Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 86(4), December 2003 
population dynamics, population genetics, and other 
aspects of cyst and other nematodes. Fred was blessed 
with common sense, clear vision and sense of purpose, 
and was very practical in all that he did. He always used 
time efficiently and prided himself on effective chairing 
of meetings. He also made a point of injecting humour 
into otherwise dull scientific reports and correspondence, 
and into his talks and lectures. 
In addition to three editions of Pests of Field Crops , he 
wrote over two hundred scientific papers and ran many 
courses in Plant Nematology locally and overseas. He 
was also an external examiner for various universities, a 
Visiting Professor at Imperial College, London 
University, an editor of various scientific journals and a 
member of many visiting groups and national 
committees. He mentored many younger scientists. Fred 
also travelled widely for work - to north and south 
America, the Caribbean, Europe, Australia and India. He 
spent considerable time in India, and ran the first Plant 
Nematology course there at Aligarh Muslim University 
and later another at the Indian Agricultural Research 
Institute in New Delhi. He was the first to discover the 
potato cyst-nematode in India (in the Nilgiris), which did 
much to foster the establishment of Plant Nematology in 
India, and supported training of Indian nematologists. 
Fred's work was recognised in many ways - for 
example by the award of an ScD degree from Cambridge 
University in 1969, and Honorary Fellowships by the 
Society of Nematologists, the European Society of 
Nematologists, the Afro-Asian Society of Nematologists, 
the Institute of Biology and the Association of Applied 
Biologists. He was President of the Association of 
Applied Biologists in 1973-74. Ever the individualist, he 
declined the OBE offered on his retirement from 
Rothamsted. Throughout this time Fred maintained his 
interest in singing, e.g. as a member of the St. Albans 
Bach Choir and the Lea Singers, and he was responsible 
for the annual 'Music for a Summers Evening' held at 
Rothamsted Manor each year. He also took up skiing as a 
hobby during his 50's. 
After leaving Harpenden in 1987 Fred returned briefly 
to his roots in the Staffordshire 'Black Country'. Then, in 
1991 he moved to Perth in Western Australia, where two 
of his sons worked. Because of his role in helping to 
father Nematology in India, in 1992 at the age of 78, he 
also travelled alone to India as an invited guest to attend 
the first meeting of the Afro-Asian Society of 
Nematologists in Aligarh where he was made an 
honorary fellow of the Society. This was the last major 
international scientific meeting at which he spoke. 
Fred's wife Margaret died suddenly in 1980. 
Following a second marriage and divorce, he married 
Marjorie Sutton in Staffordshire, who died of cancer in 
1988. After he had moved to Australia he married Enid 
Moore in 1994 (Fred, Margaret and Enid had been fellow 
students in their university days). Fred and Enid both 
continued to pursue scientific and botanical interests - 
membership of the Royal Society of Western Australia 
(where they sat in the front row and asked searching 
questions), Friends of Kings Park and Botanic Gardens, 
and the local Cambridge Society, and indulged their 
passion for the unique native flora of Western Australia. 
Fred also sang in the local church choir. He travelled 
widely in Australia and went back to Europe several 
times despite being well into his 80's. 
Three years ago Fred was diagnosed with heart 
disease which slowed him down physically but not 
mentally: during this time he was greatly supported by 
Enid, now aged 90. He died on 12th September 2003 in 
the South Perth Community Hospital in Western 
Australia. His wife Enid, three sons and a daughter, eight 
grandchildren, and one great grandchild survive Fred. 
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