Obituaries

Derek Goldrei

Emeritus Fellow 1948 – 2022

One mark of the affection with which Derek Goldrei was held was the vast numbers that attended his funeral, including a great many former students. Derek was such a large personality, with a booming voice, and a laugh you could hear well before you saw him. He was great company, with seemingly boundless energy and evident intellect, an interest in everything and everybody, and an unstinting care for both students and colleagues. Then there was his huge generosity (many of us will have visited his time-share in Dublin) and great wit and sense of fun, with a nice line in off-colour jokes. I had known Derek since we were in the same Oxford maths class as first year undergraduates. He was among the first to graduate in the new combined Mathematics & Philosophy course in 1970, and stayed in Oxford to study for a doctorate in Mathematical Logic under the supervision of Robin Gandy, though he actually spent much of this time working with Angus Macintyre and Harold Simmons at the University of Aberdeen on the model theory of Peano Arithmetic and its subtheories. We were office mates and somehow Derek persuaded me to take Logic as a subsidiary in the MSc – which certainly broadened my mathematical outlook. Derek’s main job was with the Open University, where he had worked pretty much since its inception (in the early 1970s). He was a passionate supporter of the OU and in particular of mathematics at the OU. In his role as Staff Tutor he recruited and mentored tutors, giving them the confidence to develop their teaching skills. He and his co-conspirator Bob Coates (who was also Derek’s predecessor at Mansfield) were two of the Maths Department’s stars, writing highly respected courses, endlessly debating the best way to present the ideas, and presenting them together on TV and radio with verve, imagination and humour. His roles at the OU included Head of Department, Programme Director and Sub-Dean, and I am told he was a very effective member of various committees. He also ran, virtually single-handedly, an online forum, where students would ask for advice about modules, not only giving guidance 24/7 on the forum, but also contacting many students individually with more personal advice – all done with humour, grace and lashings of positivity to encourage them to believe in their ability. I was delighted when Derek was persuaded by Bob Coates to take a part-time post teaching at Mansfield in 2003, alongside his Open University work. He was an excellent, supportive colleague. During Admissions we would interview together with Derek doing the lion’s share of the questioning, always trying to help candidates give of their best. He became a Supernumerary Fellow in Maths and, on retirement in 2018, an Emeritus Fellow. He was also Senior Maths Tutor for the two years before he retired. Derek quickly became part of Mansfield life. He was a calm voice in Governing Body and lunch with him was always entertaining, with many stories and the previously mentioned jokes, but plenty more – including detailed discussions about how best to help students. As one colleague reflects, he was ‘…a polymath with a huge interest in the arts and culture. I’ve lost count of the conversations we had about theatre, film, and books. I would see him bounding toward me on the Quad full of a thought or news to share.’ Derek was an innovative teacher and very popular with students as can be seen by these two representative comments: ‘He was not just a gifted teacher with an infectious enthusiasm for mathematics (and wine, and cheese), but he also encouraged us in our other endeavours and was genuinely interested in our well-being.’ ‘I loved how Derek encouraged discussion and debate in his classes – he made me feel so comfortable and confident to speak up, and ask questions if I was unsure… He was the only Maths Tutor I’ve ever known to bring snacks to classes.’ Food and wine were a recurring theme in Derek’s life and indeed he also held the key role of Wine Steward at Mansfield. He never really retired and continued with Intercollegiate Class teaching, giving his last class just a few months before he died. Students loved his classes and he received a Teaching Award from the Maths Faculty in 2017. Derek also wrote two influential textbooks: Classic Set Theory (1996) and Propositional and Predicate Calculus: a Model of Argument (2005). Before Mansfield Derek had taught for other Oxford Colleges, particularly Somerville and St Hugh’s. One wonders how he found the time and energy to do so much, so well. Derek died suddenly on his 74th birthday, far too early, and will be sorely missed by all. We send our condolences to his wife Lindsey, children Judith and Michael, and granddaughter Nancy, with whom he was besotted.

