2024
Roderick O'Brien, formerly the Director of Research and Enterprise Services, passed away in September 2024. Roderick first joined Lancaster University in 2001 to establish and lead a new Contract’s Office on behest of the University’s then Director of Finance, Euan McGregor. In this role he lead the creation of a new contracts team and contracts policy as well as the creation of the University’s first intellectual property commercialisation policy – laying the important foundations for what has become a thriving spin out business environment at the institution. In 2003 a new university division was established to oversee all support services for research support and external engagement and under his inaugural Directorship of the new Research and Enterprise Services Division (RES) the University enjoyed a significant growth in research income. A full tribute is available on the University's website.
Professor Emeritus John B Whittaker, from Lancaster Environment Centre, died in September 2024. He came to Lancaster in September 1966 as lecturer in Biological Sciences and promoted to senior lecturer in 1974. The following year he went to the University of Calgary for six months where he retained links for some time. He was Director of Ecology from 1979 onwards and awarded a personal chair in Ecology from 1987. He was Head of Department from 1983-1986 and when the Institute of Environmental and Biological Sciences was formed in 1988, he became the director of its biological sciences division from 1991 to 1994. He took early retirement in 1996 and was made an Honorary Fellow of the University in 1006. A fuller tribute is available on the University website.
Professor Emeritus David Denver formerly of the Department of Politics passed away in August 2024. A tribute was posted by the Political Studies Association on 20th August.
Distinguished Professor George Pickett FRS, passed away on July 21st 2024. George left his mark on the fields of ultra-low temperature physics and quantum fluids at the highest international level. He was renowned for his remarkable practical sense, profound physical intuition, and an innate scientific expediency, qualities which enabled him to develop one of the world's leading laboratories at Lancaster University and, for a time, the coldest temperature on Earth. His full obituary can be read on the University's website.
Professor Emeritus Peter John Lea, Professor of Biological Sciences and former Head of Department passed away on June 16th 2024. He became a part-time research professor from September 1996 and Emeritus Professor from September 2006. Professor Terry Mansfield's tribute can be viewed on the University website.
Dr John Keith Hargreaves, Honorary Researcher and formerly of the Department of Environmental Sciences Department died on June 6th 2024. He began working at Lancaster University in 1969 and continued to be involved for almost 40 years into retirement, latterly undertaking research with the Space and Planetary Physics Group in the Department of Physics. A tribute written by Professor Farideh Honary with contributions from Professor Jim Wild, both from the Physics Department is published on the University website.
Peter Scullion, former Principal of Pendle College, and Safety and Compliance Manager for the University passed away in May 2024. Peter held a number of roles in the University’s Facilities division, beginning in March 1993 as a Building Superintendent. He went on to become a Building Surveyor in August 1996, Surveyor Operational in 1998, then Project Manager in 2000. Peter was appointed Principal of Pendle College on 1 August 2004 and served two terms in this role until 2010. He went on to become the University’s Safety and Compliance Manager until he took retirement in July 2013.
John Mackness, formerly of the Management Development Division, now known as Professional and Executive Management Learning in the Management School, died on the 13th May 2024.
John was a man of many parts - teacher, researcher, administrator, philanthropist, and a poet. He arrived in Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) as a graduate student in the year 1971, with a Bachelor’s degree in Mining Engineering from Nottingham University, and obtained a Master’s degree in 1971 and a doctorate in the year 1975. He spent the following seven years teaching and researching at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianopolis in Brazil. John and Jenny, his wife, came back home in 1984. John spent a couple of years working as a systems consultant to Savant, a software engineering company in Carnforth, and joined LUMS as a teaching fellow in the year 1986. He was named a Professorial Fellow in the year 1996. John retired as a Professorial Fellow in the year 2010. In his retirement he continued to present lectures and supervise Master’s students in LUMS, ultimately working part-time in the Centre for Training and Development (CETAD) until 2023. A tribute to John, written by Emeritus Professor Vudayagi Balsubramanyam is available on the University website.
