years. He will be missed by his 2 children, 4 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. 

15 November 1927 – 6 March 2018
Provided by Sarah Jarvis, Bill’s daughter, with material supplied by Dr. J. A. Traquair, a long-time friend and colleague.

Bill Jarvis, author of Managing Diseases in Greenhouse Crops (APS Press, 1992), died this year aged 90. He was born in Olney, Buckinghamshire, England to a farming family and, following a brief interruption for military service in the Royal Air Force (1946-48), Bill Jarvis was granted a BSc in Honours Botany from the University of Sheffield in 1951. He was awarded a PhD in Plant Pathology from the University of London and the Diploma of the Imperial College of Science and Technology (D.I.C) in London in 1953. He was accepted as a Member of the Institute of Biology (M.I.Biol.) in 1954.

During his education in the United Kingdom, Bill was fortunate to have been mentored by two world-renowned authorities in mycology and plant pathology: Professor John Webster instilled in Bill an unfailing curiosity about fungi and Professor William Brown ignited a passion for the biology, ecology and taxonomy of Botrytis cinerea and the control of grey mold disease on assorted hosts.
Bill’s study of Botrytis gray mould and various powdery mildews informed his research throughout his career. He became a world-renowned expert in fungal problems in plants. Bill worked on diseases of berry crops for 20 years at the Scottish Horticultural Research Institute in Invergowrie, Scotland. Sabbaticals to the Plant Pathology department at the University of California Berkeley (1963-64) and to the Plant Diseases Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in New Zealand from 1969-1970 furthered his research.

In 1974, he was offered a position at the Agriculture Canada Research Station in Harrow, Ontario where he worked on greenhouse tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers, dealing closely with local growers. He was Head of the Plant Pathology department until 1989, and retired in 1994, but was contracted for four more years to finish research projects. His focus was on biological control of fungal plant diseases. While on a work transfer at Glasshouse Crops Research Institute in Rustington, England (1979-80), Bill worked on the isolation of yeast-like fungi that appeared on wild plants. This led to the development of a new type of biological control on cucumber powdery mildew when back in Harrow during the 1980s with Dr James Traquair. In collaboration with the Brampton supply company Plant Products and Dr Richard Belanger, a new biological control was patented as SPORODEX in Canada in 2002 and in the USA in 2003.

Bill was a dedicated educator, writer, editor, and supporter of diversity in education and hiring practices. With a wry sense of humour and creative talent, Bill was a keen volunteer with cultural and service organisations such as Rotary International and the Park House Museum in Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada. During his retirement, he ran an independent bookstore with his daughter, Sarah, and his wife Jo. He wrote chapters on local history for various publications and learned the art of tinsmithing at the local museum. He continued to support Sarah with extensive proofreading, editing, and creative work until his passing in March 2018. In addition to Sarah, he leaves his younger brother Roy (also an Imperial alumnus in engineering) in England, family and dear friends in Canada, Britain, the USA, and Germany.

A full appreciation of Bill’s work can be found here: Traquair, James A. (September 2004). “William R. Jarvis, B.Sc., Ph.D., D.I.C, M.I. Biol.” CPS-SCP News 48 (3) 88-90.

Provided by Mrs E Stevens

Bill was a mining engineer for nearly all of his adult life. After serving in the Royal Engineers in the latter stages of the 2nd World War, he studied at Imperial College and the Royal School of Mines after which he had his first period of mining in Cornwall, his home county. He then moved to Spain for 3 years to work for Rio Tinto Zinc before returning to Cornwall to start his long career with English China Clays. There he worked in both Cornwall and Devon, becoming Devon Area Manager at Lee Moor in South West Devon before retiring in 1986.

It is with sorrow I have to report that my husband, William John Stevens, died on 18 December, 2007, aged 83. He maintained regular contact with many friends he made from IC/RSM and during his long involvement in the mining industry, and has been fondly remembered by them in messages of sympathy I have received.

Provided by his daughter, Alison Boughey

3/1/1931- 27/12/2018

William Neil Fenton Boughey attended Charing Cross Hospital Medical School from 1949- 54, graduating MBBS. After 3 years in the RAMC, he returned to Charing Cross Hospital, holding house posts, specialising in orthopaedics; he gained the FRCS (Eng) and FRCS (Ed) qualifications.

He was appointed a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the newly commissioned Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, Lincolnshire in 1971, where he and a consultant colleague built up a full orthopaedic and trauma service.

Previously there was no such service in South Lincolnshire, patients having to travel out of the area. He retired from the Pilgrim Hospital in 1992, but continued with medico- legal reports for the next ten years; also serving as a Boston Borough councillor for eight years from 1991.