Dr Janet Dyson, Emeritus Fellow in Mathematics, with special thanks to Professor Rachel Hilliam for information about Derek’s many contributions to the OU, and to Professor Alex Wilkie for showing me the obituary he wrote for the IMA (Institute of Mathmatics and its Applications).

Sir Joseph Hotung

Businessman and philanthropist 1930 – 2021

Sir Joseph Hotung was a great friend and important benefactor to our College, a successful businessman, philanthropist, a knowledgeable collector of Chinese art, and a dedicated supporter of education, human rights and many other causes. He died on 16 December 2021, at the age of 91. This passion for human rights and education was the driver behind Sir Joseph’s early and superlative support of Mansfield’s ‘Love Lane’ campaign, the project that, as well as establishing new student accommodation (the Hands Building), founded and endowed Oxford’s Bonavero Institute of Human Rights. In recognition of this outstanding gift, Sir Joseph, or ‘Joe’ to his friends, was made a Bancroft Fellow of Mansfield, and the beautiful lecture theatre in the Hands Building, shared with the Bonavero Institute, was named after him. Latterly a Director of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd and HSBC Holdings, Sir Joseph actively participated in public and community affairs in Hong Kong and London. Among his many positions, he acted as Council Member at the University of Hong Kong and served as Chairman of the Arts Development Council, Hong Kong, and as a member of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Governing Body at the University of London. In Hong Kong, he was a member of the Judicial Services Commission and on the Inland Revenue Board of Review. Sir Joseph served on boards or committees of several major museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; and the British Museum where he made possible the construction of new galleries, including the Sir Joseph Hotung Gallery of China and South Asia opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth in 2017. He funded a postdoctoral research programme at Columbia University in New York, and established a programme for Law, Human Rights, and Peace Building in the Middle East at SOAS. For his great contribution to educational and governmental bodies and his many charitable activities, Sir Joseph was knighted in 1993. At a celebration of his life held at the British Museum in September 2022, we heard of Sir Joseph’s remarkable support for organisations such as the US /Middle East Project; his unwavering commitment to the British Museum over decades as a knowledgeable collector of Asian art, particularly Chinese jade, and as a philanthropist and Trustee; and his support for the development of ground-breaking stem cell technology at Moorfields Eye Hospital. We heard of Sir Joseph’s modesty about his giving, his elegance, discipline and exquisite taste, his insistence on the highest of standards, coupled with a wonderful sense of fun; his great love of family; his generous support not just of institutions, but the people working within them. Former Principal of Mansfield, Baroness Helena Kennedy, spoke movingly at the memorial of her friend Joe’s strong sense of injustice, his commitment to human rights and the rule of law in the face of threats to democracy, and his foresight in making the Institute happen; above all, his wisdom, integrity, and humanity. We send our deep condolences to Sir Joseph’s four children, their spouses, and his many grandchildren, his sister, and all his friends and colleagues. Tess McCormick, Development Director, with words taken from Sir Joseph’s published obituary. Additional information kindly provided by Baroness Helena Kennedy, and speeches given at a memorial event at the British Museum in September 2022.

The Revd Richard McLaren

Diploma in Social Studies, 1966 1946 – 2022

Richard McLaren is thought to be unique in the history of Mansfield. He is the only undergraduate to have read for the Diploma in Social Studies; indeed, he achieved a distinction in that subject. He was also a successful captain of the Mansfield tennis team. It seems that the combination of studying sociology and being at what was then primarily a theological college had a profound impact on Richard. After Oxford he worked for Coventry Cathedral

in the section devoted to urban problems. While there, he lived with a local vicar and on leaving, gave the first sign of the philanthropy that was to be a feature of his life. He knew the vicar was desperate to replace the church organ, so gave all that was needed to make the new organ a reality. After Coventry, Richard lived in Westminster and spent a couple of years as an Education Welfare Officer for Lambeth. It was during this time that he set up an Urban Studies Centre in Canterbury. Richard also started attending the non-residential ordination course at Southwark Cathedral, becoming deacon in 1975 and later priest. He first served at a parish in Charlton, south London, before being appointed to Christ Church in Kensington. Next came his most important posting: to Marylebone Parish Church where he served for 15 years. His impact there was enormous. Not only did he set up a healing and counselling centre in the crypt but also helped raise the money to build a magnificent new Rieger organ. His interests also combined when developing music therapy in association with the Royal Academy of Music. His last ecclesiastical connection was with St Mark’s Regent’s Park, where he was an honorary assistant for well over a decade.

