Spring 2006 - The University of Liverpool · the magazine for alumni and friends of The University of Liverpool Spring 2006 sight ... quantum field theory into Solid State ... well

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Goodbye to an amazing manTributes have been paid to Nobel PeacePrize winner and former Liverpool lecturer,Professor Sir Joseph Rotblat, who died at the age of 96

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Welcome to the first edition of insight in 2006 and greetings from theFoundation Building, the new University of Liverpool headquarters.

We’ve brought the publication date of this magazine forward a little fromits usual slot in the Spring because we wanted to give you plenty of noticeabout two great events.

If you attended our Alumni reunions in London and Liverpool, checkout our special picture spread with photos from the two events.

We’ve had a fantastic response to our appeal in the Autumn formemories of Professor Sir Joseph Rotblat who died in August. Not onlywas he an incredible scientist, but he was also a very special man whotouched the hearts of everyone he met. You can read about his life, andtributes from those who met him, in this issue.

If you ever wondered what being a University Vice-Chancellor was allabout, you can find out more in a fun interview with our own VC, ProfessorDrummond Bone, written by budding young journalist Naomi Dunning, ofthe Liverpool Student newspaper.

Elsewhere in this issue there are international features with news fromIraq and Canada. Thanks to everyone who’s written to me to tell me howmuch they enjoy insight and for responding to the articles they’ve read.Keep your letters coming – and don’t forget to tell us if you change your address.

Suzanne ElsworthEditoremail: [email protected]: +44 (0)151 794 6992

WELCOME TO THE SPRING 2006 EDITION OF insight. My first six months in post have been veryrewarding and it was wonderful to receivesuch enthusiastic support for the two socialevenings which have taken place since thelast edition of insight.

Here is an indication of some of the plans we havein store for you in 2006. On 4 May, we are runningan event at the House of Commons, and from 14-16 July we are holding an alumni reunionweekend. We encourage all alumni to attend bothevents but, to mark this special occasion, we willbe making an extra effort to send individual reunioninvitations to all those who graduated in 1981 (25years), 1976 (30 years), 1966 (40 years) and1956 (50 years). If you have the contact details foranyone from these years in particular, we would bemost grateful if you could complete and return theform on page 32.

As our plans unfold in 2006, we hope to set upan online community for our alumni. Among otherfeatures, there will be a facility to search forUniversity contacts by graduation year, subject,profession and region. This will enable you tomake the most of your connections with theUniversity of Liverpool. We look forward to theintroduction of this exciting new venture, and willkeep you informed of our progress.

As you will see, for this edition of insight, wehave printed an update form on the back of thecarrier sheet. Please make sure we have the correctdetails for you.

Helen WrightAlumni Development Manager email: [email protected]: +44 (0)151 795 2348

Alumni teamSue Evans, Sue Irvine, Emma Smith

Editorial teamSamantha Martin, Janis Morgan, Joanna Robotham

Corporate CommunicationsThe University of LiverpoolFoundation BuildingBrownlow HillLiverpool L69 7ZX

CONTENTS02 Faculty news06 In the news08 In conversation – Helen Forrester10 In focus – Port Erin18 In profile – Meet the VC20 In contact – Alumni news26 In the post29 In contact – Reunions32 In profile – Gill Burns33 In touch34 In profile – Growaforest35 In depth – Reach-out36 Student eye37 In the news38 In focus – Convocation FC40 In memoriam41 In honour

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Memories of ProfessorSir Joseph RotblatTributes have been paid to the Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Liverpool lecturer who

died at the age of 96

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YOUR STORIES

Have you got news for us?insight welcomes your ideasand suggestions. Please contactthe Editorial team on:+44 (0)151 794 6992or email: [email protected]

YOUR DETAILS

If any of your contact detailsare incorrect, or you have anyother admin issues, pleasecontact the Alumni team on: +44 (0)151 794 2270or email: [email protected]

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Roscoe memoriesIt is 40 years since Roscoe Hall andGladstone Hall threw open their doors and became home to thousands of University of Liverpool students

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Faculty news

Faculty of ScienceTHE FACULTY of Science is organisinga unique international symposium tocelebrate the centenary of the birth of the University’s first Chair ofTheoretical Physics, Professor Herbert Fröhlich.

Professor Fröhlich, who was born in 1905, held his Chair at theUniversity from 1948 up until his retirement in 1973. He remaineda Professor Emeritus here until his death in 1991, visiting hisoffice every day to explore new ideas and theories about physics.

The symposium will bring world-renowned scientists to theUniversity to evaluate the impact of Professor Fröhlich’s legacy onpresent developments in physics and biology. The two-day eventwill include presentations on Fröhlich modes and biologicalfunction, and the role of Fröhlich’s coherent excitations in cancertransformation of cells. During his 60-year career, ProfessorFröhlich made many contributions of significance, but his greatestachievement is recognised as his introduction of the methods ofquantum field theory into Solid State Physics, which completelyrevolutionised the future development of the subject.

The symposium is being held at the Liverpool Medical Institutein April 2006.

• For more details, visit www.liv.ac.uk/physics/frohlich

Faculty of Arts

A RESEARCHER in Egyptology has written a bookto accompany a major BBC documentary series.

Dr Joyce Tyldesley from the School of Archaeology, Classics andEgyptology (SACE) reviewed the history of Egyptology from theend of the Dynastic age to the present. Her book: Egypt: How aLost Civilisation was Rediscovered, tells the story of little-knownEgyptians who investigated the country’s ancient monuments aswell as famous archaeologists such as Howard Carter, whouncovered the resting place of the boy king, Tutenkhamen.

Dr Tyldesley said: “Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1798sparked a huge interest in the country’s ancient civilisations.Stories of lost treasure and mummies gripped the public’simagination and the world became obsessed with everythingEgyptian. Explorers and collectors who went in search ofEgyptian artefacts produced some of the first Egyptologists and a new area of scientific study. Among these ‘explorers’ are some of the most fascinating characters in modern history.”

The book also looks at current archaeological research, such as underwater archaeology at Alexandria and the work ofSACE’s Dr Steven Snape in the excavation of Zawiyet Umm el-Rkham – the centre of one of the biggest projects currently in progress in Egypt, a fortress-town built by Ramesses II in the13th Century BC.

Faculty of MedicineTHE NUMBER OF MEDICS AND DENTISTS trained in theNorth-West is to increase following a successful bid to theHigher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Department of Health for more student places.

A consortium involving the University of Liverpool, the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), Lancaster University and St Martin’sCollege submitted the bid.

The multi-million pound investment will pay for an extra 50medical students and an extra 32 dentistry students. This increasemakes Liverpool one of the largest medical schools in the UK. Thestudents will graduate with a University of Liverpool degree but willbe based in Cumbria and Lancashire.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Drummond Bone, who is Chairman ofthe Consortium, said: “Evidence shows that healthcare professionalswho receive their training locally are more likely to remain in the areawhen they qualify.”

The medical students will be based at Lancaster University butwill study the internationally acclaimed University of Liverpoolmedical curriculum.The dental students will be based at UCLan andstudy the Liverpool’s new graduate-entry programme which is one ofonly two such courses in the country.

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Faculty of Socialand EnvironmentalStudies

THE UNIVERSITY is conducting the mostsignificant cultural policy research studycurrently being undertaken worldwide.

A team from SES will create The Liverpool Model, which will measurethe social, cultural, economic and environmental impact of the city’sstatus as European Capital of Culture 2008. The study will track thepeople of Liverpool’s aspirations, ambitions and attitudes in the runup to, and following, 2008. It will also see how Capital of Culturefeeds into the broader urban regeneration of the city and examine howcultural investment provides a sustainable future for the city ofLiverpool and comparable cities worldwide.

The study will not only measure the effect on Liverpool – and alsoon the wider region – but it will become a blueprint for the creation ofcultural events across the world. The University of Liverpool team willwork in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University on the CityCouncil-commissioned project.

Dr Steven Miles, Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociology andSocial Policy at the University of Liverpool, led the bid. He said: “This project is not just of regional importance, it is a nationally andinternationally significant programme. It is the most in-depth researchof its kind and has major implications for cultural policy.”

Faculty of EngineeringENGINEERS at Liverpool have developed a novel process ofsignificantly reducing the weight of titanium, stainless steel andother metals which will have a major impact across industry.

Dr Chris Sutcliffe and a team from the Department of Engineering havecreated new parts that have a tiny lattice-like structure, unlikeconventional solid-metal components, which is similar to scaffolding butwith poles twice the diameter of a human hair, making them ultra light.Because loads are channelled along the poles, the parts can comprise upto 70% air while remaining strong enough to perform correctly.

The components could replace solid metal in various engineeringapplications such as aircraft parts, which can be produced at 50% lighterthan conventional alternatives. The reduced aircraft weight would cut fuelrequirements and lower aircraft emissions which are a major contributorto climate change.

The team has now been awarded funding to commercialise the rapidmanufacture of the new metal components, using a novel techniqueknown as selective laser melting. This works by building up components,layer by layer, from finemetal powders using aninfra-red laser beam tomelt the powders intothe required structure.

Faculty of Veterinary ScienceA LIVERPOOL vet has developed a new food for dogs to help relieve the pain of canine osteoarthritis (OA).

The new diet, created by Professor John Innes from the Department of Veterinary Clinical Science, can alleviate the discomfort caused by the condition, as well as potentially slow down the long-term development of OA in dogs. OA mainly affects larger breeds of dogs such as Labradors and Golden Retrievers. The disease is extremely debilitating and, if left untreated, can cause severe pain and lameness.

Working in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Cardiff and specialist pet diet manufacturer Hills Pet Nutrition, the team produced a prescription diet containing high levels of the omega-3 fish oil, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). The researchers showed that EPA can reduce damage to the tissue that lines the joint surface (cartilage) by decreasing the activity of enzymes in arthritis. Clinical trials of the new diet were conducted using dogs with OA, which resulted in reduced lameness in participants.

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But Liverpool is at the forefront of work whichwould help provide an early warning system if birdflu does reach these shores.

Academics here are joining forces to helpstrengthen the UK’s defences against zoonoses –infections like avian flu which can pass from birdsand animals to humans - with the establishment ofa National Zoonosis Centre and the introduction ofa new Masters programme in Veterinary Infectionand Disease Control.

In terms of avian flu, intensive work is well underway.Professor of Medical Microbiology in the University’sFaculty of Medicine, and Zoonosis Centre co-director,Tony Hart, said: “We are very busy with sentinelactivities. We are trapping birds, examining them, thenletting them go, and also receiving birds that are dead.That will be our early warning system.

“Influenza is a virus which grows in birds and doesn’tusually cause problems, but in 2002 it mutated to a newform of the virus known as H5N1. Its mutation is all todo with an enzyme that copies the genetic code – but itdoesn’t make a true copy. It is constantly putting thewrong nucleotide bases (the letters of the genetic code)in at random and constantly changing the sequence ofits genes. Some of the changes will be lethal for it andnot allow it to grow, but others change its properties. It is these changes that came to mutate the virus in birds via a process known as antigenic drift. The danger to humans is when bird flu adapts to grow efficiently in us.

No fluke,we’re prepared

Two influenza virusparticles showing theglycoprotein spikes ontheir surface with whichthey attach to host cells.

The Government has drawn up itsemergency plan, drug manufacturers areon standby to produce 120 million dosesof vaccine and health workers have beenbriefed to look out for the symptoms.

The Chief Medical Officer, Sir LiamDonaldson, has warned that 50,000Britons could die if avian flu mutates to a form easily passed between humans.

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“The virus can only reproduce by attaching inside ourown cells then making copies of itself. When there areenough copies, they burst out and kill that cell and othercells in the body. H5N1 has not yet changed sufficientlyso it is not very efficient at infecting humans. It can gofrom bird to human, but not human to human. Avian flumay adapt, but we just don’t know.

“Any pandemic is unlikely to begin in Britain – it usually beginsin the Far East where people areliving in close proximity to birdsand animals, but because overseastravel is much more frequent now,there will be less warning.”

And Professor Hart says avian flu is just one aspect ofthe work of the new centre: “Two out of three emerginginfections are zoonotic so there is a lot of work beingdone in devising new ways of looking at and predictingtheir development, finding new ways of detecting themand understanding their transmission.”

The University has a worldwide reputation for thequality of research in Veterinary Science and the numberof research awards in this area has doubled over the pastyear. The establishment of the National Zoonosis Centre,

supported by a £1.6million grant from the North WestScience Fund, will further strengthen Liverpool’sexpertise and capability in infections transmittedbetween animals and people. Liverpool is the onlyuniversity in the UK with expertise in BiologicalSciences, Medicine, Veterinary Science and TropicalMedicine and is uniquely placed to conduct detailedinterdisciplinary research into these diseases.

A £4.5million grant awarded to the University underthe Government’s Veterinary Training and ResearchInitiative (VTRI) has funded the new MSc – the only oneof its kind in the UK – and the first students to undertakethe programme completed the course in 2005. The MScincludes the full range of disciplines in microbiologyand epidemiology required to control both new andexisting infectious diseases in the UK. The course istaught predominantly by problem-based learning usingexamples such as avian flu, foot and mouth disease,tuberculosis and rabies. Students complete a real-timedisease outbreak investigation in which they are exposedto the psychological impact of disease and diseasecontrol on livestock owners and the public and also haveto deal with the media.

Professor Malcolm Bennett, Head of the University’sDepartment of Veterinary Pathology, who will become aco-director of the new centre, explained: “At Liverpool, we are able to take a multi-disciplinary approach tozoonotic infections and we already undertake researchinto zoonoses collaboratively with the Heath ProtectionAgency and the Veterinary Laboratories Agency. The centre will provide a core facility and focus for this work.”

Cash boost for malaria researchThe Liverpool School of TropicalMedicine, which is affiliated to the University of Liverpool, hasreceived a $50.7million grant from the Bill & Melinda GatesFoundation for new research intomalaria. The grant will put theSchool at the forefront of theglobal fight to defeat the diseasewhich kills 2,000 Africanchildren every day.

The School will lead a new internationalInnovative Vector Control Consortium tofast track development of improvedinsecticides and other mosquito controlmethods. In addition, the University isinvesting £2.3million in a new Centre forTropical and Infectious Diseases whichwill support the new research anddouble the size of the School. TheNorthwest Development Agency andMerseyside Objective 1 Programme areeach investing £9million in the centre.

Director of the Liverpool School ofTropical Medicine, Professor JanetHemingway, said: “This funding is exciting news for the School and thecity of Liverpool but also for the millionsof people in countries where the Schoolhas been at the forefront of the fightagainst malaria. We would like to thankthe University of Liverpool for itsfinancial, moral and professionalsupport in our successful bid for thisnew centre – also, Liverpool CityCouncil for the gift of land, fundamentalto the scheme.”

The School has a long history ofsuccess in malaria and mosquitoresearch. Its experts joined aninternational team which has succeededin genoming the mosquito and itsmalaria carrying parasite, and wereinvolved in the development of the firstanti-malarial drug for decades.

Influenza is a virus which grows in birds and doesn’tusually cause problems, but in 2002 it mutated to anew form of the virus known as H5N1

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There were jubilant celebrations forsome of our Hong Kong alumni as theirracehourse, Liverbird, received his firstwinner’s medals.

The New Zealand bred racehorse was a23-1 outsider but a change of jockeyensured his success in the 1,400m Lai YuiHandicap at the Sha Tin Racecourse in HongKong in December.

Then in January, he won again in the1,650m Yik Yam Handicap at the HappyValley racecourse, also in Hong Kong.

Speaking after Liverbird’s first win, co-owner James Lo said: “Liverbird staged abrilliant run and landed his first success intime for Christmas! It was a bit of a surpriseto everyone. All we did was change thejockey but in the end it was a successfulcombination.

“It’s a pity I didn't bet a lot but I was sooverjoyed with the other alumni membersand friends at the racing.”

Liverbird’s owners had double reason tocelebrate the January win as it arrived just intime for Chinese New Year!

This wasn’t the only recent racingsuccess in Hong Kong with links to theUniversity. Also in December, Ouija Board,which is owned by the Earl and Countess of

Derby, supporters of the University’s Facultyof Veterinary Medicine, won the Hong KongVase. The filly had fought off injury to winthe prestigious race, which was also held atSha Tin.

And there are many links via graduates to the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Dr KeithWatkins, Head of Veterinary Regulation andInternational Liaison at the Club, studied atthe Philip Leverhulme Equine Hospital. Dr Chris Riggs, who taught at Leahurst, isHead of the Veterinary Clinical Sciencesthere, and his assistant Wendy Lloyd, is alsoa Liverpool graduate.

