Life Stories
John Victor Sharp
John Victor Sharp (1957 BA DPhil Physics) died on 22 April 2026 aged 90.
John Sharp was born in 1936 in Boston, Lincolnshire and brought up on a small tenant farm. Following his secondary education at Spalding Grammar School and national service in the RAF, he moved to Oxford, starting at Keble studying Physics in 1957. He met his wife to be, Margaret Mathews, a fellow student studying Chemistry at St Hilda’s on an Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS) tour of ‘Macbeth’ around Germany.
John started his professional career at the Marine Technology Support Unit (MATSU) at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE), Harwell. John and Margaret married in 1960, initially living in the prefabs on the AERE site, where they had their first daughter, then moving to a nearby village where they completed their family with 2 further daughters.
Following his time at MATSU, John moved to work for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in London. Throughout his career, he made a significant contribution to the offshore energy industry through his technical expertise, leadership, mentoring and commitment to knowledge sharing. Alongside his involvement from 2002 with The Society for Underwater Technology (SUT), becoming Chair of the Marine Energy Renewable Committee, he was also a Visiting Professor at Cranfield University from 1996.
He co-authored several key industry publications, including Ageing and Life Extension of Offshore Structures (Wiley, 2019) and Underwater Inspection and Repair of Offshore Structures (Wiley, 2021). For nearly 10 years from 2010, he served as a Commissioner for the Alderney Commission for Renewable Energy supporting the advancement of mainly tidal, renewable energy initiatives.
In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the offshore energy industry and the Society, he received the SUT President’s Award in 2024. He was widely respected by colleagues and friends across the sector, and his contribution to the offshore engineering and marine renewable energy communities will be remembered with great appreciation.
John never retired and his academic and community / volunteering interests remained at the forefront of his focus right up until the end. He was a member, and then Chairman of his village Parish Council for more than 50 years. His extensive voluntary work for his village and Oxfordshire was recognised by the Lord Lieutenant at a ceremony in 2024.
John died suddenly on 22 April 2026 aged 90. He was still in active paid employment and writing two further books, alongside dedicating many hours to multiple voluntary organisations. His wife Margaret passed away 18 days later, testament to the strength of their bond following a marriage of more than 65 years. John is survived by his 3 daughters and 3 grandchildren (two granddaughters and one grandson, Dexter).
John always had a thirst for learning and mentoring, both personally and professionally. His family will remember his avid enthusiasm for his work throughout his career, his passion for his village, his love of quality time with friends, family and colleagues, and finally how he would always go out of his way to help many people who had the good fortune to come into his life. He is deeply missed by those that knew him.
Kindly provided by his daughters Katharine, Rachel and Clare