Dr Arnold George Fogg: Eulogy

The following eulogy for Dad was delivered by Rev Alison Micklem at his funeral in York on 28 June 2016.

 

Arnold was born in Radcliffe, where the family lived in the Cemetery House until 1942 when they moved to Failsworth. One of his earliest recollections was a vague memory of seeing the glow of the Manchester blitz at Christmas 1940. His childhood was shared with brother Harvey and sister Elsie. From an early age he was a Manchester City supporter and used to ride to matches on his bike.

Arnold was educated at Chadderton Grammar School in Manchester but left school at 15. He used to joke that his first job was washing up and using a blender for ICI, although I believe the technical term was Lab Assistant! While working there he also studied for a degree in Chemistry at the Royal Technical College, Salford, graduating in 1958.

After that he went to the University of Aberdeen, because that was one of only four laces in the country where it was possible to study Analytical Chemistry. It was to prove a very significant choice, sparking a life-long love affair not only with the city itself, but with one of its residents – Joyce – an undergraduate whom he first met at a Bible Study on Amos – hence the earlier reading, which remained special to both of them.

In 1961 Arnold gained his PhD and took up a post at Loughborough University of Technology, where he was to remain until the 1990s, progressing from Lecturer to Senior Lecturer and then Reader in Analytical Chemistry. He also became visiting Professor at Luton.

Professional achievements included being made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Chartered Chemist and Doctor of Science in 1986 which was presented at a University of London graduation service at the Royal Albert Hall by Princess Anne. In fact, the list of awards and recognitions he received is far too long to list, and his academic output is intimidating, including over 250 peer-reviewed articles in academic journals. He also supervised around 30 successful PhD students, some from the UK but the majority from other parts of the world. Arnold was very fond of his research students, taking them under his wing and introducing them to the cultural and social life of this country as well as the intricacies of analytical chemistry. He stayed in touch with many of them, so always seemed to know somebody local when he went abroad for conferences, and he was still proof reading material for them to the last.

Meanwhile, Arnold married Joyce in Aberdeen in 1960, and their son Simon was born shortly after the move to Loughborough, with Philippa arriving two years later.

When Joyce returned to work she soon embarked on a career which often meant working away. Arnold would take on parenting duties at weekends, with eating at the university canteen being particularly popular, along with visiting the trains at the sidings in Derby – on one occasion Simon even got to drive a train! Unfortunately, the stone circles, Anglo-Saxon churches and other historic edifices which Arnold loved to visit did not hold quite the same degree of fascination for the children...

He was famed for two particular culinary specialities: extremely thick custard and – not to be eaten at the same time – cheese and tomato pizza, which he made from scratch, long before it was the popular fast food it has since become – and his tasted better than any other. Other regular kitchen duties included washing up and the specialist task of liquidising soup – using the skills which he had honed in those early lab assistant days!

Arnold was based in Loughborough throughout his working life, whereas Joyce moved around a lot, which led to a habit – which they carried on into retirement – of living in two places at once! It meant a lot of travelling, but had the advantage that each of them had a place which was totally removed from their work. They also loved to travel, with frequent family holidays in Scotland leading to Simon's enduring love of Skye, and Philippa's of the Outer Hebrides. Other favourite destinations included Malta and Madeira, which they visited so often they became quite well known there.

I have to admit that I am not much of a scientist, and words such as Analytical Chemistry make my mind go blank, but I overcame my fears to try to learn more about what Arnold's life work was all about. I even persevered past daunting terms such as 'Covalent bonds in reactive dyes' and 'Voltammetric stripping'! I'm not going to expose my ignorance any further, but from what I could understand, a big part of what he was doing was working to ensure that the things we use to make our lives more enjoyable, interesting and beautiful are not at the same time doing us harm. It seems to me that is very much in keeping with the passage we heard from Paul's letter to the Philippians and says something about the way he lived the whole of his life, taking great delight in all that is good, noble, just, pure, lovely and excellent without any vanity, pride or ambition.

He had an enquiring mind and was always interested in learning more about any topic he stumbled across. He would talk to anyone and so go into all sorts of conversations. He would throw himself into things with infectious enthusiasm and was also full of stories of his own, with a great sense of humour which was often directed – gently – against himself – a great raconteur. He was extremely generous and kind, supporting many charitable causes, but also seeing immediate practical needs and filling them, from giving lifts to helping with the sound system at church.

He was a great joiner of things: the list of organisations of which he was a member is quite formidable and reflects his wide range of interests.

What of his faith? I think that passage from Amos also ran through his life: he was not one to make a big public display of it, but quietly and consistently, his faith informed and underpinned everything he did. He didn't talk about faith much, but those of us who were privileged to share a Bible Study group with him knew all too well that he brought the same level of interest, enquiry and analysis to those as to everything else. Sometimes we would go off on what seemed to be delightful tangents, but he kept hold of the central thread and eventually brought us back to the point. He also had a knack of asking questions which the rest of us would then wonder why we had never thought of....

For all the joy and interest he took in so many aspects of life, it was Joyce who was the centre of his world. He was totally devoted to her, and the long years they shared were very happy ones. When she died three years ago, he continued to pursue his many activities and to delight in the company of his family and friends, but it was impossible to disguise the fact that he was lonely and somewhat at sea without her. Although his sudden death has come as a terrible shock, it is perhaps a blessing that he was able to keep so active to the last, and it is a great comfort to those who feel his absence most keenly to know that he and Joyce are now together again, where they belong.

Thanks be to God. Amen.