Anniversary Address

Extract

I cannot begin this Anniversary Address without a reference to the loss which the Society has suffered by the death on 11th January 1972 of our late President, Professor Francis Wormald. His last annual address was given from this Chair on this occasion just two years ago. He was a great scholar whose rare distinction in his own field was combined with shrewdness of judgement and a wide knowledge of affairs: his modesty, sensitivity, and charm, enlivened by a delightful sense of fun, made him a most engaging companion and a loyal friend. How precarious his health had been for the greater part of his life was known only to his closest intimates: and the knowledge was never allowed, even after the very severe illness which he suffered some eighteen months ago, to cloud his zest for living or to dim his delight in beauty. His services to learning as scholar, teacher, and administrator were very substantial but largely unobtrusive. He was never one to seek the limelight, and he never received the public recognition which his distinction deserved. To this Society his devotion was wholehearted, and I would particularly wish to stress the discriminating help which he gave over many years by wise advice on the library and by strengthening the resources of the Research Fund.