In addition, the University’s Professor ofEpidemiology, Kenton Morgan, who is basedat Leahurst, is supervising a Hong KongChinese PhD student, Ken Lamb, who isconducting a research project at the Club.

Liverbird wins

Malaysia updatePlans are now well underway forthe creation of a formal AlumniAssociation for Liverpoolgraduates in Malaysia.

The organisation’s constitution isbeing finalised, the search is on for aprestigious patron and a logo is beingdesigned. Official registration of suchsocieties in Malaysia can take aroundeight months, but it is hoped theAssociation will be launched with agrand dinner in August.

Lawyer Anita Stephen, whograduated in 1995, is Chairman of the project. She would love to hearfrom any Liverpool alumni in Malaysia.Email her [email protected]

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There’s nothing new aboutfundraising at the University of Liverpool.The debt owed by the University to its many benefactors is considerable.Without their generosity, the University’s predecessor, UniversityCollege, Liverpool, established in 1881, would probably have died atbirth and not matured to reach University status in 1903. It was only in1889 that University College received a grant from the Treasury, amodest sum of £1,500 which was raised in 1897 to £3,000 a year.

Calling all Liverpool graduates! Read the magazine which started life at your university.

The Reader is a quarterly literary magazine aimed ateveryone who loves reading for serious pleasure. It wasfirst published in 1997 by tutors of the University’sContinuing Education English department, and has since gone from strength to strength, with the last issue recently launched in America. Over the years The Reader has built up a loyal base of subscribers and enthusiastic supporters, including some well-known names.

Poster advertising the University’s1920 Appeal. This poster was kindlydonated to the University’s SpecialCollections and Archives by CheshireRecord Office, who found it among the papers of Herman J Falk, whoprobably received it from the Salt Union Ltd. It is recorded that Mr Falkcontributed £25.00 and the Salt Union Ltd £2,000 to the Appeal.

Before the University’s income from Government and itsagencies was significant, the University lookedparticularly to manufacturers and traders, shipowners,businessmen, the professions and the public to raisefunds for buildings and additional academic posts. TheWalker Engineering building, the Victoria Building, andthe Holt Building, and a number of the establishedChairs, including the Derby Chairs of Anatomy andZoology and the Rathbone Chair of Ancient History andClassical Archaeology, all exist thanks to this generosity.

Over the past century there have been several majorUniversity appeals. The first was launched in 1920following the end of the Great War, when the University’snew Vice-Chancellor, Dr George Adami, recruited anexperienced Appeals Director to run a campaign to raise£1million. The appeal Manifesto declared that theUniversity ‘can be classed high among the mostprosperous and the most modern universities of GreatBritain, yet it is unable to extend the work of vitalimportance, for which it was founded, without the meansrequired immediately for expansion’. Pioneering use wasmade of big-space publicity in the local press. ‘VarsityEtchings’, a series of 36 postcard reproductions of views

Issue 20, ‘Flora and Fauna’, is bursting with new poetry,fiction, essays, reviews and recommendations, as well asregular features which focus on the experiences of ordinaryreaders – making The Reader unique among more academicliterary publications. A self-funded unit within the University,The Reader also delivers a programme of reading-basedactivites, ranging from seminars for schools, reader’s daysand public readings by visiting writers.

To find out more, to subscribe or to submit your ownwriting to the magazine, visit www.thereader.co.uk,email [email protected] or phone the office on +44 (0)151 794 2830.

of existing University buildings,including temporary hutments in thequadrangle, and of proposed newbuildings, were also sold in aid ofthe appeal. Despite the increasinglyadverse economic conditions in thecountry at the time, by 1922 a totalof £407,000 had been raised, worthperhaps about £14million in currentmoney. The Treasury was alsopersuaded to increase its grant, from£18,500 in 1917/18 to £63,000 in1921/22.

Later major appeals haveincluded that for £500,000, whichwas successfully launched in 1956and raised no less than £670,00,enabling the erection of Dale Hall of Residence, a new pavilion at the Wyncote Sports Grounds andother work.

• For more recent appeal news,see the next edition of insight.

“One of the best things to thumpthrough the letterbox… Full of pithy,passionate and precise things... it’s a nonpareil gift to the rest of us."Seamus Heaney

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Helen Forrester, famed for her riches to rags autobiography Twopenceto Cross the Mersey, had a childhood most people would like to forget.

She spent the first 12 years of her life among the middle classes of Southern England, but when her father wentbankrupt following the Wall Street Crash, the family was plunged into poverty. They moved to Depression-hitLiverpool, her father’s native city, where Helen’s life became a bleak battle against starvation, drudgery andoppression. She survived and her experiences sparked an incredibly successful writing career which began aftershe left Merseyside and settled in Canada.

‘“I cannot remember a time when I could not read!....I used my father’s library card at the Windsor Street Library in Liverpool and the librarians let me carry my baby brother into the adult section because I wanted adult books. They were awfully interested in me and suggested all kinds of reading material, bless their hearts.”

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You had a really tough childhood.What are your lasting memoriesof growing up here?

The main memory that remains withme is of being apparently desertedby a grandmother who loved medearly and lived not far away. Shewas so good to me as a little girl.When my father went bankrupt, hisfamily ceased to communicate withhim, feeling that he was a uselessne’er do well. What I did not knowwas that Grandma was very oldindeed and her mind was failing. My father was her youngest child andarrived 20 years after the previousone, when she was in her fifties.

How much of your writing hasbeen inspired by your own life?

Except for Twopence to Cross theMersey, none of my writing isautobiographical, but thousands ofeldest girls were exploited by theirparents, as I was. I have scores ofletters from readers who tell me thatthey went through all the same thingsthat I did, that their parents regardedthem as servants and, if the girlswent to work, their wages had to begiven to Mother, whereas boys wereallowed to keep some money.

Tell me about your owneducation. You went to school inLiverpool, did you go on toUniversity?

My own education was negligible.Every year, I spent half the year withmy grandmother and it alwaysseemed that I changed homes in themiddle of school terms. This had the result of my not being sent toschool – what use was there inbeginning it in the middle of term,they would say. You’d have to payfull fees for a half term!

In their spare time, which wasplentiful, my grandmother and aunts taught me to read and write –

I cannot remember a time when Icould not read! I read their extensivebook collection, complete sets ofScott and Dickens. I used my father’slibrary card at the Windsor StreetLibrary in Liverpool and the librarianslet me carry my baby brother into theadult section because I wanted adultbooks. They were awfully interestedin me and suggested all kinds ofreading material, bless their hearts.After Father’s bankruptcy, when wemoved to Liverpool, I was kept athome to look after the babies whilemy mother worked. It was only whena school visitor came to our home tocheck up on one of my sisters thatthe Liverpool Education Committeediscovered my existence. I waswithin two weeks of being 14 yearsold and thanks to their outrage withmy parents, I had two weeks learningto skip and play ball games with theother girls in Brae ElementarySchool. The day after I was 14, I was back at home looking after thebabies as one could legally leaveschool at that age.

Later I discovered night school.There I had dedicated teachers forseven years, I took shorthand (but notyping as the Education Committeecould not afford to providetypewriters), commercial book-keeping (and that teacher taught mebasic arithmetic on the side),German, commercial English,English literature and some French.

What was your original careerpath, before you started writing?

After a family row of colossalproportions on the day I was 14, Iinsisted on finding a job. A socialworker who visited us suggested I apply to the Liverpool PersonalService Society who needed an officegirl. I began by making the tea andleft them seven years later with a fairamount of training as a General CaseWorker. Social workers were oftenvolunteers but my wages were 10

Helen, who has now written 15 books, was awarded Doctor of Letters by the University of Liverpool in 1988 and bythe University of Alberta in 1993 to honour her contribution to literature. In 2005, in celebration of Alberta’s 100thbirthday as a province, a special Centennial gold medal was struck to mark the occasion. One of these medals wasawarded to Helen for her work as an internationally-known author.

She talked to Suzanne Elsworth about growing up and moving on.

shillings a week. When I left themseven years later to become asecretary in Broadcast Relay Service,I was earning 17 shillings a week,2/6d more than if I had been onUnemployment Pay. Broadcast Relaypaid me three pounds 10 shillingsper week!

If your family hadn’t beenplunged into poverty by the WallStreet crash, what direction doyou think your life would havetaken?

I have no idea what I might havebecome if I had had a betteropportunity to choose my life!

When did you begin to write?

My generation of Englishmen areburied in war graves. Like many ofmy generation, I became a war bride.I married a well-bred, well-educatedEast Indian who was taking a PhD atthe University of Liverpool and wentto live in India. It was the happiesttime of my life.

I started to write when myhusband, who became a well-knowntheoretical physicist, was invited tocome to Canada; first to Ottawa, thento Edmonton, at an excellent salary. It was no longer necessary for me togo out to work. My only child, a son,was born here and that confirmed our decision to remain in Canada. An Anglo-Indian child would fit betterin this brand-new country, we felt,where immigrants of every mixturewere pouring in.

What do you think when you visitLiverpool now? It must be verydifferent to your youth!

Of latter years when I go to Liverpool,all I often see are the interiors ofbookshops where I go to meetreaders and see books. I don’t reallyget the chance to see the city at all.It is interesting to note, however, the

empty sidewalks in Liverpool. Theyused to be a seething mass ofshoppers. Now everybody has a carand I think there must be shoppingmalls on the outskirts where carscan easily be parked.

Have you got any more Liverpooltales to tell?

No. I shall not be writing any moreautobiographies and probably notany books of any kind. I am 86 yearsold and very, very tired.

Twopence to Cross the Merseyhas become a sell-out musical.Are there any plans to turn itinto a film too? If it did hit thebig screen, which actress wouldyou like to play you?

I don’t know any plans at present tomake a film. I don’t know the nameof a single British actress so Icannot suggest who would play anypart in it! I live 7,000 miles awayfrom Liverpool so we don’t get muchnews from there.

Whose books do you enjoy?

I enjoy Patrick O’Brian’s sea-faringbooks and Joanna Trollope’s stuff,but I also read a vast variety ofBritish and American authors, bothfiction and non-fiction.

What advice would you give towould-be writers?

Just sit down and write – ‘doingwhat comes naturally’, as the songsays!

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After 114 years of prestigious work as a centre of excellence inmarine biology, all learning and teaching is to be transferred fromthe Laboratory to the main campus in Liverpool.

The Laboratory was created by Sir William Herdman who, in 1885,founded the Liverpool Marine Biological Committee to study the IrishSea. After running a marine laboratory in North Wales for five years, theCommittee moved to two small custom-built laboratories beside PortErin Bay on the Isle of Man. Herdman considered the waters off theisland the cleanest and richest he had ever seen.

For an annual subscription of a guinea, a subscriber was entitled touse of the Laboratory and a pint of alcohol per week – presumably forpickling specimens! The Laboratory proved very popular and in 1902,sponsored by the Isle of Man Government, a new much granderbuilding was built on the south side of the bay.

Herdman was the British pioneer of aquaculture and he devoted anentire wing of the new building to a fish hatchery, chiefly used for thecultivation of plaice and lobster. This proved a valuable resource as inthe 1960s the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries, in conjunction withthe staff at the Laboratory, resumed plaice culture at Port Erin. Theymanaged to solve many of the problems of flatfish cultivation anddeveloped methods that are today used in commercial cultivation formany species all over the world. The Port Erin Laboratory has alsopioneered other forms of cultivation in local waters. For scallops, tinylarvae are collected then grown-on in cages suspended in the sea or on areas of seabed protected from fishing, while algae are cultivated on ropes.

Other areas of world-leading research carried out at Port Erin haveincluded studies of intertidal communities, seabed and algal ecology,the taxonomy of crustaceans, rhythmic behaviour of marine animals

and chemical hydrography. In carrying out the latter, the Laboratory has amassed some of the longest running, uninterrupted datasets fortemperature, salinity and seawater nutrients in the world, and this data is now of enormous value in current discussions of global climatechange.

In 1919, responsibility for the Laboratory was taken over by theUniversity of Liverpool and later it became the first institute in Britain to offer a degree in Marine Biology. In the 1980s and 1990s theLaboratory welcomed 200 students each year and had some 35researchers from all over the world studying for their Doctorates inPhilosophy, though numbers have declined in recent years prior to closure.

Dr Andrew Brand, Director of the Laboratory, said: “Over the years avery large number of staff, students and visiting scientists have workedat the Laboratory and virtually all found this to be a very rewardingexperience. Many went on to careers in academic institutions andresearch laboratories all over the world, while others branched out to be successful in industry and commerce.

Port Erin proved to be a superb location for researchand teaching in marine biology and was, for manyyears, unrivalled in Europe for its ease of access toa wide range of marine environments and thehigh-quality seawater needed for experimentationand hatchery culture.

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It’s the end of an era for an outpost of the University thissummer as Port Erin Marine Laboratory closes its doors.

Marine research movesto Liverpool campus

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The decision to close the Laboratory was made after lengthydiscussions with the Isle of Man Government because thefacility had become uneconomic to sustain.

The Laboratory will close on 30 September. To mark theoccasion, a committee of Laboratory staff and ex-studentsresident in the Isle of Man is organising a celebration andreunion weekend, which has financial support from theUniversity. This will take place from Friday 30 June toSunday 2 July. The committee hope to attract as many ex-PEML people as possible, together with their families. The weekend will be held in a spirit of celebration for all thegood memories they have of their time in the Isle of Man.

The social weekend will be followed, on Monday 3 andTuesday 4 August, by a scientific meeting that will assess the various contributions to marine science of researchcarried out at PEML over its long history. The meeting willfeature a series of invited contributions from leadingscientists and will finish with an open forum discussion ofhow future research in the north Irish Sea can be conducted.

If you would like more details on either of the events, contact the Laboratory, either through the websitewww.peml.net or by writing to Dr A R Brand, Director, Port Erin Marine Laboratory, Port Erin IM9 6JA.

Facing page, left to right: Researchers took theirchances in the Shellbend, a folding wooden dingy; Aerial shot of the Port Erin Laboratory taken in late1980s-early 1990s; probably an Oceanography classtaken at Port Erin, in 1907, with Professor Herdman,centre back; Professor Herdman with Beam trawl in Port Erin Bay.

Left: The research vessel RV Roagan, which translatesas scallop.

Below: The original marine laboratory and Aquarium at Port Erin, built in 1892; Scallops being cultured inlarge tanks at Port Erin; student diving with octopus atPort Erin (photo by student, WG Sanderson).

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He left his homeland forLiverpool on 9 April 1939.

He came to the UK at theinvitation of Sir JamesChadwick, who was thenProfessor of Physics at theUniversity, and who had wonthe Nobel Prize in 1935 afterdiscovering the neutron, ahugely important step in our understanding of the structure of atoms and the

development of the use ofatomic energy. Tragically hewas unable to get his wifeTola out of Poland before theGermans invaded. Despite

Tributes have beenpaid to Nobel PeacePrize winner, formerLiverpool lecturer, and last survivor ofthe first ‘Golden Age’of Nuclear Physics,Professor Sir JosephRotblat, who died atthe age of 96.

he Polish-born professor was the fifthof seven children. His father was aprosperous Jewish paper merchant but the family’s fortunes changed with

the outbreak of the First World War when thebusiness was ruined. The young Jo trained as an electrician, but he dreamt of becoming a physicist and, after studying by night,received a Masters degree in 1932 at the Free University of Poland.

During the early interwar years, he scratched a living as ateenage domestic electrician in Warsaw and, through sheerbrilliance – for he was without formal education – won a veryrare free place in the physics department of the University of Warsaw. At the same time he was granted a position asjunior demonstrator, which carried a pittance rather than a salary. In spite of – or perhaps because of – hisexperience of poverty – he never looked back academically,becoming a research fellow at the university in 1933 andAssistant Director of the Atomic Physics Institute at the Free University of Warsaw from 1937 to September 1939.

A survivor of the ‘Golden Age’a tribute

desperate attempts, spanningmany years, he never saw heragain and was unable todiscover her fate. He neverremarried.

Early in 1944, ProfessorRotblat went with Sir James’team to Los Alamos, NewMexico, to work on the‘Manhattan project’, todevelop the atomic bombamid fears that the weapon

would be built by NaziGermany and used againstthe Allies. But he retainedstrong reservations about theuse of science to develop

T

... he scratched a living as a teenage domesticelectrician... and, through sheer brilliance...won a very rare free place in the physicsdepartment of the University of Warsaw.

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such a devastating weaponand he resigned in December1944 when it began tobecome clear that Germanyhad not yet succeeded indeveloping nuclear weapons.