As well as being a busy and very enterprising priest, Richard was a mildly eccentric man. For many years he drove a pre-war Austin 7 called Esmerelda, and a fellow priest described him as ‘wearing clothes unlike anyone else I’d ever met… looking like an artist or an actor.’ He married for the first and only time at the age of 60 and hugely enjoyed life with his beloved Diana. They shared a profound interest in matters artistic, musical and ecclesiastical. In 2006, they moved to Stoneleigh Abbey in Warwickshire where Richard continued to chair a charity, Art and Christianity Enquiry, which promotes art in sacred spaces and public understanding of it. Richard was also closely involved in Diana’s work promoting cultural and environmental links with Morocco and Spain. He was greatly beloved of Moroccans, who valued his style! At the end of his life, Diana gave thanks for 20 ‘eccentrically vibrant’ years with him. Richard was a priest, a sociologist, a philanthropist, a connoisseur, a visionary and a supporter of art and artists both religious and secular. He had a unique and compelling sense of humour. Far more than all that, however, he was the warmest and most loyal, generous friend. He profoundly touched the lives of all who came into contact with him. In short, he was a man of which Mansfield can be very proud. Gregory Bowden with the kind assistance of Sir Kenneth Carlisle, The Revd Ricarda Witcombe and Diana McLaren.

The Revd Professor Bernard Roger Moss

Theology, 1966 1944 – 2020

Bernard Moss was Professor Emeritus of Social Work, Education and Spirituality at Staffordshire University, an ordained minister in both the United Reformed Church and the Church of England and my treasured friend and colleague. He died suddenly in January 2020. Bernard studied classics at Exeter University (1962-65) and then trained for Congregational ministry at Mansfield (1966-69). His Congregational then URC ministries were at Dewsbury URC (1969-74), Keele University Chaplaincy (197484) and Alsager URC (1993-2004). After retiring from URC ministry, Bernard trained for the Anglican priesthood, serving at Odd Rode in Cheshire, St Mary’s Alsager and at the time of his death he was Associate Minister at St Mary’s Nantwich.

Such was his creative energy that Bernard combined Christian ministry with a career in academic social work. He was awarded a PhD for his published work exploring the relevance of spirituality to social work practice and workplace well-being. His co-authored book (with Jan Sellers) Learning with the Labyrinth: Creating Reflective Space in Higher Education (2016), is but one illustration of how Bernard’s mind effortlessly identified common themes across disparate disciplines to the benefit of each. Students described Bernard’s teaching as ‘inspirational’. His gifts were recognised by the Higher Education Academy, which awarded him a National Teaching Fellowship in 2004 and later endowed him with Principal Fellowship status. He was one of only three UK university teachers to contribute a chapter to the prestigious international publication Inspiring Academics: Learning with the World’s Great University Teachers (ed Hay, 2011). Bernard had an extraordinary talent for making every person in his orbit feel welcomed and valued. His ready smile and genuine warmth of personality made him excellent company. Moreover, he was supremely driven by his Christian faith. Bernard believed that Christianity, at its best, is inclusive and non-judgemental. The guiding principle for all aspects of his life are found in Jesus’ words about bringing good news to the poor and setting the oppressed free (Luke 4:18). He was a true servant of the gospel as minister, teacher, family member and friend. Bernard is lovingly remembered and deeply missed by his wife Sheila, the wider family and his many friends and colleagues. My own life is so much richer for knowing him. Revd Dr Susan Walker (URC Minister, Northern Synod)