Professor William (Bill) Ritchie, OBE, former Vice-Chancellor passed away on 12 May 2024. Professor Ritchie was Lancaster’s fourth Vice-Chancellor between 1995–2002, during which time he maintained the University’s high reputation for research and initiated the creation of the Lancaster Environment Centre. He had been a Professor of Physical Geography (1979-95) and Senior Vice-Principal (1992-95) at Aberdeen, and joint editor of The Environmental Impact of the Wreck of the Braer (Scottish Office, 1994).
Maurice Slawinski, former Head of the Italian Department, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies (in the then Faculty of Humanities and Arts) and long time Director of Undergraduate Studies in DELC, died on 9th April 2024. Olga Gomez-Cash, Senior Teaching Fellow in the Department of Languages and Culture has published this tribute on the University website.
Graeme Uttley (History, 1982 Pendle) died on March 24th 2024 in Torquay, shortly after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Graeme moved to the USA shortly after graduation in 1982. He lived mostly in California, working in project finance for most of the major US contractors, including Boeing, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman. He maintained his dedication to Tottenham Hotspur, despite being a few thousand miles away. Graeme retired in San Diego but in October 2023 he moved back to England, bought a season ticket for Tottenham and was in the process of house hunting in Devon when he was taken ill.
Baroness Ruth Henig, who had an exceptionally full and distinguished career in lecturing and public service died on 29 February 2024, aged 80. Ruth's full obituary appears on the Lancaster University website.
Dr Alison Wilkinson, (PhD Educational Research, 2022) died after a short illness in February 2024. She made a huge contribution to the creation and development of the Morecambe Bay Curriculum as part of the steering group and as Chair of the Cumbria Schools Working Group. A tribute to Alison is featured on the Morecambe Bay Curriculum website.
Victoria Nixon, (Geography, 2023, Bowland) very sadly passed away in January 2024. After graduating in July 2023, she went on to work on EcoEats – a project which stemmed from the ECOChallenge competition and has delivered food boxes to students’ accommodation on campus to help with cost-of-living in an environmentally sustainable way. Victoria was a well-known member of the staff, student and alumni communities at Lancaster. For those who had got to know Victoria, this will be a very difficult time, and her family, friends and colleagues are in our thoughts.
David Carroll, Emeritus Professor of English and Creative Writing, passed away in January 2024. He joined Lancaster in 1972 where he established a reputation as an excellent academic and teacher of English Literature. He is remembered as an exceptionally able administrator. He was reasonable, balanced, a good listener and he saw both sides of a debate. These are qualities which saw him become an effective Head of Department during his time at Lancaster. A tribute from Emeritus Professor Mick Short is available on the Lancaster University website.
Kenneth Parrott, former theatre practitioner and instrumental figure in the creation of Lancaster University's Nuffield Theatre and Workshop, died on 3 January 2024. The following tribute to Kenneth appears on the University's website and was written by alumnus Roger Ashton-Griffiths, who went on himself to work as an actor.
2023
Peter Spillard, formerly of the Marketing Department died on 18 December, 2023. He came to Lancaster as a senior lecturer in the early 70s with a degree in Economics from the University of London and after spending time in industry. His speciality was the formation and running of companies and he published widely in this area. He was Head of Department from 1977-82, at a critical time for the University as it managed its way through financial challenges. From 1996 he went part-time, although his connections with the University continued for some years afterwards. Tall and good-humoured, Peter was considered a great asset to the School of Management and to the establishment of its suite of consortial School programmes. A tribute from colleague, George Long, is available on the Lancaster University website.
Laurence Canty (Economics, 1972, Lonsdale) passed away on 17 December 2023. After graduating he moved to London where he became a successful bass guitarist, author and tutor. Eventually he moved back to Lancaster and formed the band Quay Change with Fred Binley (LU alumni and current member of staff!) and they regularly played on campus over the last 20 years. He wrote the book Electric Bass Guitar: The Complete Guide, co-authored What Bass and contributed to the music magazine Making Music with his column Bass Case. People who found guidance and inspiration through my dad's life include Colin Greenwood - Radiohead, Yolanda Charles - Squeeze, Hanz Zimmer, Robbie WIlliams, George Anderson - Shakatak, Dave Swift - Jools Holland, Paul Francis - Paul Weller - and many more. He is survived by his son, Matt, who also graduated from LU in 2011. Laurence's full obituary appeared in The Guardian.