He was banned from theUSA and returned toLiverpool, where he becameincreasingly interested in themedical and biologicalapplications of his science.He then moved south to leadthe Medical PhysicsDepartment at StBartholomew’s Hospital,where his internationalreputation in the biologicaleffects of radiation not onlybecame established andacknowledged, but alsobecame something of anirritant to the then‘establishment’. While atBarts, following a test of asubstantial nuclear weaponby the US in 1955 at BikiniAtoll, he demonstrated froman analysis of the ‘fall-out’ thatthe explosion producedcontaminating fall-out grosslyin excess of that stated, much

Opposite page: Professor Rotblatpictured in his study in 2003.

This page, left to right: ProfessorRotblat receives his honorary Doctor ofScience degree from the University ofLiverpool in 1989; Professor Rotblatand the Vice-Chancellor at the officialopening of the Rotblat Lecture Theatre;meeting the Pope at the Vatican.

to the infuriation of the USand UK governments of theday.

Rotblat’s deeply held beliefthat scientists should alwaysbe concerned with the ethicalconsequences of their workled him, with, among many,the distinguished philosopher

Bertrand Russell and thetheoretical physicist AlbertEinstein, to establish the‘Pugwash’ group, following aninitial conference in Pugwash,Nova Scotia. The growinginfluence of the group,exemplified by the admissionby Mikhail Gorbachev of theorganisation’s influence onhim during his time as Sovietleader and the termination ofthe Cold War, culminated inthe award of the Nobel PeacePrize jointly to ‘Pugwash’ andProfessor Rotblat in 1995.

In addition, he received anumber of honorary degrees,including one from theUniversity of Liverpool,accepted the Albert EinsteinPeace Prize, became aFellow of the Royal Societyand was knighted (KCMG).Joseph Rotblat was the last

surviving member of thegeneration of Liverpoolphysicists who worked onthe Manhattan Project. Hisdeath thus closes thePhysics Department’s livinglink with that distinguishedera, though the pre-eminence of research infundamental nuclear andparticle physics which itstarted in the Departmentcontinues to this day. A selection of the many letters of

tribute to Sir Joseph which wehave received can be found on thefollowing four pages...

Rotblat’s deeply held belief that scientistsshould always be concerned with the ethicalconsequences of their work led him... toestablish the ‘Pugwash’ group.

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I was lucky enough towork for and with JosephRotblat in the last fewyears of his life.He was one of a kind – brilliant,untiring, kind, handsome,impatient, funny, obstinate,courteous, vigorous, persistent,complex, and yet the most simpleand modest of men. He was anative of Poland who wrote themost beautifully crafted Englishprose and he was a constantinspiration, with a single-mindedcommitment that none of us couldmatch. And he was a friend.

It is often not appreciated howgreat a price he paid for hisdecision to resign from theManhattan Project on moralgrounds – the only scientist to doso. He was labelled a traitor andtreated as an outsider for manyyears for his act of courage. Hewill be remembered as one of the

towering figures in the area of thesocial responsibilities of scientists.

At 94, Joseph Rotblat was stilltravelling all over the worldeconomy class, carrying his ownsuitcases, walking faster than almostanyone I know. When heaccidentally bumped into somestudents hurrying down the escalatorat the Tottenham Court Road tubestation, they remonstrated with himthat a man of his age should not begoing so fast. He replied that it wasprecisely because he was a man ofhis age that he needed to go so fast!

He always said that he had twoaims in life: the abolition of nuclearweapons and the abolition of waritself. Towards the end of his lifejournalists and interviewers wouldoften ask him how he felt about thefact that he had not achieved eithergoal. He always replied with thequestion: What is the alternative? He was an optimist who believed inthe inherent goodness of human

I first came acrossProfessor Rotblat as aFresher in 1946.The members of staff introduced each other in descending order ofseniority. Dr Roberts, who wasReader, started the ball rolling byintroducing Professor Rotblat whowas a Senior Lecturer. He said thatwhen Sir Joseph first came to thedepartment he could speak very littleEnglish, but after a very short time he spoke it faster than every othermember of the department. I did hearthat he occasionally had problems.Apparently he once causedconsternation to the departmentalsecretary when he flicked her hairand said ‘Excuse me there is a flea(fly) on your hair’.

His speed of talking was veryapparent; I always seemed to betrying to write down what he saidthree sentences earlier. We found the lectures fascinating, but then, in 1949, nuclear physics was the ‘in’ subject and we all found itfascinating. We did know that he wasalready getting involved in medicalphysics; if one went to see him in his room the shelves were lined withjars containing revolting lookingpieces of the human body. I alsoremember him saying at some stage,in connection with doses of radiation,that the level of a minimum dosekept on going down and he was ofthe opinion that there was nominimum dose.

After I graduated, I joined theDepartment of Theoretical Physicswhich had been established theprevious year by the appointment ofProfessor Fröhlich, who lectured onrelativity and statistical mechanics tous in our honours year. ProfessorRotblat suggested the topic for myfirst research project. I always foundhim very helpful and sympathetic andI liked him very much as a person.When I later heard about his refusalto work on the nuclear bomb and hisstand in later years against suchweapons my respect for himincreased further. I am proud that Ihave had this small contact with him.

Dr Harry Newns (BSc Hons 1949, PhD 1953)Birkenhead, Merseyside

Tributes from throughout the worldhave been paid to Sir Joseph since his death. Kofi Annan said: “He leaves a legacy of inspirationand courage to his many friends and colleaguesaround the world.”

In 1955 Sir Joseph was one of the signatories ofthe Russell Einstein Manifesto and Bertrand Russell,in his autobiography, wrote of his ‘courage andintegrity and complete self abnegation and… hisname should stand way high among the heroes’.

Published in 1999, Ending War, the bookcelebrating his 90th birthday, includes articles byGorbachev, who wrote of him as ‘a man whosededication to saving mankind from the threat ofnuclear self destruction and whose intellectual andmoral calibre I value’.

Sir Joseph tried to involve both schoolchildren andstudents in his campaign to have nuclear armsabolished. Even when recovering from illness in May2004, he insisted on fulfilling a weekend engagementin Denver, Colorado, because the conference was forthe young. They gave him what the Denver Post calleda rock-star reception with girls queuing to kiss himand have their PeaceJam shirts autographed.

A tribute to his appearance, which belied his age,was made by a douanier on one of his last solojourneys from the continent. He did not bother withhis luggage, being too busy showing his colleaguethe passport, pointing to the date of birth and exclaiming: “C’est impossible!”

In 1995, Sir Joseph joined the select company ofHonorary Freeman of the London Borough of Camden,where he had lived since 1950. He loved to tell thatone of the privileges conferred was that he wasallowed to graze his sheep on Hampstead Heath.

Sir Joseph found time to enjoy other pursuits, thetheatre, cinema and music. He enjoyed reading andwhen in hospital with other men much younger thanhimself and a Harry Potter film was shown, he was theonly one to have read some of the books ‘becauseone should know what the young are reading’.

He always retained a great affection for Liverpooland even when ill, still hoped to come again.However, he had not realised how far the city had‘moved on’. After dinner on the night of his HonoraryGraduation in 1989 he decided to look for his oldlodgings in Bedford Street South and reached what heassumed was Upper Parliament Street. No name wasdisplayed and the streets were deserted so he asked asolitary woman if it was the right street and wasstartled by the reply: “So are we in business then?”This was a story he repeated with much amusement.

Sir Joseph was a great man, honoured worldwide,yet he still retained the common touch. A fittingdescription is expressed in Chaucer’s line in praise ofhis pilgrim knight: “He was a verray, parfit gentilknight.” (He was a true, perfect, courteous knight.)

Joyce Bazire, LiverpoolFormer Senior Lecturer in English Language and long-standing friend of Sir Joseph

nature, and when confrontingenormous and seemingly insolubleproblems he often quoted the wordsfrom the Russell-Einstein Manifesto,to which he was the youngestsignatory: “Remember yourhumanity and forget the rest.”

Sally MilnePA to Sir Joseph and ExecutiveSecretary to British Pugwash

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I studied Chemistry at Liverpool from1941 to 1944. During the last year of the course those who were taking physicalchemistry rather than organic went to thePhysics Department for lectures on atomicstructure from Joseph Rotblat, who was amember of James (later Sir James)Chadwick’s team.

Rotblat was a very good lecturer. He described the latest work on atomicstructure, including atomic fission. Asstudents we did not realise that he was telling us anything out of the ordinary or that it was not in every chemistry syllabus. As his colleague at Liverpool, Otto Frisch,has related (in What Little I Remember,Cambridge University Press, 1979, p142):“Rotblat even included fission in his lecturesand mentioned the possibility of a chainreaction, but in such a casual way thatnobody would have thought that it might leadto an important development in weaponry, letalone that we were actually working on that.I think it caused some worry among the moresecurity-minded people; but it certainlyworked.”

Trevor A Kletz (BSc Hons 1944)Visiting Professor, Dept of Chemical Engineering,Loughborough University; Adjunct Professor, Dept of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&MUniversity

Jo Rotblat, as he was affectionately known by the students, but not to hisface, took a keen interest in the undergraduates. He was the best lecturer in the faculty. He wasalways courteous; often with a smile, rarely with a frown. I left in June 1942 to become an RAFpilot; he left in 1944 to support the Manhattan Project.

When he was told that the Germans had given up their atomic bomb project he asked to bereleased from the bomb work. He later found his USA dossier stated he wished to join the RAF,train as a pilot, parachute into Poland and defect to the Russians! Whilst in New York all hisresearch notes and correspondence mysteriously disappeared; on Christmas Day 1944, he wason the RMS Queen Mary sailing for Liverpool.

He was appalled at the use of the atomic bombs on Japan, especially on the civilianpopulation. My reaction to the bombs was rather different. I was saddened at their use oncivilians; however, I had been posted to assist in the invasion of Japan, having previously beeninvolved in the invasion of Europe. As we were to be flying large, relatively slow aircraft, at lowlevel, the probability of a fatal outcome was rather high! Hence I’ve always regarded the atomicbombs as a personal life-saver. Also, perhaps more importantly, I believe that, although manywere killed, many more would have died if we had had to go ahead with invasions of theJapanese islands.

On his return, whilst leading the University’s nuclear research programme, he noted:“Scientists like me, who believe in the proper development and application of science, felt thatthe great discovery of nuclear energy was first known to the public as something destructive, andthat gave a bad name to science. At the beginning we worked hard to show the beneficial aspectsof nuclear energy, and it was taken up by industrialists.”

In 1957, the first of many Pugwash Conferences was held. He quoted Sir Michael Atiyah, themathematician, who followed him as a president of the Pugwash Conferences: “If you createsomething, you should be concerned with the consequences. This should apply as much tomaking scientific discoveries as it does to having children."

He was a fine scientist with a care for all humanity, gifted with tremendous energy andintegrity, an inspiring lecturer, a gentleman in the best sense of the word and an asset to theUniversity of Liverpool, his pupils and all his fellow citizens.

Dr Alan Salmon (BSc Hons 1948)

Above: The Physical Society on a weekend in North Wales, Easter 1942. Jo is the youngish man, rather better dressed than the students, the sixth from the right; Alan Salmon is hiding on the extreme right. Inset: Alan Salmon on his return from the Far East in 1946.

I was working for a company whichhad supplied the power system tooperate the cyclotron in theDepartment of Physics. Theinsulating discs in the lines werecontinually breaking down, puttingthe cyclotron out of action.

When we got to the University we were met bythe young Jo Rotblat who combined being verypeppery with being very nice. He urged us in nouncertain terms to get the thing put right in theearliest possible time. There were no furthercomplaints so all must have been well from thenon. I never met Rotblat again but I remember himas a very forceful and energetic person, but verykind as well.

Professor James Calderwood (BEng Hons 1946, MEng 1948, PhD 1952)Professor of Engineering Physics. ChiefScientist, Centre for Materials Research andInnovation, University of Bolton

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The photograph above was taken in 1943 outside the HoltLaboratory. At the time I was completing my second year at Liverpool underthe Hankey scheme (which offered two years on a physics/electronics coursefollowed by a direct entry commission in the armed forces) prior to joiningthe RAF VR as a direct entry radar officer. Dr Rotblat lectured not only inPhysics but also in the electronics/radio part of the course, which was takenduring what in peace time would have been the vacation periods.

Entry to the University of Liverpool on the course was subject tosuitability of the students and I recall being interviewed in 1941, with two ofmy lifelong school friends, Brian Collinge and J. Gordon Thomson, byProfessor Sir James Chadwick (who appeared to smoke more matches thantobacco in lighting his pipe!).

Apart from the electronics/radio component, the extent of the coursefollowed the full Physics degree schedule, though in 1943, with atomicdevelopments in train, both Professor Chadwick and Dr Rotblat gave anumber of additional lectures on atomic physics. Though never in myexperience interrupted, many lectures had ‘noises off’ accompaniment fromLuftwaffe visits to the docks area.

George D Prichard (BSc Hons 1948) Hertfordshire

Above: Professor Rotblat is sitting 6th from right on the second row up from the front. Below: George Prichard (far left) at the wedding of his friend, Frankie Young (centre) in 1944.

Jo Rotblat continuedto work within and beyondthe Pugwash framework forpeace until his death. His visionremained as clear as it was atthe time of his unilateralwithdrawal from the ManhattanProject. In today’s world wherewe are continually exhorted toacknowledge the “globalisation”necessary for economic well-being, his words in 1997 addwith great poignance the fargreater dimension of humansurvival: “We are graduallyrealising the futility of war...Now we must begin to thinkabout security in global, ratherthan national, terms. We mustget used to the idea that we are members of a worldcommunity... We have to

develop in each of us a sense of loyalty to

humankind that will be an extension of our present loyalties to family, city,

nation.”

And he highlighted the pivotalrole of science: “The samehuman activity that can bringthe whole of humankind to anend... can lead our effort tolearn to live without war. If youwant peace, prepare for peace.”

Jo was an immenselylikeable man. His last visit toLiverpool in 2003, marked theoccasion on which arefurbished lecture theatre wasnamed in his honour. Hisconcern for the ongoingdevelopment of weapons ofmass destruction of all sortsremained as acute as ever,particularly in view of hisgrowing alarm at the possibledevelopment of a US “defence”policy based on a pre-emptivenuclear strike. His message wasas always clear – to err fromwhat is true and what is right forhumanity, however unpalatable,is to compromise in a waywhich can lead to disaster. War is never truly right. Truthand righteousness were theroots of Jo Rotblat’s life, bothscientifically and ethically.

Professor John DaintonSir James ChadwickProfessor of Physics,Oliver Lodge Laboratory

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Mrs Curry and I had lunch with Jo inLiverpool two years ago when he greeted meas ‘my first atomic physics student’. He hadjust dedicated a lecture theatre in his nameand given a lecture entitled ‘The making of theatomic bomb and its repercussions’ toUniversity staff and students past and present.

Jo and I both wished to work respectivelyas staff and student under Professor Sir JamesChadwick whilst the 37 inch cyclotron wasbeing built for studies of Particle Physics.Students were impressed by the academictalent that Chadwick attracted to Liverpool. We were given lectures by Jo, Otto Frisch (on nuclear fission!), and Maurice Pryce butalso knew about regular visits from nationallyrecognised physicists such as Lise Meitner(Frisch’s Aunt), Max Born, Pieirls fromBirmingham, Sir Lawrence Bragg and manyothers. We thought of it as friendly academicdiscussions on atomics and did not relateFrisch’s nuclear fission lectures to these visitsand certainly not to the feasibility of an atomicbomb.

It was two years later when I was in the RAFVR and together with Martin Ryle (anotherNobel Prize-winner) busy designing jammersfor German radar that I learned that my friendsincluding Jo had gone to the USA to make the bomb. In 1946, I returned to Liverpool amarried man, ready to join Chadwick and Jo to do some teaching and cyclotron research.

I was an undergraduate reading Physics atLiverpool and had lectures and practicals underProfessor Rotblat at that time.

I remember entertaining him for tea in my room (I think it was J house) at Derby Hall when he hinted to us that something big was about to happen in theworld of atomic physics – it was the A-bomb! He hadjust returned from Los Alamos and, even then, he wasobviously disturbed and fearful of what he had seen. I am sure that his life-long dedication to the more useful uses of atomic energy stem from that time.

Trevor Owen (BSc 1946)Llandudno, North Wales

Liverpool Medical HistorySociety is organising a one-day conference on the life and work of Professor SirJoseph Rotblat, FRS, NobelPeace Laureate, at Liverpool Medical Institution.

Further information is availablefrom the Society’s Secretary,Adrian Allan, Sydney JonesLibrary, University of Liverpool,PO Box 123, Liverpool, L69 3DA;email: [email protected].

