Gordon Roderick
Historian of scientific education and academic in adult continuing education.
My father Gordon, Rod to his family and friends, was a historian of scientific education in England and Wales in the late Victorian and early 20th century. He was an academic, who helped develop the discipline of adult continuing education. and he was an advocate for the public understanding of science.
He was born in Ystradgynlais, a mining town in the Swansea valley, the second son of David, a clerk in the local colliery, and Mary. It was a Welsh speaking and non-conformist family. He was educated at the local county school and subsequently at the University of Swansea, and University College London where he obtained a PhD in Physics.
He joined the Extra-Mural Department in Liverpool University in 1961, one of the first lecturers qualified in science to be appointed to such a role. He lectured on cosmology and atomic physics but pursued wider interests, including Human Genetics, which resulted in the book ‘Man and Heredity’. Research into the history of scientific education and its relationship to British industry led to an MA.
He became Professor in Adult Education at the University of Sheffield in 1976, where he continued his research, co-authoring ‘Education and Industry in Victorian Britain’. He moved back to the University of Swansea as chair in 1986. He studied the history of scientific education in Wales, co-authoring ‘A History of Education in Wales’ which has been claimed to be ‘one of the landmarks of the histiography of Wales’. He published widely, another notable book being ‘Where Did We Go Wrong ? Industry, Education and Economy in Victorian Britain’.
Retiring from academic life he spent five years as Director of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust in Wales. He gave talks to local groups, read European and British history, and followed interests in classical music, opera, cycling and gardening.
At King’s College he met my mother Gay, an undergraduate in modern languages from North Wales. They married in 1956 and had two sons. My brother Mike and I had a happy family life and shared his passion for Welsh rugby. My mother taught languages but sadly died in 1981. My father re-married Jean, a health visitor who had two children Rhian and David. She was a loving wife and caring mother and grandmother. He is survived by Jean, Mike, Rhian, David and I and by eleven grandchildren.
(Written by Paul Roderick)