Professor Emeritus Alan Blackburn, formerly of the Lancaster Environment Centre, passed away in December 2023. Alan joined Lancaster University in August 2000 as a Lecturer in Remote Sensing, before being promoted to Senior Lecturer in August 2011, and then to Professor in August 2017. He retired in December 2022 becoming an Emeritus Professor. Alan's full obituary can be read on the Lancaster University website.
Professor Bahram Honary, former researcher in the Computing and Communications Department, died after a short illness on 30 November 2023. A tribute to Bahram's life, by Farideh Honary and Professor Garik Markarian is given on the Lancaster University website.
Mike Guilfoyle (Religious Studies and Sociology, 1980, County) passed away on 19 November 2023 having lived with advanced prostate cancer for five years. He was wonderfully supported by his wife Nana and son Matthew. Although treated at Guy's Hospital he had been part of a global drug trial at University College London Hospital, which sadly was deemed after two months not to be working.
After three years at Lancaster University, he undertook a postgraduate certificate in Education at St Martin's College, Lancaster before taking up a teaching post in Suffolk. Changing direction in his career plans, after a year working as a Nursing Assistant in Colchester, he moved to London and joined the Inner London Education Authority in the role of an Education Welfare Officer. He completed a postgraduate certificate in Social Work at South Bank University and for twenty years enjoyed a career as a Probation Officer in London. He undertook a Master's Degree in Criminology at Middlesex University during this time.
On his retirement he sat as a Magistrate in South East London and worked as a Volunteer for the Jesuit Refugee Service in East London. He remained a active member of the Probation Union, Napo, a familiar sight as a speaker at the Union's Annual Conferences and he also submitted articles for publication on probation practice and policy. He was one of the book reviewers for the Probation Journal. Mike was accorded an Honorary Lifetime Membership of his union for his sterling contributions over the years as a union member and his passionate commitment to promoting the best in probation practice in his articles that he published monthly for over a decade based on his front-line experiences as a Probation Officer for the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies.
He was for many years a mentor with the Longford Trust, working with a life sentence prisoner who was preparing to start his doctorate whilst inside.
A keen runner, he completed three London Marathons for charity. One of Mike's other abiding interests was local cemetery history and he acted as a history guide on walks, narrated several podcasts on some of the more illustrious deceased buried in Brockley and Ladywell cemeteries (Lewisham) and wrote four cemetery history guides.
His ready wit and wry humour, warm and engaging personality made him a much liked and popular individual who was always interested in the wellbeing of his many friends. A CAMRA member, he enjoyed the delights of craft beer and hearty banter that accompanied a good night out! He will be greatly missed by his family and friends, several of whom were his contemporaries at Lancaster University during his time there.
Dr Bob Chaplin, a former wave energy Research Associate and Tutor in the Engineering Department passed away on 19 October at Royal Preston Hospital. The tribute below was compiled by Bob’s daughter, Sarah Holding.
Bob came to the University from the National Institute of Agricultural Engineering in the late seventies to work under Professor Michael French on the ‘floating bag’ wave energy project. He subsequently worked on further wave energy innovations, as well as supervising student projects in the engineering department, before transitioning in the early eighties to being co-leader of the innovative ACPMM programme run jointly for many years with the University of Cambridge. During this period he was doing research in the emerging field of mechatronics, and published papers on ‘Schemebuilder’ and various other integrated computer design tools in the field of Interdisciplinary System Design.
Following the death of his wife, Dr Davina Chaplin, formerly of the University’s Italian Department, Bob led Lancaster University's Formula Student team, and was committed to exposing engineering students to the rigours and challenges of working on live projects with real briefs. He never lost his passion for wave energy research and towards the end of his career published other original ideas for wave energy conversion in response to the UK Government's ‘Marine Energy Challenge’, such as ‘Wraspa'.
In his final years at the University, he was recruited to assist the Dean on a number of university-wide initiatives. Bob had many friends across the whole University, and was a keen supporter of musical, sporting and theatrical performances on and off campus, belonging also to the Lancaster Footlights Club, Lancaster Singers, Morecambe Sailing Club, and Palatine Bowling Club.
Caroline Gilfillan (MA Creative Writing, 1999, Graduate) passed away on 24 September 2023. She was multi-talented musician, novelist and poet with a vibrant and adventurous spirit. Caroline Gilfillan's full obituary is available on the Guardian website.
