We were shocked to hear of the death on 3rd December of a stalwart of our society, Dr Brian Gee from Cornwall. Brian, who was just short of his 70th birthday, was well known to those who attended regular SIS events and was an authority on London opticians and scientific instrument makers, especially the Dollonds and their rival Francis Watkins. He was born in Yorkshire and taught physics in London, at the International School in Geneva and at the College of St Mark and St John (MarJon for short), a college of education which was then based in Chelsea but subsequently relocated to Plymouth. While he was still London Brian did an MSc in the History of Science at University College, and after moving to Plymouth he started a PhD on scientific instrument makers, part-time, with the University of Leicester. This work on scientific instruments and their makers was to become the enduring interest in his life, even after his early retirement from MarJon.

For several years he was also a tutor for the Open University for some of science and physics courses. Brian saw very clearly the educational value of the history of science for all students of science, and also for introducing non-science students to the basic methodology and philosophy of science. To this end he was chiefly responsible for developing and introducing a few modules on what he called 'Scientific Culture Today' into the degree courses at MarJon, and it was Brian’s commitment to this course that help to carry his colleagues along with him and to see the documentation for these modules through all the internal committees and the external validating bodies. The course made use of Dr Jacob Bronowski’s videos on The Ascent of Man, and Brian firmly believed with Bronowski that; “Science was a tribute to what we can know, although we are fallible.” A true scholar and a gentleman, he will be sadly missed. (Biographical information supplied by Percy Seymour).