Mrs Philpott’s association with the University spanned more than 75 years. She came to Bristol to study English Language and Literature in 1930 and graduated in 1933. She then took her Diploma in Education in 1934. 

She taught in various schools before her husband’s health broke down. She served as Treasurer of the Bristol Writers’ Circle and had a number of poems, articles and short stories published and broadcast. She later ran a small readers’ group, and helped to produce a book, Bristol: One Thousand Years in Stitches, about the Bristol Historical Tapestry, which hangs in the City Museum.

She served on the Committee of Convocation, the graduate body of the University, for many years, and as a member of the University’s Court between 1970 and 2002. She was also Chair of the Manor Hall Old Students’ Association for 17 years and sat on the Manor Hall Committee. Her contribution to the University and its students was recognised by the award for ‘outstanding service’ of the Convocation Medal in 2001. Her son, Anthony, worked for many years in the Department of Geography.

She will be greatly missed for her deep knowledge of the University and her commitment to the students and to the work of Convocation and the Manor Hall Association. Our thoughts are with her son and daughter at this time.

M J Crossley Evans