C W Paley-Smith (2004)
S Miller (2008)
The death of Chris Paley-Smith at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London on 5 December 2017, after a short illness, came as a great shock to many. Chris showed great strength and calmness towards the end and always had time for the many friends and relatives who visited and supported him in hospital. Chris was born in Leeds on 27 June 1985, the only son of Daphne and Tony PaleySmith, and younger brother of anna. He had a happy childhood, the youngest of his generation in a loving extended family. as a very small boy visiting Cambridge, he declared how much he would love to go there. He was too young to know what a university was, but was already showing great potential. He attended Leeds Grammar School from 1999, followed by a year at Shell Global Solutions with the Year in Industry Scheme. This helped him to secure a place at Selwyn in 2004 to read engineering, gaining a Master’s degree in 2008. He loved life at Selwyn and found a second family there. It would be no exaggeration to say that his warmth, kindness and formidable capacity for partying made him one of the best known figures in College and even in the University. He was surely one of the few people to have more friends in real life than on Facebook (and he had a lot there too!). He began working in London in 2009 at Deloitte Consulting and remained with them until the time of his death. at Deloitte Digital he found many new friends, a large number of whom attended his funeral and then went on to celebrate his life in the only way he would have wanted: by going out with his many Leeds and Cambridge pals. Chris was always very thoughtful and caring of others. His College peers came to know him as ‘Big Daddy Selwyn’ due to his relentless readiness to give help and advice to those in need (as well as great bear-hugs). In his professional life, this selfless streak enabled Chris to become a universally-loved manager. even as his illness took hold, Chris stayed committed to his colleagues and worked hard to devise a programme to promote happiness and mental wellbeing in the workplace. He inspired countless people with his optimistic philosophy of life. In addition to his caring side, Chris was quite simply one of the most fun people anyone could know. He loved a great night out and schooled many an unsuspecting audience with his brilliant and audacious dance moves. even during his illness, he was already inspiring the same love of life in his new nephew Charlie, to whom he was truly devoted. His family and friends will miss him greatly, and it is very sad that he died still young at thirty-two with a very promising future. But he will always live on in our hearts.
It is with both sadness and a great deal of fondness that we remember the life of Dr Sophie Miller. after suffering from myelodysplastic syndrome, Sophie died in December 2016 as a result of complications from an attempted stem-cell transplant. She was just twenty-six. Sophie approached her fight with myelodysplastic syndrome with the same heart and stubbornness that she approached the rest of her life. She showed incredible strength, bravery and quiet determination throughout. all those who knew Sophie will recall her warm and captivating personality. She was a quiet and extremely modest person who never wanted to be the centre of attention, yet she also had a hint of mischief in her character. as a friend, she was uncompromisingly loyal, wonderful company and will be very sorely missed. Sophie was also extremely successful academically. after achieving a first-class degree in natural Sciences at Selwyn, she moved to Trinity Hall, where she attained a doctorate in Developmental neuroscience (whilst also representing the Blues at basketball). She then took up a position as a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Stem Cell Biology (DanStem) at Copenhagen University. The combination of her incredible intellect and work ethic makes it impossible to contemplate the tragic circumstances of her passing without considering what she had the potential to accomplish. There is no doubt she had a glittering career ahead of her and that many people would have benefitted from the fruits of her research. Sophie would not want any fuss to be made on her account, but I feel certain that she would be proud to think that what has happened to her could in some way contribute towards reducing the likelihood of anyone else suffering the same fate. She died in part because it was not possible to find a perfect match for her transplant. For the past two years, around Sophie’s birthday in the beginning of June, a group of her friends and family have taken part in a ninety-four-mile cycle ride to Selwyn from Sophie’s family home near Derby. The cycle ride raises money and awareness for the work of the charity anthony nolan, which helps to save the lives of people with blood cancer. The first ride had twelve cyclists; the second (of which the highlights can be seen at: https://youtu.be/dc6bZ2BZlkY) had over thirty. next year’s ride is expected to be even bigger and is open to all who would like to become involved. anyone who would like to take part or help out can find out more on www.sophiesresearch.org. I also urge anyone aged between sixteen and thirty to visit www.anthonynolan.org and consider registering to become a stem-cell donor. Andrew Tyrer (SE 2008), with additional material by James Robinson (SE 2008).
ParT FIVe
ParT FIVe
Joe Braidwood (SE 2004), with help from Chris’s family and Dmitri Levitin (SE 2004). Dr Amer Rana (Fellow) adds: Sophie was a class apart from her peers. When you have someone who is as bright as she was in a supervision class it is always such a pleasure to teach. It was one of those situations where I always felt that I got as much out of the classes as the student. In the end, no-one can forget the brightest stars nor how their brilliance touches us and lights our way forward.
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Selwyn Calendar 2017–2018
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