Michael Forster, founding Registrar of the University passed away on 3 September 2023 after a long illness. Michael came to Lancaster as Deputy Secretary to Stephen Jeffreys on 1 May 1964, with the title of Academic Registrar added two years later, and was subsequently appointed as Registrar.
By the time of his retirement on 1 July 1991, Michael had helped the University navigate the initial expansion of student numbers, the cutbacks of the early Thatcher years, the evolution of a faculty structure, and the emergence of league tables, including for the quality of teaching and for the ever-expanding research agenda that would take Lancaster into the top ten of universities in the 1992 Research Assessment Exercise. Thereafter he devoted himself to the care of his late wife Kathleen and other members of his family, while remaining critically interested in current affairs at Bailrigg. The award to him of an Honorary Fellowship in 2011 was a fitting tribute for a life of wholehearted commitment to the values of higher education and Lancaster in particular. Michael Forster's obituary can be viewed on the University website.
Paul Frederick Gurney (Economics & Politics, 1967) passed away peacefully, aged 77, at home in West Wales on 31st August 2023 after suffering a severe stroke 18 months previously. He was born in Croydon, and was a founder member of the University, where he played in the hockey team, decorated floats for rag week and gained a degree in Politics and Economics. Whilst at University he lived part of the time in a bed and breakfast hotel on Morecambe sea front and attended lectures in the chapel at St Leonard’s Gate in Lancaster. He also rebuilt a Triumph TR2 and ran and maintained a Vintage Alvis often giving rides to fellow students. He loved every minute of his time in Lancaster.
He then went on to run the family business in Croydon for 10 years and bought a farm in West Wales where he subsequently developed a property business. He is lovingly remembered by his wife of 55 years (whom he met at Lancaster), his son Nicholas and daughter Sarah (who also attended Lancaster University) and his five grandchildren.
Charles Alan Mountain (MSc Cybersecurity, 2019, MPhys Physics, 1997, Cartmel) passed away on 14 August 2023 after a short battle with Melanoma. Charles loved Lancaster so much that he returned 25 years later to do another Master's, this time in Cybersecurity and gained a distinction, of which, he was very proud! After his graduation in 1997, Charles moved to Knutsford, Cheshire and secured his first job working for NNC. Here, he was awarded Graduate Trainee of the Year. He then went on to work in IT for EDS for 15 years and then DEFRA as a contractor, which he really enjoyed.
On his return to Lancaster in 2018, he was especially pleased that, at the age of 43 he could beat the younger Freshers at the rowing challenge! Charles loved badminton and enjoyed playing during his first time at Lancaster. He was also passionate about Computing, LUBBS, his friends and Friday Night bar crawls. His favourite place, though, had to be Pizzetta Republica! He died peacefully, surrounded by the love of his family and leaves behind his alumna wife, formerly of Cartmel College (French and German Studies, 1999). They were married on 24 June 2000 and he leaves behind his two children, Ella (18) and Isaac (15). He will always be in their hearts.
Ian Miller MBE, Fellow of the University, and the Royal Society’s Hauksbee Award Winner died on 9 August 2023, after a long and debilitating struggle against pulmonary fibrosis courageously borne. Ian was key to the success of the Lancaster Low Temperature group, working with Professors Tony Guenault and George Pickett. He used his skills to build “dilution refrigerators” which enabled the group to achieve the worlds’ coldest temperature, as well as much pioneering work in the field. Unashamedly, Ian declared that he was “self-taught” and “didn’t understand the working of fridges”, as these complex low temperature environments were called. Nonetheless, the work would have been impossible without Ian’s skills, and good working relationships within the group. George Pickett, now a Distinguished Professor, said that Ian’s work was crucial to him being awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Society. Ian’s work has been nationally recognised by the award of the new Royal Society Hauksbee Award, created to acknowledge and reward excellence in supporting science in the UK. In addition, Ian was awarded the MBE. He received this in person at the palace. True to style, this was against his wishes, but he was “outvoted” by the family. For all these honours, Ian told me that his most treasured award was the Fellowship of the University, presented by the then-Chancellor Sir Chris Bonnington at a private dinner hosted by the Vice-Chancellor Professor Mark Smith. Ian’s funeral took place on Thursday 24th August. True to the man, it was without prior announcement and with minimum formality; family only, no tributes and he was taken from home to grave with no ceremony. Ian is survived by his wife Val, and children Sally and Peter. He leaves behind a legacy to low temperature physics, and a memory in the hearts and minds of those who knew him. (Dr Ted Walker, Lancaster 1972-1978.)