Because of his early return from the bombproject Jo was banned from the USA andregarded as a renegade but maintained hisstance on the improper use of nuclear energyby organising an ‘atomic’ train exhibitionemphasising to the public at large the potential value of nuclear research for powerand in medicine. I left Liverpool in 1949 forresearch in industry and in the same year Joleft for hospital medical research in Londonand his ongoing work in the Pugwashconferences. What a man!

Dr William JJ Curry(BSc Hons 1941, PhD 1949)North Yorkshire

and he was deeply movedto know that you would walk forward in this world, longafter he had to leave it,bearing his name. But what,exactly, does that namestand for? In my opinion, itstands for brilliance,compassion, patientoptimism, humour, doggeddetermination, an insistencethat we can all do better,energy, humility,youthfulness, and above all, humanity.

Prof had a presence unlikeany I have everencountered. I have seenhim rally a room full of athousand peace activistsinto a chanting fervour, and Ihave seen him in veryintimate discussions withformer heads of state. I haveseen him talk to awestruckhigh school students and totaxi drivers. He had a forceof personality that leftpeople inspired and hissmile filled a room with light.Prof had compassion. Hemade people feelappreciated. He had asense of humour and wasnot unwilling to laugh at himself. Perhaps never was

he more willing to laugh athimself than whendiscussing the state of his‘archives’ (anyone who hasseen his home knows whythey now estimate it will takethree years for someone tocatalogue his amazingcollection).

My favourite quote fromProf comes from his Nobeladdress and these areindeed words which I hopewill guide you and yourgeneration through thiscrazy world. “The quest for a war-free world,” he said,“has a basic purpose:survival. But if in the processwe learn how to achieve itby love, rather than fear, by

kindness rather thancompulsion; if in the processwe learn to combine theessential with the enjoyable,the expedient with thebenevolent, the practicalwith the beautiful, this will bean extra incentive to embarkon this great task.”

And remember as youread those words, that this isa man who only learnedEnglish as a young adult, aman who speaks severallanguages, a man whoseeloquence transcendscultural divisions.

And Joey, if Prof were tohave any parting words ofwisdom for you, I believe he would say, “Above all,remember yourhumanity.” – the final words of Sir Joseph’s‘Nobel’ speech.

Sandra Ionno Butcher, who knew Professor Rotblat through the Pugwash initiative, wrote a letter to her three-year-old son, who she named after Sir Joseph, when she heard of the Professor’s death. Here is an extract from that letter...

Prof considered it ‘agreat event in one’s lifeto have a new humanbeing named after one’,

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ou are Vice Chancellor of Liverpool, President of UUK,Chairman of FACT, and Chairman of Liverpool CultureCompany, where do you find the time? Yeh, it’s quite a shock; you could turn it into a 24/7 job without any

difficulty whatsoever. My first job is definitely the University of Liverpool and everything else I have to try and squeeze in somehow.

What about sleep? I fit it in with difficulty.

You once proposed that the Beatles should be given a place on the£20 note, who would you put on the £5 and £10 notes? Actually Ididn’t; these words were put into my mouth for me, but I didn’t disagree.This would be to celebrate the Liverpool Capital of Culture year, and it’s notunknown for musicians or poets to be put on the notes. The Scottish banksstill issue their own notes and change the people on them, so I think thatwas the proposition.

What is your biggest passion; is it something in work or outside ofit? Obviously there is the wife and dog, one can’t discount them. I supposeit is a toss up between literature, music and cars. If I wasn’t at work I wouldspend a lot of time driving and listening to music.

What music is it you listen to? I am a classical music fan, but almostanything from medieval music right up to post Second World War music. I have a very broad taste; my father was very interested in music so perhapsthat is where it has come from.

You studied at both Glasgow and Oxford; why did you decide to cometo Liverpool? Well there is a kind of connection in a way between Glasgow

and Liverpool, I was very much involved in Glasgow and how the universitywould play a role in the city’s economy; and Glasgow, like Liverpool, was acity that had fallen upon hard times. So when I was asked to think aboutLiverpool, that was one of the big attractions. In a city like Liverpool, as likeGlasgow, the University is a very big factor, and you can see and feel thedifference it makes.

Tell us about your degree; were you a party animal? Yes I am afraid Iwas; I mean I was brought up in the sixties and was a student of the sixties,so I would not see myself as the model student.

Why did you choose to do an English degree and to study Byron?Well I always enjoyed writing, especially creative writing, and I think that waswhat really tipped the balance; I could have gone into the science side, and Iam very interested in scientific things. In Scotland in your first year you don’tspecialise so I started off doing English, philosophy and French, but whattipped the balance was that I do like creative writing, so I chose to doliterature. It was a happy choice because I have not looked back at all.

Why did you choose Byron in particular? That was really a mixture ofchoice and luck: I really wanted to work on irony, and it so happened that theweek I was being interviewed for my scholarship to Oxford I had beenworking on Byron, and of course Byron uses a lot of irony, and that was whatI talked about and it was kind of hung round my neck.

Do you write anything now; are you still interested in creativewriting? Yes I am, but I haven’t been able to do much; I think the last thing Ihad published was in 1989. I am pretty sure that I still could write and Idefinitely intend to.

He’s the man holding the reins at the University of Liverpool and was recently named the mostpowerful ‘mover and shaker’ on Merseyside in a study by the Daily Post, but who is the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Drummond Bone? Naomi Dunning had the chance to find out in aninterview for the Liverpool Student newspaper.

Meet the VC

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What sort of thing do you write? Short fiction. That’s really what I am stillinterested in.

Did you ever hand any essays in late, or do any re-sits? No I never didany re-sits, but yeh, sure, I handed essays in late. I used to come up withexcuses for my tutors.

Does working in different parts of the country help you in your job asPresident of UUK? Yes sure it does, by the time I have been to Glasgow,which is a medieval Scottish university, Oxford which is a medieval Britishuniversity, Warwick a new English university and Liverpool which is a civicuniversity, it definitely helps you.

As President of UUK, what is the most important issue for you?The overriding issue has always been funding; we have a spending reviewcoming up in 2008, and we have been thinking about that. It is not to saythere are not other important issues; one is obviously, at the moment, thewhole visa issue, which I have been deeply involved in, and, of course, theacademics’ response to the new terrorism bill.

What do you think about the growing concern over extremists oncampus? Do you think it is a serious threat? Well it is a serious threatto society, but I don’t think universities are any different from anywhere else.I mean where you get large numbers of people working together; it doesn’thave to be universities it could be an area in a neighbourhood or city, thereis the potential to have problems. I don’t think we should be encouragingsuspicion or checking over people’s shoulders all the time. I think somethings in the terrorism bill will actually encourage the very kind of behaviourwhich will upset a community by causing suspicion between groups. Youhave to be responsible, but you also cannot get hysterical.

Do you think the terrorism bill will affect the numbers of internationalstudents that will want to come to Britain? I think the perception ofcountries as safe or unsafe is bound to. I mean Britain is a very safe countrybut unfortunately you get news such as the July 7 bombings, and peopledon’t realise that even in London a bomb is not unknown, and they happen.Therefore it is bound to affect it.

Do you think the Government’s target of getting 50% of all schoolleavers into university is achievable? Yes I do. I can’t for the life of methink why it can’t be done.

Do you think universities have enough money to do it? Yes, that maybethe determining issue; obviously we don’t want to put numbers ahead ofquality, but I think it is definitely worth aiming for, and trying to see if we canfind the money to do it. There was a very interesting study done about threeyears ago called ‘the wider benefits of Higher Education’ and it found thatthose who have benefited from Higher Education, live longer, are healthier,

are less likely to either commit or be exposed to crime, therefore it is verydifficult to deny people the benefits of Higher Education.

If there was one thing you could ask the Government for on behalf ofUUK, what would it be? It’s very difficult to disentangle two things: one isfinancial stability and the second is autonomy. So it is to set a policy and afinancial framework for a decent length of time, and then to say touniversities, ‘OK, you go on and do it, and we will stay out of it’.

Do you think British research is going to be affected by underfunding, compared to other European universities? No, I don’t think so.In the UK we are well funded compared to other European universities. Wehave moved to full economic costing for research; continental and Europeanuniversities don’t have to do that. That means they can price researchprojects much cheaper than we can and the danger is that it attracts Britishcompanies to send the money there rather than keep it here. That is wherewe cannot compete. Most British companies think we are doing the sensiblething, but in this transitional point we will be at a disadvantage. In terms ofactual provision of funding by the Government they have done a lot for us, all I hope is that they can keep it up.

How do you think UK universities are competing with continental andEuropean universities? I think we are doing very well. If you look at therecent Times Educational Supplement global league table you will find thatUK universities are really overwhelming European universities. The Universityof Liverpool comes out 119th globally, 47th within Europe and 19th in theUK. America is our biggest competition and they are superbly funded. Wecannot compete with American funding.

How does your experience as a student compare with studentstoday? I guess my studies were much less structured that yours are. I thinkthat meant that it was more fun if you survived, but fewer people did survive.We did have to make up quite a lot of it as we went a long, as there were nocourse outlines and all we were given was a whacking great reading list andyou went from there.

Would you prefer to study now, or back when you did? I think that atthe beginning of my studies I would have preferred it the way you have it,however, at the end of my studies I would have preferred it the way I had it.

Do you think the prospects for graduates are better now or when youwere a student, especially as everyone is talking about the lack ofgraduate jobs? I remember, for example, being given a warning by thehead of the Department of English at Glasgow just before I went to Oxford.He said that there will not be an academic job for you. I don’t think it ismuch different.

If you could change one aspect of Liverpool and the University whatwould it be? Liverpool is still a relatively dirty city. I think that has a hugeimpact on the way people feel and certainly the way incomers view the city. As for the University, I think we have changed quite a lot in the pastthree years.

What if money was not an object and you could change one thingabout the University? Well, I would like to have enough staff in place toteach in much smaller groups and allow staff much more flexibility. Staffwould not have to divide their time between administration, teaching andresearch, as there is often not enough time in the day.

If you didn’t do what you do now what would you do? The only twoother careers I have ever considered apart from being a full-time academic,are being a writer and a racing driver.

• You can hear more from the VC at the University’s reunion weekend. Turn the page for more details.

QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS

What book are you reading? I amreading a book on Swiss attitudes towardsthe Second World War. It’s called TargetSwitzerland by Stephen Halbrook.

Do you prefer fiction or non-fiction?I read more fiction than non-fiction.

What is the first place that comes intoyour head? Ayr in Scotland – the placewhere I was born.

If you were a chocolate bar whatwould you be? Cailler milk

What is the first vegetable thatcomes into your head? Carrot

First colour? Purple

If a film was made about your life,who would play you? Goodnessgracious… I have no idea…ummm I don’t know; you are obviously temptedto say somebody like Robert Redfordaren’t you…yeh, can’t think.

Dame Stella Rimington, graduate of the University and former head of MI5, will be one of the star attractions at an Alumni ReunionWeekend to be held at the University from Friday 14 July to Sunday 16 July inclusive. See below for a taster of the weekend’s itinerary. Further details are available at www.liv.ac.uk/alumni/

Alumni ReunionWeekend

FRIDAY 14 JULYJoin Convocation and the Friends of theUniversity for their annual dinner in theHerculaneum Room, Carnatic House, withguest speaker Mark Featherstone-Witty,co-founder and Principal of The LiverpoolInstitute for Performing Arts.

SATURDAY 15 JULYVisitors will register at the University’sManagement School. The joint AnnualGeneral Meeting of Convocation and theFriends will be held, followed by an

introductory speech by theUniversity’s Vice-Chancellor,Professor Drummond Bone,and an address from Sir Neil Cossons, alumnus and Chairman of EnglishHeritage. After a buffetlunch, guest speakers will include Dame Stella.

14-16 JULYBOOK YOUR PLACE NOW!

Special tickets have beennegotiated for an eveningperformance by the RoyalLiverpool PhilharmonicOrchestra. The conductor, Carl Davis, an HonoraryGraduate of the University, will join us at a post-performance supper.

SUNDAY 16 JULYMatthew Clough, Curator of the University’sArt Collections, will introduce photographerAlan McKernan and his exhibition Unfamiliar Journeys,documenting the changinglandscape of Merseyside.

The weekend concludes with a light lunch and farewell address from the Vice-Chancellor at the Foresight Centre.

Continued after the booking form...

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The Universityof Liverpool

ManagementSchool, a

£9m extensionof the WelshPresbyterian

Chapel

The famed artdeco PhilharmonicHall

The ForesightCentre, the formerLiverpool RoyalInfirmary

Dame StellaRimington

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Rockies reunion

Patrick Brennan hadn’t seen his friendJim Scott since 1964, but thanks to theUniversity’s Alumni Relations Team, the pair have been reunited.

Jim wrote to ask if the University had contactdetails for Patrick and the Team were able toput them in touch.

Patrick, who lives in Pontefract, WestYorkshire, told insight: “The last time I sawJim was at my wedding and he told me hewas off to Canada to see his twin sister. Henever came back. Then 40 years later I getyour letter.

“Earlier this year he came over for sixweeks and I showed him the delights of theYorkshire countryside. This year I wentacross to Vancouver Island, to visit his home and the Rockies, and we had a greattime. We are now constantly in touch viaemail and he is coming to see me again next summer.

“I am so glad I always informed theUniversity of my change of addresses overthe years, otherwise you would not havebeen able to find me. Thank you for passingon my email. You don’t know how happy itmade me.”

And we have another reunion success story...

Helen Barcan (née Goldstein) saw the articleabout Nadine Caplan in the Autumn 2005edition of insight and asked us to put her intouch with her old friend. The pair have nowbeen reunited after 25 years.

Are your details up to date on the University database? Are you trying to trace an old University friend? Email the Alumni Relations Team at [email protected], write to insight,Corporate Communications, Foundation Building, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool,L69 7ZX, or call +44 (0)151 794 2269.

‘Your ticket for Liverpool’ All those who make a bookingfor the weekend will be sent afree one-day smart card forleisure. This entitles the cardholder to access anddiscounts at Liverpool’s topattractions, restaurants, retailoutlets and hotels.

For more information visitwww.yourticketforliverpool.com

AccommodationThe University has negotiateddiscounted bed and breakfast rates at two hotels, exclusively for alumni reunion guests.

The Radisson Hotel, locatedin the city centre, is offering adiscounted rate of £105 for asingle room and £115 for adouble room. Call direct on+44 (0)151 966 1500, ask forreservations, and quote‘Liverpool University Alumni’.

Liverpool Marriott Hotel Southis located just a mile fromLiverpool John LennonAirport. Rates are £76 forsingle occupancy and £86 for double occupancy. Call+44 (0)151 494 5000, ask for reservations, and quote‘Alumni Allocation’.

Other weekend featuresinclude:– 10% discount at Blackwell’s

campus book shop– Message board for

those who are unable to attend (send us your messages, photo or contact details)

– Book signings– Guest speakers– Free time to explore the

campus and the city

Individual invitations will besent to all those whograduated in 1981, 1976,1966 and 1956 for whom wehave contact details. We arevery keen to contact all alumnifrom those years and areappealing to everyone to letus know about any alumnifriends who may have lostcontact with the University.

Joint AGM of Convocation and the Friends of the University of Liverpool 10.30am, Saturday 15 JulyThe University of LiverpoolManagement School

From 9 June, the agenda andpapers for the joint AnnualGeneral Meeting will be available to download fromwww.liv.ac.uk/alumni/

To receive the papers by post, callSue Irvine, Alumni Co-ordinator,on +44 (0)151 794 2269.

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Graduates had the chance to meet old friends and make newcontacts at two informal events in London and Liverpool.Around 150 people attended the first of the events,aimed at the younger members of the University’salumni community, at the fashionable Tiger Tiger Clubin London, in November 2005. The lucky raffle winnerwas Davesh Shukla (MBA in Entrepreneurship,Laureate programme, 2005) who won a bottle ofchampagne.

The second social event was held at the PanAmerican Club on Liverpool’s waterfront, later thesame month. The raffle winner on Merseyside wasKaren Taylor (Mechanical Engineering, 1996) who alsotook home a bottle of bubbly.

Helen Wright, Alumni Development Manager, said: “We were delighted to receive such enthusiasticsupport from the alumni who attended our firstinformal networking events.”

For more details of forthcoming alumni events –including a summer weekend extravaganza – see pages 20 and 21.

Conversation revolved round fondmemories of Liverpool and amusinganecdotes of University life. In London,most people were eager to hear aboutLiverpool today – wanting to know howmuch of the city they remembered wasstill there and how things had changed.”Helen Wright Alumni Development Manager

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It was great to see so manypeople enjoying themselves andwe are already planning anothersimilar event in London in thenext six months. Hope you willbe able to join us!”Helen Wright

“Were you in Medicine’s class of ’56?The year which qualified MB, ChB in 1956 was fairly close-knit. The students comprised the last of the ex-Service men and amongthe first of the post-war kids straight from school – an interestingcombination.

