Life Stories
Gerald Harris
Gerald Harris (1949 BA Chemistry) died on 9 December 2025 aged 97.
Gerald, seated on right, in the Keble Badminton team
Gerald Harris won an open exhibition to Keble to read chemistry. After completing his military service in what was then called Malaya, he came up in October 1949. A keen sportsman, Gerald played rugby and badminton for the college with Ron Williams who was the Jamaican captain. He joined the University Badminton Club where he captained the second team, became the club secretary and played in the Varsity match in his third and fourth years, being team captain in his fourth year. His contemporaries as scholars at Keble included Vic Hancock (Greats), John Hays (History) and Brian Magee who sat next to Gerald at the scholars’ table, enthusing about his passion for philosophy which encouraged Gerald to take an interest in this subject. He obtained a good upper second and spent his fourth year doing research under Dr Irvine. He enjoyed returning to Keble for two Gaudies and at the last he attended was delighted when a current chemistry student told him that he had been reading Gerald’s thesis in the chemistry library!
Kindly provided by his daughter, Wendy