AUSTIN WOOLRYCH

[Stanley]

AUSTIN WOOLRYCH

23 September 2004

(Historian. Born May 18th 1918, died 15th September 2004 whilst on holiday in Lanzarote with a companion.)
The obituary columns of newspapers always bring news that you would rather not have received. This morning I got word from one of my mentors that Austin Woolrych had died and there was an obituary in the Guardian.


Professor Austin Woolrych, 1918-2004. In his office in 1979.

I met Austin when I went to Lancaster as a very naïve ‘mature’ student in 1979. As part of the induction process I was told that my personal tutor would be Professor Woolrych. I thought at first that this meant that he would be teaching me all I needed to know about history. I later found out of course that what it actually meant was that he had taken personal responsibility for my well-being whilst in the department and that if I had any problems his door was always open.
I can remember the first time I was summoned to his room. I was greeted by a kindly old man (!) who offered me a glass of very good red wine and sat me down for a gentle chat about how I was settling in, I soon realised that he knew a lot about me, he had done his preparation well. He also recognised very clearly the fact that I was at the same time naïve and mature. He went to great lengths to advise me that the biggest mistake I could make would be to discount my own store of knowledge and experience in relation to the courses I was doing. He convinced me that any success I had would be by allowing both phases of experience to interact because in that way I would have a head start not only over my younger fellow students but many of the staff as well.
Further, he alerted me to the fact that as I interacted with other students I would find that I was being used as a source of advice and reassurance and that I should regard this as a compliment and be sure I could always come to him if I heard anything that I didn’t feel qualified to advise on. In short he demonstrated a complete awareness of my situation and the advice he gave me was superb, it was all good and everything he told me came to pass.
I didn’t see Austin very often, I think I only requested an interview once about doing a Summer School in New York. My visits were usually in the form of an invitation to call in at a certain time if this was convenient. Later in my university career, when Austin had found out that I had the capacity to appreciate a good red it was often to sample a particularly nice bottle. They were always good. He knew I was spending time in California and at that time he was having a love affair with the Nappa Valley and its products so it was a good excuse for him to have a break.
The last time I saw him in his capacity as Personal Tutor was shortly before the finals. He sent for me and informed me that unless I was very careful I was in danger of being ‘tarred with the brush of academic brilliance’. It turned out that he was warning me against working too hard and getting a First! This was the only time I ever questioned his judgement but he said he was serious. Perhaps he knew something I didn’t but in the event I managed to obey his instruction.
The last time I saw him was at Steve Constantine’s 50th birthday party (another of my mentors). He looked superb and when I asked him how getting older was going down he said that after 80 it simply got better and better, what a nice memory. I’m so glad he died suddenly doing what he wanted to do. It seems to me very fitting that he died in a warm climate, close to a bottle of wine and in good company. The manner of his going sums up my experience of him and I am a richer man for having had the privilege.

23 September 2004

I sent this piece to some of my mentors and Bob Bliss sent this reply:

Stanley, thanks. I am teaching a class of "mentors" (older students who in some way look after first year students) and I am going to circulate this to them this morning as an example of what a mentor can do. Other, of course, than serve red wine. In Missouri this is verboten in universities.
In his advice to you before finals, I think Austin may have been worried that you had set your sights on a first, felt that you might not make it, and did not want you to suffer a disappointment. It is, as you say, curious advice. But we can be utterly sure that he meant well. As you know, Stanley, I thought you had great potential, even at your age, but I did always think you needed to learn how to finish an essay. May I, in passing, say that you finish this essay on Austin elegantly and perfectly? Bob. (My response to that was that I could die happy! At last I'd written a conclusion that satisfied Bob!)
23 September 2004