Of the 94 people who completed the course, there has been a tremendousspread of careers; some dozen becoming Professors. The class has hadreunions regularly and members hope to see as many as possible of the 77 survivors and members of their families. So far there have been 80acceptances.

The reunion will take place from 30 June to 2 July and will include anevening reception at the Medical Institution on the Friday night and a dinnerat Knowsley Hall on the Saturday.

For details please contact either Dr Tony Gilbertson by email [email protected] or 2 Longworth Way, Liverpool L25 6JJ, or Dr Peter Jarvis, by email at [email protected] 42 Church Green, Bletchley, MK3 6BL. The organisers are particularlyanxious to include details of everyone in the year, whether they can attend or not.

Calling all Vets!The 15th Annual General Meeting of the University of LiverpoolVeterinary Alumni Association will be held on Saturday 10 June.

Further details and papers will be circulated to members nearer the time,but it is hoped that, as well as the formal business of the AGM, the day willinclude informal presentations from current members of staff and apresentation by a senior zoo veterinarian.

For further information, contact the ULVAA Honorary Secretary, SheilaJones, Assistant Registrar, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Veterinary ScienceBuilding, Liverpool L69 7ZJ. Phone +44 (0)151 794 4280 or [email protected]

• Roscoe and Gladstone reunion – page 25.

Limited number of ticketsfor stunning venueThere are a limited number of tickets left for an alumni event in one of the UK’s most stunning venues.

The House of Commons will play host to a prestigious reception on aterrace overlooking the River Thames.

This is the second time the University has used this beautiful settingfor an alumni event. More than 350 people gathered in February lastyear for the very popular event, which featured readings from theLiverpool Poets, Roger McGough and Brian Patten. Other guestsincluded writers Dame Beryl Bainbridge and Shirley Hughes.

This year, the guest speaker is Roger Phillips; a regionalbroadcasting legend who has a daily show on BBC Radio Merseyside.

The event takes place on Thursday 4 May from 7pm to 9pm. Ticketscost £20 and are available now from the Alumni Relations Team.

Contact Emma Smith on +44 (0)151 794 6940 or [email protected] as soon as possible if you would like to attend, as there are only a few places left.

Roscoe Hall was built alongside Gladstone Hall on theGreenbank site. Originally named separately, their names were later combined to Roscoe and Gladstone Hall, as it is known today.

Roscoe Hall had its own newspaper – the Roscoe Lion. One ofits former residents Sir Robin Saxby, now President of technologygiant ARM Holdings, unearthed a copy of the newsletter dating back to February 1968.

Robin was President of Roscoe Hall and he says he has great memories ofthe University and the city. He said: “You don’t just choose to come toLiverpool because of the University – you choose the city as well.

“Living in Halls was fantastic. I made a lot of friends who are still part ofmy life. I remember being thrown in the Greenbank pond – that was atradition at the end of the President’s year. Another thing I remember wasconcrete floors and no carpets. One summer was very hot and water fightswere very popular. We had metal bins which would get filled with water. Icame back one day to a torrent of water coming down the stairs. We hadone tutor who wasn’t very popular and when it snowed a certain group ofpeople built a 12 foot mound of snow in front of his car.

“Our socials were very successful. They were always full and always had great bands. We made so much money we bought every block in the Hall a washing machine and got a colour TV. We also used to hire a boat for parties and go out to sea. Or we would jog round Sefton Park, stopping in every pub on the way, to collect money for charity. There was rivalry between us and the other halls but it was all just a bit of banter – usually around Rag Week.”

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It is 40 years since Roscoe Hall and Gladstone Hall threw open their doors and became home to thousands ofUniversity of Liverpool students. One was named after William Roscoe, first President of the Liverpool Royal Institutionwhich was created to promote the arts, science and literature through education for the middle classes. He was aremarkable historian, art lover, botanist, poet and politician, who was an attorney by profession. The other was namedafter Liverpool-born William Ewart Gladstone, Prime Minister in four Governments from 1868 to 1894.

Roscoememories

Another Lion contributorwas Lawrence McGinty, now Health and ScienceEditor for ITN.

He said: “I’d forgotten what apretentious little s**t I was! Ireally don’t remember writing for The Lion and I haven’t thefoggiest idea who the editor was.I don’t remember students beingso apathetic – my guess is that Iprobably thought this was a good theme so I’d write about it! I loved the note on the bottom which asked for contributions to be written on foolscap. So much nostalgia from that one word!

“Food was a very big topic of conversation. I think you got breakfast anddinner, but had to fend for yourselves at lunchtime. The best thing wasbreakfast. You would load up on toast and jam – then sneak it off to yourroom and eat it for lunch when you were broke!”

And he says living in Halls was great: “One of the favourite escapadesinvolved the big brass sign from the front of the Philharmonic Hotel. Theyhad taken it down to clean the brickwork so we nicked it and put it up overthe Student Union!

“I used to live on the top floor of Roscoe and one night we had a partywhere we all got on the flat roof. I played ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ by ProculHarum endlessly until people were throwing missiles at me to make mestop! I had a lot of mates in Gladstone Hall. It was full of lawyers and theyalways held the best balls. My friend and I acted as bouncers at one of them.I’m only 5ft 5ins and couldn’t look less like a bouncer but it meant we couldget in for free!

“They locked the Hall doors but there was a side entrance and you couldget in there any time so it did seem bizarre. I think lights out was about

Right: Sir Robin Saxby

Above: Lawrence McGinty

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11pm, but if we thought we had problems, what about the poorstudents at a nearby Catholic college? Their doors were locked atabout 8pm! The students complained that they couldn’t even go towatch a play so it was announced that they would have a late keysystem. Of course, the first thing they did was get a key and make600 copies!

“We could have visitors – by which they meant girls – in ourrooms until 10.30 or 11pm. I think Ian Royston, who also wrote forthe Roscoe Lion, was the only person to be fined twice for having awoman in his room after hours. The first fine was a fiver, which youcould have lived on for a week in those days, but the second finewas £50 which was a massive amount. The tutors used to comeround and try to catch you with someone in your room. If you wereon the top floor, on the outside of the building, word got round andyou were usually able to get them out before the tutor arrived – but ifyou were on the ground floor you had no chance!”

Were you the editor of the Roscoe Lion or did you write for the newsletter? Share your memories of your time in Halls with insight. Email us at [email protected] or write to the Publications Department, Corporate CommunicationsFoundation Building, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool, L69 7ZX

Former resident or member of staff in Roscoe & GladstoneHall? 2005-06 is R&G’s 40th anniversary and a celebration isplanned for 28 April. Please contact May Allen on 0151 7946401 or [email protected] for more details.

Main photograph: Sunbathing outside Roscoe HallAbove: The pond has proved irresistible to many Roscoe residents!

The Roscoe LionThe Roscoe Lion was the Hall’s regularcommunication with its residents. Articleswere invited ‘on one side double spacedfoolscap please’ and it was packed withreports of events, Rag Week, Panto andmeetings.

The Editor, known only by his title, not his name,concluded his welcome message with a request for feedbackon dances. He said: “What is the attitude to having a band thatwill play the odd waltz and quick-step, making them properformal dances, as opposed to rave-ups in evening dress? Giveyour views to the Social Sec – and the girls will love you for it.”

According to the President’s Column, written by Robin Saxby,students’ finances were high on the agenda back in 1968. He notes:“Hall fees will go up next year and our grants will only rise by a smallpercentage.” He later adds: “We can now only hope that future students willnot be faced with further increases and it is up to us to point out ways toeconomise.”

The quality of food and the cleanliness of the Halls were the two issueswhich generated the most complaints. Robin pointed out: “In a certainRoscoe House there is one cleaner only. This lady does all her house in halfthe time it takes two women to clean a house of the same size. Everystudent knows that two women working together spend most of their timetalking and smoking. Why doesn’t the University know this?” In terms of thefood provided in halls, Robin said: “Specific criticisms about the diet were;they give some exotic names to the same meals… what is the differencebetween stew, steak and kidney pie, and cottage pie? Do we get enoughvitamin C? There is always a shortage of vegetables and fruit.”

Lawrence McGinty’s contribution was entitled ‘Nothing Ever Changes’ andhe said the low turn-out at a students’ meeting “demonstrated emphaticallythe total apathy and effete disinterest of students in general and of Roscoein particular.” He added: “Mr Roberts told us we had made a profit of £80last term, mainly on informals, and suggestions of how this money was tobe spent were asked for. Not a single suggestion was made (excluding thatis, the pipe dream of a colour TV). And that sums it up.”

But there was more enthusiasm from students for dances and parties. The Social Secretary, Ian Royston, praised the success of one event andnoted: “Three bars now seem inadequate, although all informals at lesserHalls make do with one!”

Robin also reported from a meeting with quite a list of students’concerns. Cheese portions were, he hoped, to be increased. Permission tostay beyond midnight in the TV Room should be sought from the Bursar.The supply of toilet rolls was to be ensured. Shower nozzles were to beinvestigated and improved. Holes were already being drilled in soap holders.

He added: “There was much argument about food. One student claimedhis teeth were dropping out from scurvy due to lack of vitamin C. It wasillustrated that our supper packets were inferior to those of Derby.”

Later in his report he said: “At this point women selling charity tickets fora beauty contest burst into the room and after much feminine persuasion,the Committee bought eight tickets on behalf of Hall from Hall funds, andtore them up.”

This statement was followed by: “The whereabouts of Mr P Gill’sunderpants was queried.” But no explanation was given as to when they hadgone missing!

Inter-Hall rivalry was also evident. The meeting report added: “Withreference to the table-tennis match at the last meeting where Gladstone, by subtle chicanery, won, Mr R Saxby wishes it to be placed on record asdenouncing their improper finger-spinning.”

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Have your say: insight Editorial Team, Publications Department, Corporate CommunicationsThe University of Liverpool, Foundation Building, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L69 7ZXemail: [email protected] tel: +44 (0)151 794 2250

REMEMBERING THE LIVERPOOL SCENEHaving read the Autumn insight, I had to write in. There were so manythings in it that I could relate to. Bear with me as I just run throughthem, as some of it might just encourage others to add their bit of theaction to the Liverpool scene.

In my first year, as law student at Rathbone, I was the only westernermember of the Chinese Students’ Society – and a member of their 5-a-side football team which won the competition that year.

I took the ferry with some Irish friends to Portrush for a drop ofGuinness and Bushmills, and to savour the music. Meeting an ancientcrew-member in the ferry bar, the floor swilling with beer, I swappedhim a pint of the black stuff for a sweater of the now extinct ferry line –a prize I still own.

Talk of Liverpool winning the European Cup took me back to thatnight in 1984, but for a slightly richer tapestry. My son was born thatsame night at about 9:30 pm – ie ruining my chance of watching thewhole match – and there was an eclipse, too. Very special.

I obtained an LLB in 1974 and then had a career in languageteaching. I joined Trinity College London in 1990. I am now NationalAdministrator for Spain and Portugal, based in Barcelona. And now arequest – couldn't there be things planned on a Saturday? I get over tothe UK every now and then, and may be able to fit in a Saturday event.

Keep the issues coming – they’re great.

Barry Lynam (LLB 1974) Barcelona

Editor’s note: see pages 20 and 21 for a weekend reunion. Hope you can make it!

The winner of our star letter wins a £25 book token kindly donated by Blackwell’s University Bookshop. For your nearest Blackwell’s visitwww.bookshop.blackwells.co.uk

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THE WAR EFFORTI was fascinated to read about Clifford Brewer’sexperiences at the Normandy landings (insight, Autumn2005). As he was one of my teachers, post-war, in theold Liverpool Royal Infirmary and has always been agood friend, I contacted him. He is the only survivingsurgeon from the 12 British/Canadian Forward SurgicalUnits and he was interested to learn how some of histreated cases may have got back to the UK.

It was like this: Dr David Black and I were youngSurgeon Lieutenants (Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve)serving in a casualty/tank landing ship. We landed onJuno beach at H+2 hours on D-Day, disgorged tanksand troops and then loaded them up with casualties (the tank space could take up to 450). Our job was tokeep them alive and in good shape until we arrived backat Portsmouth. It was comforting to know that the ship’sdraft was so shallow that the German torpedoes passedbeneath us.

We did eight such trips. David Black became an eyesurgeon in Liverpool and now lives in Cheltenham. Dr Geoffrey Murray, who landed on D-Day in a sistership of ours was an Edinburgh graduate but later settledin Liverpool as a chest physician and now lives inFormby.

Norman Gibbon (MBChB 1941, ChM 1951)Formby, Merseyside

AT THE HOP!Heather MacDermid wonders if any readers go back as far as 1950-51. I go back furtherbut was also there during those years.Entering the University, at a slightly youngerage than usual in Autumn 1944, as a studentof Geography, and becoming, after a year, 18 years of age, I was removed to HisMajesty’s Forces. After two and a half yearsdemobilisation arrived and enabled me toresume studies in Autumn 1948.

At the time the career hiatus seemed anuisance, but it proved to have twoimmeasurable benefits. Had the break notoccurred, I would not have met my future wifeJoan (née Stopforth) who became a student

only in 1948. Moreover, it was not until 1950-51 that the Department of Civic Design set upa Masters degree intended to admit graduatesfrom disciplines other than architecture.

If I were asked which of the two parts of mystudent days proved most rewarding socially, I would have to say 1944-45. It was a timewhen men students were scarce because ofwar service and women students plentiful.How could I have learned to dance without somany delightful partner/teachers at Unionhops!

George Mercer (BA Hons Geog 1950,Master of Civic Design 1952)Preston, Lancs

Norman is second from the left and David Black isfourth from the left with the pipe.

The tank space laden with casualties.

PIER HEAD MEMORIESIn the Spring 2005 edition of insight you asked for memories of Pier Head.

In mid 1943 I was a member of themedical branch of the UniversityTraining Corps. To further our practicalexperience, we went to help unload ahospital ship, the Newfoundland, whichin peace time was a Furness Withyliner. We transferred the casualties to ahospital train, which was in the riversidestation, now of course demolished.

My other memory of Pier Head is the evening of Saturday 2 September1939. The Germans had invaded Poland the day before. Moored at thelanding stage was a liner – inpeacetime colours. The followingevening, 10 hours after the outbreak ofwar, she was torpedoed – the firstvictim of the ‘Battle of the Atlantic’. Shewas the Athenia. Of those on board her,112 died. To add to the mockery, the U-Boat Commander, Lempe of U-30,had disobeyed his instructions whichwere NOT to sink liners but only cargoships or warships. Doenitz, his C-in-C,had the pages torn out of his logbookso as to hide Lempe’s part in the affair.But it was too late – the lovely ship Isaw was at the bottom of the sea.

Dr James HE Carmichael(MB ChB 1945, MD 1953)Liverpool

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WHAT’S COOKING IN CHINA?I was interested to read about the founding of a newUniversity in China (insight, Autumn 2005) by ourUniversity and the University of Xi’an Jiaotong. Ispent a period at that University in 1983. I believesome time before that, the University had movedto Xi’an from Shanghai. Despite the length oftime since the move, the cooking still had a distinctiveShanghai flavour. Before leaving for home I was given the permanent honorary post of Consulting Professor there. Perhaps some day they might write and ask me a very difficult question – one never knows.

Professor James Calderwood(BEng Hons 1946, MEng 1948, PhD 1952)Bolton

NOTINTERCHANGEABLEJoseph Cooper’s work for MedTV (insight, Autumn 2005)presumably drew him into thepolitical ambitions of the Kurdishpeople and Med TV itself hasbeen dubbed ‘Kurdistan in thesky’. The Kurdistan regionalgovenment in Iraq itself notesthat Kurds live where Turkey,Iran, Iraq, Syria, and the formerSoviet Union (CIS) meet and‘Kurdistan is administered byTurkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, andCIS’.

The use of the slash ‘/’ to indicate that ‘southeast Turkey’and ‘Kurdistan’ are alternative,interchangeable, terms is notcorrect. Turkey is a country, amember of the United Nations,and recognised by the Foreignand Commonwealth Office.Kurdistan is none of these.

I have met and worked withboth Turks and Kurds. Bothgroups hold strong views on theother’s actions in the region and insight should take care to avoid upsetting one party or the other.

Richard Bradford(CertEdSec 1999)Newton-le-Willows,Merseyside

CHANGING TIMESReading your article ‘Riding the Storm of Student Protests’ (insight, Autumn2005) brought back many memories. I was studying BA (Hons) French/Latinfrom 1968-72 and well remember Jon Snow holding court in the Union in hissheepskin jacket. I felt very young while a student, however, and did not fullyengage in the political debates at the time.

