My late husband, Tony Vickers, was a brilliant man of many talents ranging from the academic to the practical. In his prime he was a DIY wizard who could build furniture and tackle bricklaying, plumbing and electrics; he serviced his own cars, created a lovely garden in Cambridgeshire and transformed a neglected house in Hertford. He was a good amateur photographer and very knowledgeable about architecture: we spent many happy hours visiting East Anglian churches. Tony attended Manchester Grammar School and then Cambridge University, where he gained a PhD, becoming a lecturer in Physiology and fellow of Sidney Sussex College. We met and married in Cambridge, and had two wonderful daughters of whom he was very proud. Once we took his parents to London and I thought he was hurrying us along a bit. We arrived in the Mall and the Queen drove by en route to opening Parliament. I realised afterwards he’d organised the whole thing so that his parents should see the Queen as part of their first trip to London. Later we moved to Hertford and he worked for the Medical Research Council, making a particularly significant contribution to the work of the Genetic Manipulation Advisory Group. Sadly, our marriage broke down, but he was generous in the ending and maintained a close relationship with our daughters. In retirement he became a vegetarian and campaigned for environmental causes. I would like to pay tribute to our two daughters who have cared for him so devotedly in his declining years. He is much missed by all his family and friends.