The College Record 2022

He spoke fluent Dutch, as well as French and Spanish and could ‘get by’ comfortably
in German and Italian: visits to European countries were always conducted in the
appropriate language.
Russell was a man of principle and probity, with a very clear idea of how things
should be done and how one should behave. Everyone who knew him will remember
his perfect manners: when walking beside a lady, for example, he would always
ensure that he occupied the side next to the road – a throwback to the custom of
a perhaps more gracious age, which, did, however, often lead to interesting little
quicksteps on the busy Oxford pavements!
Obituaries
Russell is survived by his wife, Alette, children Drummond, Charles and Anna, seven
grandchildren, and his sister, Judith.
Dr Roberta Warman
JOHN LONG
(Francis) John Long was born in Lichfield on 17 January
1924. He attended King Edward’s School in Lichfield
and from there won a scholarship to The Leys School,
Cambridge. Later in life he was a governor and then
Chairman of the Governors to The Leys and St Faiths
Schools.
He was a scholar at Queen’s College, Oxford where he studied Chemistry and
gained BA, BSc, MA and PhD degrees. In 1945 he was the first scientist President
of the Oxford Union. He met his future wife, Elizabeth Dowrick (Somerville College),
while in Oxford and they were married at the Wesley Memorial Church. They were
happily married from 1947 until her death in 2004, with three children: one daughter
and two sons.
After Oxford, he joined ICI, then spent two years at Princeton University as an
ECA Fellow, gaining an MSc, and returned to work as a Research Chemist in
ICI in Billingham, Co. Durham. His love of politics encouraged him to stand as a
Liberal candidate for The Hartlepools in 1950 but he was unsuccessful and so
continued working for ICI. In 1955 he moved to ICI Paints Division in Slough, where
he progressed steadily through the ranks to become a Director. He completed a
Senior Executive Program in 1966 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In
1969 he moved to ICI Head Office in London as Head of Corporate Research and
Development and in 1970 moved to Brussels as Director of ICI Europa, to set up
their new European research facility.
College Record 2022 | The Queen’s College 115