I much admired Jon Snow and the others at the time for taking their stand,and I did assist at some of the meetings in Senate House. I rememberwatching a protest going down the street whilst we were supposed to be takingnotes in a lecture on Ancient Civilisation. Our lecturer was so drunk that he didnot notice and just carried on speaking – quite the most amazing man, I neverfound him sober. He just came in and spouted his stuff and went away againafter an hour, reeking of brandy the whole time! I think we all did quite well inhis subject actually… I do agree with the comment by Christopher Grahamthat today’s students are made of calmer stuff – whilst we were serious, wewere so in different ways. Today's students are so worried about finances andthe job market afterwards that I think they have far less time to be political.

After graduating I used my languages in London and then did some privatetuition from home when my four sons were born. Now they have all left home,I run a charity in Brighton, the Friends of the Royal Pavilion, Art Gallery &Museums – we have 1,100 members and are a happy bunch, very non-political!

Pam Barber (née Topley)(BA Hons French/Latin 1972)via email

OUR MOST IMPORTANT RESOURCEI find insight is extremely readable but there was one bit which jarred – the departmental title Human Resources (insight, Autumn 2005).

It’s the word ‘resources’ that gets me. It seems to demean people,putting them on the same level as inanimate resources like machines,land, computers etc, when in fact they are the source of everything andare all that really matters! It reminds me a bit of the airline captain whodescribed customers as ‘self loading cargo’. It would be great if Liverpoolcould achieve another first and invent a better title that caught on!

Leon Snell (BSc Physics 1952)via email

Susan Rutherford, Director of Human Resources, replies: “I appreciatewhat is being said. Our staff are our most important asset and we are, as a department, very respectful of that important fact. Professionally,however, the HR title is now used by the majority of our comparableinstitutions and the service goes way beyond the traditional Personnelfocus of Welfare and Administration. HR will be making more explicit thestrategic areas it is working on shortly and as evidenced by the recentpositive modernisation of certain pay structures.”

Above: Xi’ancommemorativebook presented toProfessorCalderwood.

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CZECH MATE!Here is another University romancefor you. As Jean Finch I lived inRankin Hall in 1942. One of myroom mates, Hannah Tausigova, wasthe only Czech woman student at theUniversity.

On 7 October 1942, I was havinglunch with Hannah in the StudentUnion Ref when George Glaser, alsoa Czech, brought a third Czech PaulRitter across to meet Hannah and,incidentally, me. It was love at firstsight, we courted throughout the warand were married on 11 April 1946.

We emigrated to WesternAustralia in 1965, we have sevenchildren (one Assoc Prof., twoUniversity lecturers, three lawyersand one medical practitioner), 14 grandchildren, we are in oureighties, still functioning well, are

involved in many activities such asUniversity of the Third Age andlooking forward to our 60th weddinganniversary in April 2006. I attach aphotograph of how we look now.

It is terrific to read of thecontinued growth and success of‘Our Uni’.

Jean Ritter (BSc1945, DipEd 1946) LMACE (Life Member of theAustralian College of Educators)

STUDENT UNREST I was interested to read ChristopherGraham’s views of our alma materwith regard to student unrest. Igraduated in History in 1968 andseem to remember a constantturmoil of protest, sit-ins andinternal constitutional crises. Manyof the most radical students enviedme my cast-iron working-classcredentials; small terraced house,outside lav, back streets to play inand railway bridges to swing on inlieu of gardens and trees. I certainlyformed the impression that very fewpeople from my sort of backgroundfeatured in the agitation on behalf ofthe downtrodden. They were chieflypeople like Jon Snow from veryexpensive independent schools and at first they scared the life out of me.

My memories of student life inLiverpool are all happy ones. Aswell as taking a peripheral interest inGuild politics I joined severalsocieties and spent lots of timeplaying sport for the University andat inter-departmental level, singing

both folk music and G&S, and beingin my final year Lady President ofHistory Society. It saddens me tosee how little my son’s generationhave participated in anything extra-curricular at University. I know wewere privileged in that heaps ofmoney was thrown at us, but I feelthat we were also more inclinedtowards participation per se. Doesthis mean that I am an old fogey?Don’t answer that.

Anne Crew (née Mullen)(BA Hons History 1967, MA Medieval Studies 1991)Cumbria

PS - I always did feel sorry for JonSnow, who was prominent partlybecause he was such a gifteddebater, but also because his fatherwas a bishop – a lot to live down inthose days. I did wonder if hecarried the can for many sitters-inwho were equally culpable but lessidentifiable.PPS - I do enjoy your magazine!

MORE MARITIME MEMORIESI was interested in the Maritime Memories in the Autumn edition of Insight. I have clear memories of the Empress of Canada on its side in GladstoneDock after it had caught fire in 1954 – before I was a student! There was agood view from the Overhead Railway!

I bought this postcard later (below) from National Museums & Galleries on Merseyside.

Dr Mark Kermode (Honorary Senior Fellow BSc Mathematical Physics 1962, PhD Theoretical Physics 1966, Member of staffMathematics: Theoretical Physics 1969-2002) Liverpool FOLLOWING IN PLANT HUNTERS’ FOOTSTEPS

I was particularly interested in the Autumn issue of insight having justreturned from a visit to China’s South West, in Sichuan, as one of a smallgroup of volunteers at Brodick Castle, Arran, taken on the trip by our formerHead Gardener, Nigel Price.

From Beijing, we flew to Chengau then travelled by coach through theMinjiang River Valley to the Qinghai plateau, through the fertile Red Basin asfar north as Jiuzhaigou, crossing the Qilian Shan range at 4,000 metres.

We saw profuse vegetation on the slopes in tracing the steps of FrankKingdon-Ward, a contemporary of George Forrest, (both had links to NessGardens, Wirral, which is owned by the University of Liverpool) who as planthunters were bringing thousands of rhododendrons and rare plants to Britain.We also saw Giant Pandas at the World Wildlife breeding station at Wolongand in the wild with unusual wild cows, monkeys, red foxes and bigger redsquirrels than ours here on Arran.

Rachel Phillips (BA 1951, DipEd 1952)Isle of Arran, Scotland

MODERN DAY PROTESTSI was interested to read the article about student protest. I founded both theStudent CND and Student Stop the War Societies, as well as sitting on theGuild Executive Committee. While our protests were rarely targeted at theUniversity, we generated significant interest such that on 19 and 20 March2003, around 400 students, along with other people from the city (perhapsup to 2,000 people at its height) spent eight hours each day in sit-downprotests that in turn occupied Lime St, Dale St, the Strand, Paradise St andRenshaw St in protest at the war in Iraq.

I am now the National Campaigns Worker for the Campaign for NuclearDisarmament and we are embarking on a massive new campaign to opposethe replacement of the Trident nuclear missile system. We hope to workclosely with Liverpool MPs. Sadly, our close friend and former Liverpoollecturer Sir Joseph Rotblat died recently.

Ben Folley (BA History 2003, MA 20th Century History 2004)London

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Perfect excuse for a party There was a reunion with a differencefor some of the class of 2001 (above).

The wedding of Payal Patel (BScOrthoptics) and Amit Khandelwal (BA Accounting) gave more than adozen alumni the perfect excuse for a party.

Blushing bride Payal was joined by fellow Orthoptics graduates Kerry Merchant, Huma Mirza, LouiseCorcoran and Heather Numan. Also on hand to join the celebrations was David Inman (BA FinancialEconomics), Sarah Jones (BAAccounting), Patrick Ross (BAClassical Studies), Michael Shaw(BSC Biological Science), RachelKane (BSc Environmental Science),Michael Bayliss (BSc CombinedMaths with Chemistry), Chris

Reunions

Hutchinson (BA Music), RachelWatson (BA History and Politics),Joanne Cottier (BA Sociology), Anna Jones (BSc Maths) and WendyHughes (BA History). Also inattendance at the wedding, whichwas held in the bride’s home town of Grantham, Lincolnshire, wasbrother of the bride, Palash Patel,who is in the second year of aBusiness Studies and Law degree.

And the friends will have theperfect excuse to celebrate all overagain this year – with two moreweddings. David Inman and RachelKane are getting married in June,while Michael Bayliss and SarahJones are getting ready for theirwedding in December.

The three couples all met in 1998, their first year of University.

Reunion appealI was a study-abroad student at the University of Liverpool in 1986-7 and I’mtrying to find some lost friends from that magical time in my life. Can youhelp me locate some of your alumni? I’m looking for Neil Spooner (Physics),Alistair Howe (Microbiology but then Information Sciences?) and Tony (Anthony) Conner (Microbiology).

Jocelyn Weiss(Political Science 1986-87)

If you know the whereabouts of any of these alumni, please call Sue Irvine in the Alumni Relations team on +44 (0)151 794 2269or email [email protected]

Lakeside celebrationThe class of 1960 donned black tie and party dresses for a reunion inthe Lake District. The former Medical School students (above) got together for the 45th anniversary of their graduation. They enjoyed a weekend atLakeside Hotel in Newby Bridge, on the banks of Windermere.

Were you a resident of Gladstone or Roscoe Hall? See pages 22 & 23 for reunion news.

Did you receive aGeography degree in 1966?

To mark the 40th anniversary oftheir graduation, a reunion isbeing planned for Friday 30June. Former students will bemeeting outside the Departmentof Geography at 3pm, then willtake a tour of the present

Department. Afterwards theyintend to move on to thePhilharmonic Pub (36 HopeStreet) to renew friendships.

If you are interested – or know ofanyone from the same year groupwho might be – please [email protected] or callthe alumni relations team on+44 (0)151 794 2270.

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A Day in the Desert

Dominic Crisp, who graduated in Law in 2003, is a Royal Marine Commando who hasjust returned from a tour of Iraq. He was serving on a British Warship, deployed inthe Northern Arabian Gulf as part of the Coalition Forces’ efforts to protect Iraqiinfrastructure, particularly the oil terminals which deliver 90% of Iraq’s oil tosupertankers which take it across the globe. A Royal Marines Fleet Standby RifleTeam is deployed with the ship to provide protection.

Dominic is currently working in Norway but will be returning to Iraq later this year. Here’s his typical day as a Royal Marine Commando.

Photographs by Dominic Crisp.

0600: FAB ABS, the Physical Training Instructor runs a sit-up circuit to geteveryone looking good for the beach when we get some time off in Dubai. All the Royal Marines turn up, alongside a few others. After all, it is quiteearly. Even at 6am the heat is stifling and you break into a sweat the momentyou step outside. After half an hour of sit-ups, crunchies, leg raises and ahost of other abdominal exercises, we shower and have breakfast.

0700: INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING. As the team commander I attend thedaily morning intelligence brief from the operations officer with the Captain of the ship and his second in command in the operations room.

0800: SECURITY SWEEP. Oil tankers which come to collect oil from theIraqi terminals must be cleared by a security team before they are allowed tomove from their anchored position alongside the oil terminal. The crew areusually very happy to see us and lavish us with food and drinks – and talk us to death! Each vessel takes an hour and a half to search, before I report itsafe to proceed.

1130: We return from searching two oil tankers, hot and thirsty. It is close to 50 degrees now and we have been wearing body armour and kit for three hours. Time for some lunch.

1215: FITTIES: The PTI runs a lunch time circuit for the fitter members ofthe ship’s company which usually includes the Royal Marines plus a fewothers. Working hard in the intense heat is a great weight loss regime and allof the Marines are in great shape. The circuit includes press-ups, weights,sit-ups and running.

1400: “HANDS TO BOARDING STATIONS, HANDS TO BOARDINGSTATIONS, AWAY ROYAL MARINES TEAM, AWAY ARABIC LINGUIST.”A short notice boarding has come up. The Royal Marines team is on 15minutes notice to move, 24 hours a day. The team rushes to prepare the kitand the boat crew rushes to get the boats into the water. I sprint between theoperations room and the bridge finding out what has happened and briefingthe Captain on my plan. Some pirates have attacked a small cargo vesseland we are being sent to investigate. At high speed we approach the vesselwith caution in a wide arc to get a good view. It appears that the pirates havegone. Using VHF radios we hail the Master of the vessel and get permissionto board and find out what happened. As the Master recalls the details of theattack, the linguist hears the pirates on the VHF radio and we coordinate theswift deployment of helicopter and Iraqi patrol boat to intercept. The patrolboat calls for assistance as shots have been fired. The Royal Marines teamspurs into action and speeds across the waves to offer assistance. On arrival

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we find the pirates have jumpedoverboard and the helicopter istracking them as they swim fourmiles to the Iraqi Coast. The water istoo shallow to follow them. Nexttime we’ll get them.

1700: HUFFERS AND PUFFERS:The PTI runs another circuit for theless fit members of the ships crew.The Royal Marines use it as a lighttraining session knowing that thereis still more work ahead as we aregoing out on patrol later on.

1900: BLUE LIGHT PATROL:After we have eaten, the RoyalMarines team prepares to go on aBlue Light Patrol. This is anintelligence-gathering exercise withthe local fishermen and also givesthe Coalition a visible presence inthe area at night. We stock up onfood and water because we could be out for some hours. We take two interpreters with us as oursmattering of Arabic will not get theintelligence we require. So ourevening is going to be spent

chatting to local fishermen, beingoffered all sorts of fishy concoctionsto eat and drink, and trying to getany information on illegal or terroristactivity in the area. We’ll also bedodging Americans who can bealmost as dangerous as theterrorists, having tried to shoot usaccidentally on two occasions.

2230: Report to the Captain and theOperations Officer on any usefulintelligence gathered and write thereport to send out to the rest of the

Coalition. Also plan some man-overboard training for the following day which allows us to do some useful training in the boats, gainconfidence with the coxswains and go for a little swim.

2300: Well deserved bed. I amasleep as soon as my head hits thepillow, which is great as the airconditioning is failing to keep up with the ridiculously high temperatures.

More of the same tomorrow…

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When all eyes are on England’s footballers this summeras they bid for World Cup glory, another group of top classsports stars will be having their own battle to become thegreatest team on earth.

Gill, who is currently President of the Rugby FootballUnion for Women and also President of WaterlooRugby Club in Liverpool, graduated with a Universityof Liverpool PE and Mathematics Combined BEdHons degree from Chester College in 1986. She wenton to teach at Culcheth High School in Warrington,Cheshire, while at the same time, launching her rugby career.

“A year later I was in the England squad, playingagainst Sweden,” said Gill, “but the funny thing was I had organised the whole event then ended up beingpicked for the team!”

Gill, who now teaches PE at Range High School in Formby, Merseyside, juggled her career with her a gruelling training regime and international rugby schedule.

“I have worked all the way through,” shesaid. “I used to train every day which washard – full-time teaching is full-timeenough. But I wanted to succeed at thetop so that’s what I had to do. Now I’mnot training every day I wonder how Iever found the time!

“People ask what the highlights have been. Winningthe World Cup in 1994 was unbelievable, as wasbeing asked to be England Captain. Then there wasthe MBE. That was a wonderful day and being told Ihad been nominated was a fabulous surprise and agreat honour. I never expected anything like that.”

Women’s rugby is growing rapidly in the UK, butGill is very pragmatic about the extent of itspopularity.

She added: “It is still very much a growing sport,there are now 12,000 women playing Rugby Union.There are some Rugby League teams but, like themen’s game, they are limited to certain areas.

“But it never will be as big as the men’s game – or men’s sport generally. Women themselves are theproblem as they don’t actively support the teams and they are just not as interested in sport. Thewomen who take part are just as professional – with a little p – but they will never be Professionalwith a capital P. We also need more media coverage – but the media say women don’t want to watch it.That’s the nature of women’s sport.”

Now Gill’s next challenge is to get to Canada tosee her beloved England in action – but there’s oneproblem.

“It’s in term time!” she said, “and that doesn’tbalance well with being teacher!”

The English Women’s Rugby Union team, which is seeded second in the world, will be heading forthe sport’s own World Cup in Canada – and oneUniversity of Liverpool graduate will be watchingthem more closely than most.

Gill Burns is a legend in the world of women’s rugby.During an 18-year career she gained 73 caps forEngland and was the first woman to referee atTwickenham, the home of English rugby. She wasalso the first woman player to be welcomed in to theRugby Hall of Fame, was asked to Captain the firstWomen’s World XV in a test series, and has receivedthe MBE for her services to the sport.

Above: Gill Burns Main image: Gill in action

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Samer Awad (BSc Hons Genetics 2002) has teamed up with Task, a small charity making a big difference, to run the 2006 LondonMarathon for homeless children. If you’d like to sponsor Sam on this worthy cause please go to www.justgiving.com/awad oremail him at [email protected]

Inge Baumann-May (née Baumann) (MCommH 2001) Aftergraduation migrated from Germany to Australia and now works inPublic Health and Health Promotion in an Aboriginal Community inCentral Australia.