Marion Garner died on 9 August 2023, after a short illness. She was 84 and survived by her son David. Marion worked in the Mathematics and Statistics Department from 1975 to 1996 as a member of the administrative staff. Her friendly manner was much appreciated throughout the Department. She was well-liked for her cheerful disposition and her welcoming open-door policy to staff and students alike. As a Departmental Officer, she had a careful and unhurried approach to her work and always found time to help people.
Professor Emeritus Robert 'Bob' Rothschild, formerly of the Department of Economics, died on 9 July 2023 after a long and debilitating illness which he bore with exemplary grace and fortitude, wonderfully supported by Santi, his wife, and his sons Dan and Pete.A full tribute provided by Oliver Westall, his wife and many friends can be viewed on the University website.
Professor John Boylan, formerly of the Department of Management Science, sadly passed away on 7 July 2023, after having been diagnosed with acute blood cancer in May. John was a celebrated academic who can be credited with seminal contributions to shaping the area of supply chain forecasting, as well as influencing the lives of many, as a supervisor, mentor and collaborator. He was a prominent member of Lancaster University Management School, and the wider academic community. His expertise in forecasting and inventory management was honoured internationally. As well as teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students, and supervising PhD candidates, he was the Director of the Centre for Marketing Analytics and Forecasting. A full tribute to Professor John Boylan is to available on the University website.
David Reid (Physics, 1978, Cartmel) died on 8 June 2023, having lived with cancer for more than 2 and a half years. He died at home and at peace and throughout his illness, although not able to be as physically active - he had been a runner and keen cyclist - his brain was as busy as ever. David loved music, books, pictures and thinking. He continued to work on his photography, taking off in many directions from the quirky to the beautiful. He became a lecturer, first at Derby and then at Nottingham Trent University where he worked until he retired. David was a generous and inspiring teacher. He brought warmth and humour to his teaching with a lightness of touch which made complex ideas accessible. His engagement with the world was eclectic and multi-faceted; a richness of outlook that embraced the lives of many. David collaborated with a wide range of people from the worlds of contemporary music, art and photography. He leaves an important body of work that includes many sound and video recordings of contemporary music, alongside numerous experimental sound works and an extensive collection of photographs, which he worked on almost until the end.
Dr Barry Hunt, formerly of the Department of Chemistry, passed away on 6th June 2023. Barry was first an Experimental Officer and then a Research Officer in the Department of Chemistry at Lancaster from 1967 until 1999, and ran the polymer characterisation facility within the Department. He gained his PhD during his time at Lancaster under the supervision of Professor John Bevington, the first Head of Department. In subsequent research, Barry collaborated with many colleagues in Chemistry, Physics and Environmental Sciences: work that was subsequently published in a wide range of journals and book chapters, and at national and international conferences. Barry also taught aspects of polymer chemistry, principally on master's courses in polymer science and on various short courses in polymers; he also supervised many master's students on six-month industrial placements. In 1999, Barry moved with other members of the Lancaster polymer group to the University of Sheffield where he continued his research, teaching and supervision up until his retirement in 2008. Post retirement, Barry vigorously pursued many activities not least through his memberships of the Morecambe yacht club, the Lancaster and Morecambe Astronomical Society, and a local ukelele orchestra. Barry's most notable achievement in retirement was in helping to crew a catamaran safely across the Atlantic from Florida to Morecambe via the Azores.
Emily Morgan (Theatre Studies, Culture & Communication, 1998, County) who worked for more than two decades for ITV News, latterly the ITV News' health and science editor died aged 45 after a short illness. Her full obituary was published in the Guardian newspaper amongst many others.
