Doctor Balston, I Presume

In 1965 I was a very new lecturer in the Department of Electronics at Southampton University, struggling desperately to find enough stuff to put in my lectures to keep the students occupied. One day I was summoned to the Boss's office and introduced to a callow youth who was apparently an applicant for postgraduate study, and who the Boss thought would fit into my embryonic Research Group (one student so far!) looking at Pattern Recognition. The callow youth turned out to be one David Balston, and this was the start of a friendship that has continued to this day!

A few years after we met, we had him doctored, and he then rushed out to save British Industry - though alas he was not completely successful in this - Plessey is, alas, no more!!

I was puzzled by your reference to his big bushy beard - he obviously passed through this phase after he slipped away from my care. Perhaps he was influenced by another member of my Group, David Thomas, another Welshman, known colloquially as fuzzypeg.

I'm afraid I have no photographs from this era of his (and my) life, but many fond memories of many excursions that we undertook as a group to various bits of Industry, usually with the aim of coaxing research funds out of them!

I find it hard to believe that he could have reached such an advanced age, but then who am I to talk?

Best wishes to you and all the family (including, of course, Heather).