Robert Bisset (BA Hons Economic History 1994) Now working asChief Executive at Chester Aid To The Homeless (CATH).

Paul Blackler and Robert Benyon (both BSc e-Business 2005) set up 54 Marketing and Media Ltd and created DigiPal, a localLiverpool Student Discount Card, which taps into the culture of thecity with around 50 companies offering unique discounts.www.digipal.co.uk

Professor Duncan Bruce (BSc Hons Chemistry 1981, PhDChemistry 1985, DSc Chemistry 2000) has been appointed to a Chair in Materials Chemistry at the University of York and has beenelected Chair Ascending of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Materials Chemistry Forum.

Tom Chalmers (English Language and Literature 2002) Worked as a publisher in London. Has now set up own publishing company,Legend Press, and launched its first publication The RemarkableEveryday, made up of eight stories written by different authors. Plans underway for a follow up book and two full-length novels to be published in 2006, a speaking tour and several writing projects.www.legendpress.co.uk

David Finlayson (MBA Football Industries 2000) Since moving back to Canada in 2001, he has attended three national footballchampionships as a manager both at college and youth level.Recently purchased a King of Donair (KOD) pizza franchise in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Long term he is hoping to become the firstfranchisee in England, specifically Liverpool.

Martyn Frackelton (MEng Civil and Structural Engineering 2000)Awarded the Renee Redfern Hunt Memorial Prize by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) for the best written assignment at the ICEChartered Professional Reviews. The prize is awarded in memory ofMiss Renee Redfern Hunt MBE, Professional Examination Officer atthe ICE from 1945 until a few months before her death in 1981.

Domenico Gabriele (BA Hons Building Management & Technology1999) Project Manager with Mace Ltd, a professional managementcompany. Currently working closely with The Royal Bank of Scotlandon a nationwide branch refurbishment rollout. Due to marry SarahNorth in March 2006.

Mark Kobayashi-Hillary (MBA e-business 2005) is global head oftechnologies research at the Commonwealth Business Council. Hisearlier book Outsourcing to India is being followed by two new titleson outsourcing in 2006, one for the British Computer Society. Mark is running the London marathon in April on behalf of the meningitisresearch foundation. Anyone who wants to sponsor or just contactMark can do so on [email protected]

Alison Tracey Matthias (BEd 1986) Continued her studies witha TAPP diploma (teaching Welsh as a second language) at theUniversity of Wales, Bangor, NPQH (headship qualification) atthe University of Wales, Cardiff, and an MA with distinction fromthe University of Wales, Bangor. Has been asked if her work canbe used on a newly formed site for MAs which show works ofexcellence. Was invited to 10 Downing Street, to meet the PrimeMinister and his wife in acknowledgement of her services togiving children the best start in education. At present is a DeputyHeadteacher in Ysgol Emmanuel, Rhyl, a large primary school in North Wales with 480 children. It is one of the most deprivedareas in Wales, but she says the children are fantastic to work with.

Dr Pauline McKibbin (Rada) (Veterinary Science PhD 1982)After graduation was based at the University’s Leahurst animalhospital in Wirral. Past appointments included ProjectCoordinator and Postdoctoral Fellow in Department of Medicineand Psychiatry, Pain Relief Foundation, at the University ofLiverpool. Was a Liverpool City Councillor for the Woolton wardfrom 1987-1995. Currently living in Maryland, USA with husbandRoy Rada who is Professor of Information Systems at Universityof Maryland. He was formerly Professor in the Department ofComputer Science at the University of Liverpool. Has twochildren and is busy with voluntary work.

Geoff Nelder (Advanced Diploma in Computing 1989) Has had his debut humorous thriller, Escaping Reality,published through www.bramblingbooks.com

Sayed ZA Shah (LLB Hons 2000) Currently working at theCabinet Office advising on matters concerning UK domesticdiversity and social policy and this year will be taking up atraining contract to become a solicitor in the city of London.Studying for an external accreditation Islamic Shariah Law atUniversity of London.

Lindsay Tilston Jones (née Tilston) (BA Hons CombinedHonours 1995) Working as Regional Fundraising Manager(Northern) for MHA Care Group.

Dr Oliver C Turner (BVSc 1995) Went to USA to do aResidency in Veterinary Pathology and PhD in Microbiology atColorado State University. Married Wendy Lee Turner, a fellowVeterinarian from California. Has one son, Francis Saxon Turner.Completed board certification with American College ofVeterinary Pathologists. Based in New Jersey, USA. ToxicologicPathologist for Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp.

Janet van der Sluis-Smith (née Smith) (BEd 1970) After fiveyears teaching English and French at St Veronica’s in Halewood,taught English in Germany and Morocco. Married a Dutchengineer, has a daughter born in Holland, and a son born inBulgaria. Now head of English at Buys Ballot, a largecomprehensive school in Goes (rhymes with ‘loose’), a smalltown in the Netherlands. At 59, she thinks she has put downsome roots at last!

Michael Williams (BA Hons English Language and Literature1970) is deputy editor of The Independent on Sunday, which hasbecome the only national quality Sunday paper in compact form.

in touch Calling all MBAs!

A LIVERPOOL graduate has set upan international forum with adifference for those who havereceived a Masters in BusinessAdministration (MBA).

Mark Holmes (MBA 2004) and his business partner, Gavin Bottrell,who has an MBA from AstonUniversity, launched the MBA GolfClub in the summer of 2005 to provide networking opportunities while having fun!

Mark chose the MBA (FootballIndustries) at Liverpool because hewanted to change the direction of hiscareer and to be more focused on thesports market place. Within theFootball Industries group there is agood informal networking arrangementbut he felt there was a need for a widernetworking tool for MBA graduates.

Mark, Operations Director of theMBA Golf Club, said: “I met Gavinthrough a friend at one of the golfevents he'd organised for MBAs at theRoyal Liverpool Golf Club. I’m notwhat you'd call a serious golfer at all,so I went along really just for thesocial side of it. The outcome was thatI made some great new friends andcontacts, which has paid dividends inmany ways since. The following week Iwas able to put a friend in touch withan executive recruiter which led to alucrative job offer.”

Gavin, Managing Director, added:“With hindsight, I didn't make the mostof the networking opportunitiespresented to me. Since then I’verealised that having good contacts andbuilding relationships with like-mindedpeople really does open up lots ofgreat opportunites! For several yearsnow I’ve organised small golf eventsfor friends and colleagues with MBAs– we make new friends, swap businessideas and have a great time. Thesuccess of these events prompted meto set up the MBA Golf Club.Throughout 2006 we'll be holding aseries of events that will bring togethera large number of MBA golfers from allover the UK and indeed the world.”

If you would like to join or find outmore, visit www.mbagolfclub.comor call +44 (0)7708 661 659.

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They have formed a not-for-profit company called Growaforestwhich offers individuals and companies the chance to reverse theirown CO2 emissions by planting trees. Christian came up with theconcept, then enlisted Joe and Robert to help develop a website,create the brand identity and bring the product to life. The trio runGrowaforest on a voluntary basis and all have ‘day jobs’. Christianis a brand manager for Procter and Gamble in Geneva, while Joeworks for BAT as an IT consultant in London and Robert is anengineer working for the UK Government in Bath.

Within three months of the company’s formation, it had alreadyplanted more than 500 trees, picked up a community impactaward, been shortlisted for both the Telegraph Business Award2005 and the Enterprising Young Brits awards 2005 – and listsmultinational companies like Saatchi and Saatchi among its many clients.

Christian said: “We are realistic in the belief that we will never entirely move away from CO2 production. We are working to raiseawareness about carbon reduction and we aim to help ourcustomers to reduce their carbon emissions through the growing of new trees. Trees not only fight global warming by naturallyabsorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen, but also createnew wildlife habitats and improve biodiversity.

“We are doing well today, but as we move Growaforest forwardwe would like to broaden into renewable and sustainable energyprojects which enable individuals, companies and nations tobecome greener and save money. We are different to many othercarbon offset companies; other organisations purchase the carbonrights to trees that already exist, rather than actually planting newtrees. This is something we don't agree with.”

GrowaforestChristian Woolfenden (above left), Joe Hodge (above right) and Robert Houghton met at theUniversity in 1997 where they were studying Pharmacology, IT and Engineering respectively.

There’s little doubt now that climate change is upon us –and it’s the actions of the human race which will save ordestroy the environment. Now three Liverpool graduatesare using their expertise to make a positive impact on thestate of the planet.

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And the company aims to have a positive effect oncommunities as well as the environment, as attemptsare made to ensure all areas where trees are plantedare accessible to the public.

Christian added: “There has been a huge amount in the press recently about blue chip companiesneeding to better deliver against their ‘green’ policies.Everyone is becoming more aware of the impactthey are having on climate change and the reactionso far to the company has been really positive. In the longer term we want to focus on three key areas.Firstly, habit change, as carbon reversal is asessential as recycling. We want to help drivelegislation which forces individuals and businessesto offset a set amount of CO2.

“Secondly, we want to see projects overseas. We want to replenish rainforests and educatedeveloping countries on CO2 prevention and offset.We will form alliances with organisations alreadyoperating, providing manpower and funding. Lastly,CO2 prevention is our ultimate mission. It will takedecades. We aim to run a National Curriculumprogramme to educate future generations and we want to partner with organisations involved in renewable and clean energy projects.”

If you would like to learn more about Growaforest visit www.growaforest.com

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Research and teachinghave long been the primaryfocus for the UK’s leadinguniversities and, likeLiverpool, many have had a steady track record ofworking with industry. Now most leading highereducation institutions aremaking strenuous efforts to connect their researchwith the needs of businessand the public sector. Thisis often referred to as ‘Reach-out’.

The University’s Reach-out activitymakes cutting-edge research andthe skills of top-class academicsavailable to business partners andpublic agencies. Liverpool currentlyhas one of the largest and mostexciting Reach-out portfolios in theUK, with projects totalling more than£200million. The University hascreated ‘Business Gateway’ as ahigh profile first point of contact,with a team of experienced business managers whose role is to facilitatethe best possible collaborations.

Director of Business Gateway, Dr Stuart Exell, said: “Reach-outprinciples are now so wellembedded in our culture, and theactivity is at such a high level, that we are having to prioritiseopportunities.

“The breadth and depth of theUniversity’s social, economic andbusiness involvement has grown butnevertheless there is one area inwhich we are attempting to up thetempo – that of collaborativeresearch and development withmedium to large size companies,those turning over several hundredmillion pounds per year. Thismarries well with Government policy which is encouraging suchuniversity to industry collaborationsboth through the research councilsand more directly through industrialResearch & Development (R&D) taxcredits. The Government’s aim is toraise the total R&D spend to similar

percentages of GDP as is found incompetitor countries.

“We take our lead fromGovernment. It has made it quiteclear that it wants universities andbusiness to work together. This isclear through the use of tax creditsand the way that the ResearchCouncils are being activelyencouraged to ensure the moneythey invest is spent in close co-operation with industry.”

The institution is supported inthese initiatives through funding

from the second round of the HigherEducation Investment Fund from theHigher Education Funding Council,as well as Objective 1 and theNorthwest Development Agency,which has enabled the institution tospread its ‘Reach-out’ activitiesacross the University and launchseveral significant research-basedprojects to support the regionaleconomy.

One of the most recent Reach-outsuccess stories is NeoCare, a spin-out company which uses the latest non-intrusive sensor and signalprocessing technology to monitorthe every move of some of the mostvulnerable people in society.

NeoCare places equipment insidebuildings systems which canmonitor the detailed movement of their inhabitants. It is ideal forelderly care homes, for example, asit can monitor the residents whentheir carers cannot be in the sameroom, alerting nursing staff ifsomeone suffers a fall or accident,or provide a report of their activitiesthrough the day and night. Thisinformation can then be used toinfluence care plans or drugregimes.

Dr Rob Head, at the University’sBusiness Gateway and NeoCare’sManaging Director, said: “We did alot of work looking at the market andwe realised that the area ofmonitoring behaviour patterns hadnot been developed. We set out toprovide some element of assistanceto care staff by not only alertingthem if there was a problem withresidents, but also by providinginformation about their welfare whentheir carers cannot be there. Thisincludes environmental markers,such as whether curtains and doorsare open or closed, the television ison or off, or whether the room is hotor cold, as well as movementpatterns.”

The company is initially targetinghomes and housing complexes forthe elderly but it is hoped thesystem will eventually be rolled outinto other areas such as individualhomes and even prisons, or policecustody suites.

NeoCare Ltd was formed tocommercialise technology pioneeredby the University’s Centre forIntelligent Monitoring Systems andthe company has secured £350,000of funding from the MerseysideSpecial Investment Fund for productdevelopment and commercialisation.

“We set out to provide some element ofassistance to care staff by not only alertingthem if there was a problem with residents, but also by providing information about theirwelfare when their carers cannot be there.”

The University is reaching out into the wider community to useits wealth of expertise to benefit business and the economy.

Reach-out

For more information, visit www.liv.ac.uk/businessgateway andwww.neocare.co.uk

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Laura Martin is in her first year of a Communications, Media and Popular Music degree.

How are you getting on? You OK? Have you checked your email? Are you sure you’re OK? Do you know where you’re going?

Well, as the new girl, along with hundredsof other lost souls in the first few weeks ofuniversity, these questions were the topic of daily conversation. But after severalweeks in this new environment it turns outthat I’m doing just fine!

One of the first things to get to grips with atuniversity is the various ways to communicatewith staff and students. This inevitably means a trip to the library. I can’t say I was all thatecstatic about the number of emails I wasgetting every day, but I have to admit I havebecome somewhat attached to the library’scomputer section. I have yet to master the artof finding the exact book that I went in lookingfor, but I will get there in the end.

Meeting so many new characters all at oncehas proved a real eye opener. Just when youthought you were the star of the class and theone who got onto the course they wanted at atop university, you meet around 20 other bright-eyed geniuses on the same course, with very similar CVs, who are all chasing yourcareer after graduation. Step down a peg – or maybe two.

Being a local girl has helped me find myplace at university. I’m still in my homeenvironment (even though I sometimes feel likea foreigner on campus) and so my appointedrole was tour guide for the first couple ofweeks. There was no need for me to worryabout finding my way around unfamiliar sights;I could relax. This may not seem very excitingbut sharing my everyday life with not-so-every-day people has been fantastic.

Entering into HigherEducation has allowed me to be more independent andso, like many other students,finding a way to fund thatindependence has beendifficult.

I attend lectures andseminars in media andcommunications for eighthours a week during termtime and I have a 35-hourweek working in the financedepartment of a law firm inthe city during holidays. A huge contradiction to mystudies I realise, but I enjoythe change of scenery and routine.

I have so far had theprivilege to work in twodifferent halves of the city. The contrast probably lies inthe aesthetic of it all; workingon campus under the watchfuleye of the redbrick clocktower and on the oppositeside of town, in the businessquarter under the watch ofbosses and managers. Youwork in one half so that youcan eventually succeed in the other.

“Meeting so many new characters all at once has proved a real eye opener. Just when you thought you were the star of the class... you meet around 20 other bright-eyed geniuses on the same course...”

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The four-year initiative willprovide capacity for more stock,the integration of nearbydepartmental libraries and willgive greater prominence topriceless items from theUniversity’s Special Collections.The University has also provided

funding to expand services andimprove the quality of its collections– more books have been added tostocks in the last four months of2005 than in the whole of theprevious year.

Phil Sykes, Head of LibraryServices, said: “At the heart of our

plans is a commitment to providelibraries that will inspire researchand scholarship and help to attractthe best students and staff throughthe provision of excellentcollections, a first class studyenvironment and expert libraryassistance.”

Work underway on a £20m extension to the Sydney Jones library

These images show how the building will be linked to Senate House by a modern new structure. The University’s Administration moved out of Senate House in January to the University’s newheadquarters in the Foundation Building on Brownlow Hill, opposite the Victoria Building.

Public lecturesThere’s another great year of public lectures linedup here at the University of Liverpool. This year thecity is celebrating a Year of Performance, in the run upto becoming European Capital of Culture in 2008. Inkeeping with this theme, the University will play host tothree very different performers during 2006.

The first event, on 25 April, will feature footballlegend Alan Hansen. He is one of the mostsuccessful British footballers of all time, with a host ofmajor honours to his credit. During 14 glorious years atLiverpool Football Club, he won seven championships,three European Cups, two FA Cups and four LeagueCups. Since retiring as a player in 1991, he has made aname for himself as a football analyst. He joined theMatch of the Day team in 1992 and has been involvedin major domestic and international coverage for theBBC ever since.

