Univ Record 2017

In 1979 Ian became Director of the East Mailing Research Station in Kent, the
world’s leading horticultural research station, but in 1986 his career took a very different
turn when he was appointed Head of Environmental Affairs at Royal Dutch Shell. There
he developed the group’s environmental procedures and policy response to the emerging
concept of ‘sustainable development’ and promised research on climate change well
before general awareness of its importance.
In 1994, Ian’s career changed course once more when he was appointed Principal and
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dundee. Once, when asked about the reason for
his move, Ian jokingly replied, “There is no downhill skiing in Holland.” More seriously,
Ian did much to improve the academic standing of Dundee during his tenure, increasing
the numbers of students, and doubling the university’s financial turnover. He was made
a CBE in 2001. During his long career, Ian was also a member of numerous boards and
trusts, several of which he served as chairman or president. Among these was the Univ.
Old Members’ Trust, of which he was a Trustee from 2004-14 and Chairman from
2011-14.
Patrick Nobes said of Ian at his memorial service: “He was an avid fan of Manchester
City; a fine swimmer formerly, and latterly a windsurfer, ski-er, and golfer; a keen
horticulturist and grower of olives; a lover of opera and classical music whose tears could
well up when listening to such pieces as Strauss’s Four Last Songs; a loving and beloved
husband, father and grandfather, whose family he saw as his greatest achievement.” [We
are very grateful to Patrick and to Ian’s family for their help with this obituary.]
GRAHAM CARLETON GREENE (Eton) died on 10 October 2016 aged 80. He read
History at Univ. Graham Greene was the son of Hugh Carleton Greene, later directorgeneral
of the BBC, and the nephew of the novelist Graham Greene. To avoid confusion,
Greene was usually referred to in the book trade as “Graham C. Greene”. On leaving
Oxford, Greene worked for the Guinness family bank before starting on a career in
publishing. Having first worked for Secker & Warburg, where he failed to persuade his
superiors to publish Lolita, he joined Jonathan Cape in 1962. There, Green, working
in collaboration with Tom Maschler, helped establish Cape as one of the liveliest
publishing houses of the day, with a distinguished and exciting list of authors and titles.
Greene himself became managing director and looked after the firm’s non-fiction list,
and one of his greatest coups was the publication of Richard Crossman’s diaries in 1975.
In the controversy over the right to publish them, Greene was advised by his friend Lord
Goodman, soon to be Master of Univ.
Cape was amalgamated with Chatto & Windus, and later by the Bodley Head, and
then Virago Books. The amalgamation was not a happy one, as all four houses found
themselves competing for the same markets. Greene himself was thought by some to be
too gentlemanly and not ruthless enough in dealing with some of the forceful characters
with whom he now had to work.
When this group was sold to Random House in 1989, Greene decided to resign
and involve himself in many other activities. He had become involved in anti-Apartheid
activities with the novelist Nadine Gordimer (a Cape author), and as president of the
Publishers’ Association he headed negotiations to establish copyright treaties with
China. In addition, Green was at various times chairman of the New Statesman, the
National Book League, and the Museums and Galleries Commission. He became a
Trustee of the British Museum in 1978, and served as Chairman of Trustees from 1996-
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2002, during which time he played a central role in the creation of Norman Foster’s
rebuilding of the Great Court, successfully raising £110 million for the project, and
successfully refused to impose admission charges in the face of Government opposition.
He was also closely associated with Garsington Opera and the Compton Verney House
Trust. In his later years he divided his time between his rooms in Albany and Potentino,
in Italy. He was awarded a CBE in 1986. Greene was married twice, but both marriages
ended in divorce. He leaves a son, a stepdaughter and a stepson.
ANIL MUDNANI (William Ellis School) died in April 2017 aged 81. He read PPE at Univ.
He leaves a son, who is an artist in Mexico City, and a daughter who lives in India. He asked
that his ashes be placed in the river below the weir at the “Trout” at Godstow.
1953
RICHARD SACKETT THOMPSON (State College of Washington and Institut d’Études
Politiques, Paris) died of cancer on 7 March 2017. A Rhodes Scholar, Thompson read
PPE at Univ. This obituary appeared in the Washington Post on 21 March 2017:
Richard S. Thompson died peacefully at his home in Bethesda, MD on March 7,
2017 at the age of 83. He was born in Spokane, WA, in 1933 and grew up in Pullman,
WA. After graduating from Washington State University in 1955, he attended Oxford
University for two years as a Rhodes Scholar, followed by two years in the Army. From
1960 to 1987, he was a Foreign Service Officer with the State Department. He served
in Aruba and Curacao, Niger, Vietnam, France, and Algeria, as well as tours at State
Department headquarters in Washington, DC. The highlight of his career was his
three tours in Saigon. He arrived in Vietnam in January 1968, one week before the Tet
offensive, which included an attack on the U.S. Embassy. His final tour in Vietnam
ended when he was evacuated by helicopter from the Embassy roof during the Fall of
Saigon in April 1975. In 1972 to 1973, he participated in the Vietnam peace talks in
Paris. While serving at the U.S. Embassy in Algiers from 1980 to 1982, he supported the
negotiations for the release of the American hostages in Iran. After leaving the Foreign
Service, he worked for 12 years at the American Foreign Service Association. He also
held a Master’s degree in Government from Georgetown University.
Mr. Thompson enjoyed travel, tennis, music, walking on the towpath and spending
time with family.
He is survived by his son, John of Bethesda; daughter, Francesca of Washington,
DC; and son, Alex of Columbus, OH; as well as granddaughters, Stella, Sophia, Lucy,
Roxanne and Nina.
1956
THE RT. REV. DAVID HUW JONES (Pontardawe GS and University College of North
Wales) died on 18 October 2016 aged 82. Coming up to Univ as a senior student, Huw
Jones read Theology. On leaving Univ, he took holy orders in the Church of Wales, and
started his ministry as a curate in Aberdare and then Neath. After working as a vicar in
Crynant and Michaelstone-super-Avon, he was appointed Sub-warden of St. Michael’s
Theological School, Llandaff, in 1973, and then in 1982 he became Dean of Brecon.
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