Professor Michael Lea (PhD Physics, 1968, Bowland) died on 24 April 2023. Born in Kendal, Michael obtained a Hastings Scholarship to The Queen’s College, University of Oxford, and in 1964 became one of the first Physics postgraduates at the then ‘new’ University of Lancaster. He built his first Low Temperature laboratory in the city; his second at Bailrigg; a third at Bedford College University of London; and a fourth at Royal Holloway University where he was appointed Professor of Physics. His main research interests were in experimental Low Temperature Physics and he published over 150 research papers on Metal and Superconductors; Quantum Fluids; Cryogenic Techniques; Piezoelectrics and Semiconductors, Particle and Dark Matter Detection; Two-dimensional electrons and Quantum Computing. His most recent paper was published in Phys.Rev.Lett. in 2017. Colleagues have described him as ‘brilliant’, ‘remarkable’, and a ‘wonderful individual’. ‘Through his important work on electrons on helium and associated international collaborations, he truly paved the way for the current resurgence of the topic as a pathway to quantum computing’. On retirement he became an Emeritus Professor of the University of London. Back in 1964 Michael met his wife Katherine (Kate), an undergraduate at Lancaster and they married in 1966. Both developed a passion for the Arctic and they spent many summers out in the wilds of Greenland, Svalbard and Baffin Island making sound recordings of birds and narwhal. They visited Inuit settlements in North-West Greenland and used inflatable boats to explore the fjords of North East Greenland. Here they rarely encountered anybody else, but had significant encounters with wolves, musk-oxen and polar bears. Their most memorable boating trip was a circumnavigation of Clavering Island. This had its hairy moments, particularly trying to find leads through the pack ice towing a second boat and being increasingly forced further away from the shore - dangerous yes, but exhilarating and memorable! Michael became President of both the Arctic Club and the Scottish Arctic Club, served on the Gino Watkins Committee awarding grants to arctic expeditions, and set up the Arctic Club website.Retiring back to Westmorland, they tackled many new projects; editing a newsletter for the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society; taking 33 members on a ‘pilgrimage’ round the Saga sites of Iceland; publishing a new edition of W G Collingwood’s Letters from Iceland; saving and raising the profile of old cast-iron fingerposts in Cumbria and raising money to restore a local tithe barn.
Professor Emeritus John Burgoyne, formerly of Lancaster University Management School, passed away on 22 April 2023 after a short illness. Following a BSc in Psychology at University College London, John began his career as a Research Assistant in the Department of Occupational Psychology, Birkbeck College. He was a Research Fellow and doctoral student at Manchester Business School, where he was awarded his PhD in 1973.
Following a one-year appointment as a Lecturer at Manchester Business School, in 1974 he joined the Centre for the Study of Management Learning (CSML) at Lancaster University Management School (then known as the School of Management and Organisational Sciences) as Research Director. He undertook various roles in what later became the Department of Management Learning (DML) including serving twice as Head of Department. From 2002-2009, John was also a Professor of Management Learning at Henley Business School and from 2000-2002, was seconded to the Council for Excellence in Management and Leadership (sponsored by the DFEE and DTI) as a policy research consultant in a review of management and leadership development. John also held roles external to Higher Education, including Trustee of the Brathay Trust, Ambleside and a Fellow of the Leadership Trust as well as of the British Academy of Management (BAM).
Jean Argles, the University's first careers adviser died on 2 April 2023 after a short illness. Jean was the younger daughter of Colonel Cary Owtram OBE, DL, a mill owner who lived at Newland Hall near Dolphinholme, and who served with the 137th Field Regiment of the Royal Artillery in the Far East. He was captured in 1942 at the fall of Singapore and worked on the notorious Burma Railway, only returning to England after VJ Day in August 1945.Jean was at boarding school in Warwickshire when her father was imprisoned. In 1943, aged 18, she was appointed as a Cipher Operator for the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, including service in Cairo, a post that involved signing the Official Secrets Act. Jean obtained a Diploma in Social Services from Leeds University in 1955 and a Diploma in Medical Social Work from Edinburgh the following year. She was working in London in 1963 when she was approached by Charles Carter, Lancaster’s founding Vice-Chancellor. He invited her to return to Lancashire and work as an administrative assistant to Colonel Shine of Hooker, Craigmyle and Company on an appeal that raised £2.25 million for the infant institution. In February 1966, when the work related to the appeal was largely complete, Jean became the University’s first Careers Adviser, and in 1968 she married Michael Argles, one of the two founding assistant librarians. She retired from the much-increased Careers Service in 1980. Michael had played an important part in the embellishment of the university in its early years, and in 1989 he and Jean donated the fine engraved doors by Sally Scott and David Peace that adorn the entry to the Irene Manton collection in the Peter Scott Gallery. Jean continued to live in Wray after Michael’s death. It was only in her latter years that she and her older sister Patricia Davies were able to share both of their WWII intelligence careers, and they jointly published a book of their experiences, Celebrating Sisters: our secret war. A further volume is scheduled for publication. Jean was also a strong supporter of Lancaster Concerts.