On 22 May, theatre and opera director TerryHands will take centre stage. He holds a specialplace in the hearts of theatregoers as he founded theLiverpool Everyman Theatre in 1964. He went on to jointhe Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966 becoming anAssociate Director in 1967, joint Artistic Director in1978, and Chief Executive in 1986. He has been

responsible for more than 100 productions worldwideincluding Berlin, London, New York, Oslo, Paris, Tokyoand Vienna. In 1997, he took over Theatre Clwyd toprevent its closure. Renamed Clwyd Theatr Cymru, itwon the TMA Theatre of the Year in 1998 and in 1999was declared a Welsh National Performing ArtsCompany alongside the Welsh National Opera and theNational Orchestra of Wales.

Double Olympic medallist Lord Sebastian Coe will give the third lecture on 23 October.He headed the British 2012 Olympic bid which finallytriumphed over the favourites France. Even Le Figarodescribed him as having achieved a remarkable feat inleading the London 2012 bid to victory. It was a perfectdisplay of his determination and sporting, political andbusiness skills. One of the greatest British athletes of all time, Lord Coe set 12 world records at fourdistances. He won four gold and three silver medals in European Championships and Olympic Games. After retiring from competitive athletics, Seb enteredpolitics as Conservative MP for Falmouth andCambourne. He served as PPS to Michael Heseltine and as a Government Whip, then as Private Secretary to William Hague.

All the lectures are free but admission is by ticket only as numbers are limited. Call the University Events hotline on +44 (0)151 794 2650 for more details.

China updateThe Chinese Government has given the go-ahead for the University of Liverpoolto proceed to the final stages ofpreparation to open a new university in China.

As reported in the last edition of insight,the initiative is moving forward in partnershipwith Xi’an Jiaotong University, a top 10institution in China, and global educationprovider Laureate. The new institution is dueto open its doors in September 2006.

University of Liverpool Chancellor, LordDavid Owen, said: “China is already thelargest source of international students, notonly for the University of Liverpool, but for thewhole of the UK, and this unique venture willopen up a myriad of new opportunities.”

The new university will be located inSuzhou Industrial Park, 90km west ofShanghai. This is the fastest growingbusiness park in Asia attracting 2,100international organisations, including 53 ofthe world’s Fortune 500 companies.Completely independent, with its own degree-awarding powers, the University will be fullydeveloped over the next five to seven years.

Liverpool Vice-Chancellor, ProfessorDrummond Bone, said: “This is part ofLiverpool’s overall international strategywhich includes the recruitment of overseasstudents to its main campus in Liverpool, aseries of off-campus ventures and thedevelopment of its innovative e-learningprogrammes.”

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The University of Liverpool Convocation FootballClub (to give it its full title) was founded in 1973 by two Postgraduates, Brian Holder and CliveSkilbeck. The first game was played on 1December that year which saw a crushing 13-2 defeat by Crewe Nomads. But the team was undaunted and the Club entered the LiverpoolOld Boys League for the 1974/1975 season. A rather more successful 1977/78 side gainedpromotion but the irregular hours of the strong'Medical' section of the squad resulted in a lack of stability and immediate relegation.

Things improved in the early 80s with an injection ofyoung blood to the Club. Its popularity meant that oneteam couldn’t fit in the increasing numbers of playerswilling to take to the field and a second team was createdto fulfil the friendly fixtures. It joined the Liverpool OldBoys League in 1985. During this period the first teamenjoyed a fantastic spell, rising from Division 6 toDivision 1 of the Old Boys League, though they neverachieved the ultimate success of being top of the league.They also reached the final of The Northern Cup in 1988but were narrowly beaten in an exciting contest.

Not content with trouncing the opposition in the NorthWest of England, CFC ventured abroad into what hasbecome the most successful of the team's ventures –European football! Success on the field has been limitedbut tours to Ireland and Germany have proved greatexperiences for the squad.

December 1985 saw Convocation put out three sidesfor the first time. The third team showed off its talents on numerous occasions in the late 80s, but it wasn’t until1991/2 that the side saw regular fixtures. But, alas, thethird team was short-lived. There may have been manymen willing to play – but skill was lacking and the sidefolded after one season, with the bulk of the squadtransferring to Liverpool Cavaliers.

The 90s saw the first team playing strongly in Division 1 for five years, before dropping into the middle echelons of the Old Boys League. Thesecond team now plays regularly on the friendly circuit. Convocation FCstalwarts say the highlight of this decade was reaching the final of the St George’s Cup when they were again denied glory being beaten in an 11-goal thriller.

Football Association Chief Executive, Brian Barwick, and actor and TVpresenter Simon O’Brien, of Brookside fame, are just some of the faces toshow up on team photos across the years, as are many notable professionalsin Merseyside’s public, commercial, legal and medical life who are never toobusy to take the all-important telephone call: “Can you play on Saturday?”Opponents, both fearsome and guileful, include Derek Hatton and GerardHoullier. So what’s next for the squad, which currently lists about 40 playerson its books and has given games to over 200 in its time – a swoop for aveteran galactico?

John Flamson, a long-standing Council Member for the University ofLiverpool and CFC Chairman, is proud of the fact that he is still playing in hisfourth decade for the club – and is its most expensive player, having been theonly person to respond to an advertisement in the Liverpool Echo in 1978!As a senior director with Government Office for the North West, he is known by others as a key figure in Merseyside’s regeneration. He said: “With itstours, social events and camaraderie, Convocation FC has become a lifestylebrand as much as a football club! I have no doubt that the Corinthian spiritwith which we play our games and conduct ourselves reflects well on theUniversity. It certainly gives our members a healthy persepective on the upsand downs of life, kneaded into us on muddy wintry days.”

Mike Edwards, University modern languages graduate and Club Treasurer,shares the same world view: “Nobody ever wants to retire from ConvocationFootball Club. We can take the credit (or blame?) for having prolonged agood number of players’ careers well into their 30s, 40s and even 50s. I’m sure that speaks volumes for the quality of our collective Saturdayexperience – both on the pitch and during the essential and sometimesprotracted periods of post-match analysis.”

Recent graduates interested in playing football can contact the club via its website www.convocationfc.com

Liverpool and Everton Football Clubs may dominate the headlines, but there’sone lesser-known soccer team which has celebrated more than 30 years ofsuccess in this footy-mad city.

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Convocation FC boastsa social life better eventhan its performanceon the pitch.

But rumours abound that there is actually a ‘Curse ofConvocation’ which has damnedsome of Liverpool’s hostelriesafter they came into contact withthe squad. The following extractcomes from Convocation FC’s30th Anniversary e-book, ThirtyYears of Hurt.

Not long after being hired bythe club for its Christmas ‘do’,the Roland Boatel barge wentout of business. Undeterred, theclub lavished its patronage onthe Eureka the following year.

Unfortunately, it burned downa few weeks later. Mindful ofOscar Wilde’s observation thattwo calamities could beconsidered carelessness, weplayed safe the next time withRomeo’s, an unspectacularplace in Lark Lane. We shouldhave guessed – the roof leaked,we got wet and the owner wentoff, murdered someone and isnow serving life.

It was with a little trepidationthat we alighted on La Busola inAllerton Road, one year on. Theevening was cheerful andhappily uneventful. The owner,however, was found hanging inthe restaurant some monthslater. Thankfully, there was nomention of Convocation in thesuicide note.

‘Curse ofConvocation’

Opposite page, left to right: Northern Cup Final, 1988; Local league duty.

This page, top to bottom: Early days (at least one of this team is still playing!);Away to Liverpool Ramblers, December2005; On tour in Germany, June 2002; A warm welcome from the Lord Mayor of Dublin, April 1989.

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ALUMNI AND STUDENTS

Canon Dennis Baggaley (MA 1979)

Ronald Bracewell (LDS 1950)

Brian Campbell (BEng Hons 1981)

Francis John Carroll (BEng 1953)

Gerald Cassidy (BArch 1950 and MCivic Design 1951)

Gordon Catherall (MA 1966)

Rendle Lomax Cornwell (BVSc 1954,MVSc 1960, PhD 1962 and DVSc 1984)

Sarah P Delany (BA Hons 1993)

Dr Bertie Dover (MB ChB 1945)

Mary Catherine Dwyer (BA 1947)

John Essery Ellis (LLB Hons 1952)

John Paul Godfrey, a 2nd year studentstudying BSc Geography.

David Christopher Simmond Gough(MB ChB 1969)

Rafe John Hattaway, a 4th year Medicalstudent, died following a snowboardingaccident near Grenoble

N Hayward (née Hutchinson)(BA Hons 1930)

Michael Henry (BA Hons 1973)

Florence Mary Huxley (née Edwards)(BSc 1930, BSc Hons 1931 and DipEd 1932)

Horace Ingham (MBChB 1939)

Arnold Jeke, a student in the Faculty ofSocial & Environmental Studies studyingfor an MPhil in Geography, who diedwhilst on field work in his native countryMalawi.

Nina F Jelen (BA Architecture 2005)

Raymond Kemp (BEng 1956)

James Harris Kneale (BA Hons 1939,DipEd 1940)

John Murray Learnmont (BCom 1959)

Eimear Leyden (BSc Hons 2003)

Sean Michael Lynch (BSc Hons 1992and PhD 1997)

John Martindale (MBChB 1960)

Margaret Maxwell (née Howell)(BArch 1949)

Gordon McCrae (BA Hons 1969)

Jean Isobel McLaren (DASE 1975)

Gordon James Oakes (BA Hons 1952)

Martin O’Neill, a first-year student in theSchool of Biological Sciences.

Graham Pinch (BSc 1965, CertEd 1966)

James Price (BEng Hons, 1938 MEng1942)

Andrew Thomas Sander (LLB Hons1969)

Andrew D Smith (CertAdv Study inEducation 1998)

Frank Greaves Smith MBE (Hon MA 1971)

Maureen Joyce Smith (BA Hons 1961)

Edward Taylor (BSc 1949)

Roger Vaux (BEng Hons 1950)

A L Wallis (BSc 1952, BSc Hons 1953)

Dr Carl Wells studied at the UniversityMRCVS until 1950.

Alfred Barry Williams (MA 1999)

David William Brading Woolven(MBChB Hons 1952)

Lucy Isabel Wright (LLB Hons 1940)

Mike Cohen (BA Hons Econ 1962)

Mike Cohen will be remembered for selfless dedication in manyfields. Born in Liverpool, Mike contracted polio at age 6,attended Quarry Bank High School, BA Hons Econ LiverpoolUniversity, and qualified in accountancy before entering banking.

A Barnet councillor from 1972-78, Mike developed expertisein social housing. In 1982, he was Southern Regional DirectorHousing Corporation and from1987-2001 Chief Executive ofGuinness Trust, which he built to become an innovativedeveloper of housing and regeneration projects. He pioneered mixed income communities; chaired St Mungo’s,the London homelessness charity; founder and director of thegovernment-backed Housing Forum; governor of several schoolsand chair of East Finchley’s Phoenix Cinema. Design championfor Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital’s new Stanmorebuilding. At the Prince of Wales’ request, 1999 Mike becametrustee of the Prince's Foundation, later adviser for the Prince’sJamaican housing project.

He leaves his wife, Jenny, three children and fivegrandchildren.

STAFF

Professor Paul Booth, a member of staffin the Department of Physics and Head ofthe Liverpool Partical Physics Group2001-2004.

Dr Alan Cruickshank, retired Reader inPathology.

Beryl Griffin, Secretary in the Departmentof Organic Chemistry from 1949 to 1953and Secretary in the Department ofArchitecture from 1953 until her retirementin 1984.

Dr Adrian Millward, Lecturer SeniorLecturer and Reader in the Department ofMechanical Engineering from 1970 untilhis retirement in 2004.

William Robertson, Reader in theDepatment of Economics from 1947 untilhis early retirement in 1982.

Professor Edgar Stones, Who held theWilliam Roscoe Chair of Education andwas also the Director of the Institute ofEducation until his retirement in 1982.

Dr Dermot Staker, retired lecturer in theDepartment of Psychology.

Emeritus Professor Henry Myles Wright,Lever Professor of Civic Design 1954-1975 and Planning Consultant to theUniversity 1957-1975. Professor Wrightmade a valuable contribution to thedepartment of Civic Design throughout his career.

Ann Burchnall, wife of the Registrar Herbert Burchnall, whoretired from the University in 1984.

Mrs Burchnall came to Liverpool in 1951 when her husband wasappointed Assistant Registrar here at the University. He becameRegistrar in 1962, a post he held until his retirement in 1984 when thecouple returned to Mrs Burchnall’s native Scotland and settled inPeebles. Mrs Burchnall always played a prominent part in University life.Despite a demanding round of engagements as wife of the Registrar,she was an active member of the Women’s Club, a group open towomen staff and graduates, as well as the wives of academics. In 1984,she was installed as an Honorary Life Member of the Women’s Club inrecognition of her dedication.

Mrs Burchnall was renowned for her thoughtfulness and the way shealways remembered names and little details about everyone she met.She was invariably very welcoming and tried to involve others in the lifeof the University.

Friends and colleagues of Mrs Burchnall said: “Ann was an absolutelylovely woman – anyone who knew her would agree. She had atremendously warm personality. “She was great fun and had a hilarioussense of humour. She was always very concerned for other people. You always felt she was really interested. She will be greatly missed.”

Mrs Burchnall leaves her husband, two sons and five grandchildren.

Dame Rose Heilbron ( LLB Hons 1935, LLM 1937, Hon LLD 1975)

Dame Rose was one of the most celebrated defence barristersof the post-war years. She was famed for being the firstwoman to gain a first class honours degree in Law at theUniversity of Liverpool. She was also the first female QC andfamously defended killer George Kelly in the infamous Cameomurder trial. She was also the first woman to sit as a judge atthe Old Bailey, first to lead the Northern Circuit, was the firstwoman to be elected treasurer of chambers which is thehighest accolade any chambers can bestow, and became thecountry’s first female Recorder.

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Professor Poul PetersenChief Dental Officer at the World Health Organisation, Professor PoulPetersen, has been awarded an honorary degree by the University.Professor Petersen was honoured for his contributions in improvingsocial and behavioural aspects of oral health internationally. He wasgiven the award at the Eighth World Congress on Preventative Dentistry,which was held at St George’s Hall in Liverpool and was attended bydental experts from 28 countries across the globe.

Professor Lewis FischerIn December, Professor Lewis Fischer, who created the largest maritimearchive in the world, was awarded a Doctor of Letters. Based at theMemorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, Professor Fischer isrenowned for his role in establishing the most comprehensive collectionof maritime history in existence – it is the first point of reference for allacademics interested in international maritime study. ProfessorFischer’s interest in maritime history has led to long-standing links withthe University of Liverpool and the city. The maritime archive atMemorial University contains perspectives on the development andfunction of the port of Liverpool and Professor Fischer has been anHonorary Research Fellow at the University since 1997.

in honourDid you uphold a family traditionby coming to the University ofLiverpool?

Did your parents or siblingsinspire you to study here?

We’re planning a special featureabout those of you who decidedto keep the University of Liverpoolin the family and would love tohear about your experiences.

Write to the Publications Team,Foundation Building, BrownlowHill, Liverpool, L69 7ZX or [email protected]

nextissue...

Liverpool FC soccer legend Phil Thompson has beenappointed ‘Visiting Fellow’ in the University’s School ofManagement.

He will act as an advisor onthe MBA programme in FootballIndustries and joined the academic procession for the firsttime at the University’sGraduation ceremony in thePhilharmonic Hall in December.

And he’s well placed to sharehis skills having won sevenleague titles, two European Cups,two League Cups, a UEFA Cup and an FA Cup during his playingcareer. He’s also a Liverpudlian,born and bred, so has close linksto the city and he has further tiesto the University as his son is agraduate.

After leaving LFC in 1984, Philhad a brief spell with SheffieldUnited before hanging up hisboots. But he wasn’t away fromthe pitch for long. In July 1986,

Kenny Dalglish brought him backto Anfield as Reserve Teamcoach. He held the position until 1992 then worked for Sky TV and as a magazine columnist.

He then worked as numbertwo to Gerard Houllier, standingin when the Frenchman needed

heart surgery. He left the club in 2004 when new manager Raphael Benitez arrived.

The University’s FootballIndustry Group, founded in 1995by Dr Rogan Taylor, developedthe world’s first Masters inBusiness Administration to focus

on the football business in 1997. Over the past nine years, the

programme has produced around200 graduates who have come toLiverpool from all over the worldto join the course. The majorityhave found jobs in the footballindustry.

University signs soccer star

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