Simon Emmerson (Independent Studies, 1978, Bowland) founder of bands and music producer, passed away on 13 March 2023. His colourful life was featured in an obituary published in The Guardian.
Professor Geoffrey Easton, former Senior Lecturer in Marketing, died on 5 March 2023. After being awarded degrees from Bristol, Manchester and London, Geoff came to Lancaster as senior lecturer in Marketing on 1st September 1973. This was a new subject in universities and a major innovation for Lancaster. By the time of his retirement on 30th September 2010 Marketing had become a recognised discipline for business and management schools, as well as being a major contributor to Lancaster’s internationally prestigious School of Management. Geoff was Head of the Department from 1987 to 1996. He was awarded a personal chair on 1st August 1989. His inaugural lecture four years later was entitled “Markets as Networks”, reflected not only his academic interests but also his ability to engage with colleagues and students at all levels across the university. Read the following link for a personal tribute from former colleague, George Long News Item - Professor Geoffrey Easton, Staff Intranet
John Hargreaves (Politics, 1971, County) died on 20 February 2023. Born in Blackpool and a lifelong supporter of all things Lancashire and, of course, Blackpool F.C. At Lancaster Uni John developed many friendships and enjoyed debates, working in County Bar, booking bands, playing rugby & cricket, and producing Pendragon. He was a popular JCR President. John later joined the Civil Service & the Post Office, and became heavily involved with Union protection of members' interests. He met Jan on the badminton court & they married a year later. They then bought a bar in Corfu and settled in Abingdon a few years later, where John began his creative writing & trained as a counsellor. Due to ill health, he spent much of his later life in a wheelchair. Some years ago he survived a leg amputation due to bone cancer, but last year was diagnosed as having pancreatic cancer. John leaves behind his sister and his wife/soul mate, Jan. He will be remembered by all who knew him as an interesting, kind and funny guy, happy and driven by a warm personality.
Rebecca Wallace (nee Dear, English, 1999) passed away on 12 February 2023. Following graduation, Becca spent her early career in the publishing industry, marketing education magazines and books for the Taylor Francis Group in New Fleet Street, then the Reed Elsevier Group and Harcourt Education in Oxford. Becca then worked in fostering and adoption within social services before training as a horticulturist with the Royal Horticultural Society, working for 9 years providing garden maintenance service to rural customers. She met her husband James Wallace, an environmental entrepreneur, in 2001 and was married in 2005. They lived in Oxfordshire, then Berkshire where they had two daughters, Flora and Annabelle. After a short time in Exmoor, they moved to Wiltshire. Becca was an active member of the village. She loved to dance, she played the flute, and had a passion for camping, walking and kayaking as well as growing fruit and vegetables and cooking feasts for friends and family. Becca developed a rare cancer, Pseudomyxoma peritoneii and had life saving surgery in 2014. Despite the cancer slowly returning, she lived a full and active life until her final months. Becca was still wearing her Lancaster University sweatshirt at the age of 45 and passed it on to her eldest daughter to carry on the tradition.
Chris Eden, former Cartmel College Porter passed away in February 2023. He joined the Security and Porter team in 2017 and started off his career with the University as a porter at Chancellors Wharf moving on to Bailrigg Campus in September 2018. Chris was a popular member of team and was more of a friend than a colleague to many. He was passionate about his job and was always ready to support the students and staff of Cartmel College specifically and the wider University community generally. He was well known for his friendly smiling face and his willingness to go the extra mile to provide the best service possible. He was characterised by always looking at ways that the service he provided could be improved in order to benefit the University Community and was known for his positivity and can do approach.