Adrian Leigh Gothard, son of Vere and Leigh Gothard, was born at the Ipswich & Suffolk General Hospital on 8th October, 1963. By all accounts, he was a beautiful, happy, and exceedingly trouble free bundle of joy. Adrian, like most babies, sometimes had difficulty sleeping at night, so Vere and Leigh would put him in his carrycot in the back of their sporty little TR4 and drive around the neighborhood while he watched the street lights through the back window.  He obligingly fell asleep, but usually awoke just as they pulled up at their front door. So off they would go again!

When Adrian was only seven months old, his father was posted to 60 Squadron based at RAF Tengah in the former crown colony of Singapore. Adrian quickly adapted to life in this exotic location, picking up one of the local languages, Cantonese, and developing a life-long taste for and love of Asian cuisine. He used to enjoy going shopping with his mum at the local department store “Fitzpatricks” where, on one such shopping expedition, he came face to face with an enormous, and beautifully constructed, pyramid of tiny baby food tins. Whether he recognised the shape of the tins or their colour is still a mystery but he was determined to pick up a tin of baby food for his little brother. So he valiantly plucked one tin from close to the base and, after the resulting catastrophic engineering failure, was surrounded by fallen tins and clucking shop assistants. At this point, he started cursing in fluent Cantonese and was soon spirited away by the Fitpatricks’ staff and stuffed full of sweets, either to shut him up or possibly as a reward for displaying such a large Chinese vocabulary! One further highlight of his time in Singapore was being accorded the privilege of having a meal in the wardroom of the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Victorious. At eight months old, and sitting on his mum’s knee, he was the youngest baby ever to have a meal on this magnificent Illustrious-Class aircraft carrier.

In 1966, Adrian’s parents returned briefly to Ipswich in the United Kingdom before enjoying a spell living at Roth House, the only remaining house at the decommissioned and deserted WWII era airfield of RAF Ludford Magna. Whilst Leigh served at RAF Theddlethorpe and 85 Squadron at RAF Binbrook, Adrian found himself at the local school in Binbrook where he remained until his father was “returned to civilization” in 1970 with a posting to RAF Northolt in Middlesex. “Hawthorne Lodge,” in Chalfont St. Peter, was one of only three houses that my parents would own in my father’s 30 plus year career in the RAF. It provided a rock for us as children and we both knew that wherever my dad might go, the location of “home” remained constant. In 1971, Adrian started his educational journey at Westbrook Hay Preparatory School near Hemel Hempsted. The school, run by family cousin Trafford Allen, was set in 26 acres of parkland and afforded Adrian his first “life” experience. He seemed to handle the separation from home and parents much better that his younger brother, Julian. Indeed, he developed a tough independent streak and a strong belief in self-reliance, which was to serve him well throughout his life. He was delighted to be leaving home, though that’s not to say he wasn’t a little concerned. His questions to his mother included, who is going to do my laundry and how do I get in touch with you? Of course, his biggest worry was what happened if he wanted to get married? My mum, trying desperately to keep a straight face, said he should, “ask Traff because he would know what to do!”

Adrian did well at Westbrook Hay and, after successfully completing his “Common Entrance” in 1977, he moved on to “Meadhurst” a boy’s house at Uppingham School in Rutland. This famous school, set amongst Rutland’s  beautiful green and rolling hills, was originally founded in 1584 but was elevated into the top rank of public schools by headmaster Edward Thring (1853-1887) whose motto “Honour the work and the work will honour you” was not always closely observed by pupils that included Boris Karloff (formerly William Henry Pratt) and Stephen Fry. Adrian’s time here was not without growing pains and, given the somewhat lack lustre standard of cuisine, it came as no surprise that Adrian started to develop his passion for food whilst ensconced here over the next four years. On returning to school on one occasion, my mum pulled into the car park next to the kitchen. The cook was clearly attempting to prepare another glorious dinner as my mum noted when she said,”it smells like chocolate cake.” Adrian replied, “Yes, burnt chocolate cake!” This was on a par with the remarkable baked bean and sausage crumble that we had to endure on another occasion. Adrian never really took an interest in sports, where Uppingham excelled, but he did develop two passions in his time there; Computers and Shooting. With the arrival of the school’s first computer, the gift of a generous corporate donor, Adrian really started to blossom. The computer, roughly the size of a Chieftain Main Battle Tank, was located in a room above the indoor shooting range. This massive leviathan was so large, and so heavy, that the floor supporting it had to be reinforced. Today the calculations that this computer had to perform could probably be completed by the processor in an Ipod! Adrian spent so much time helping in the computer lab that his “A” levels suffered as a result and even when doing re-takes at Loughborough Technical College (1981-82) his love of computing still came first.  Adrian’s other passion at Uppingham was rifle shooting where both his mental and physical strength helped him score a number of near perfect “possible” scores. It is a true testament to his skill, and that of his colleagues, that they shot so well given that the .303 ammunition that they were using, which was some 30 years old, had an alarming habit of whizzing off erratically, usually in any direction other than down range. He shot with some distinction at Bisley in the Ashburton Trophy and later went on to teach disabled children how to shoot. I know that he was very much hoping that the shooting for the 2012 Olmpics would be held at Bisley so he could go along and watch.

After leaving Uppingham, with a quick year at Loughborough for his “A” Level re-sits, Adrian went on to Bolton’s Institute of Higher Education where he graduated with a BSC in Electronic Engineering in 1985. It’s true to say that by this point, Adrian’s life revolved around computers. In 1982, in his first year at Bolton, he co-founded the Bolton Computer Club. In the holidays, he taught computer programming at Millfield School and at Beaumont Summer Camps in the Lake District. He seemed to be adept at applying himself to both hardware and software problems, and immediately after graduating he joined Databasix as a Test Engineer, but he also worked for them as a Systems Engineer and a Software Engineer.  He purchased a small flat in the pretty town of Abingdon in Oxfordshire and seemed to relish his chosen career. Indeed, it was hard to divorce what he did at work from what he did at home because he lived and breathed computers! He later joined Madge Networks, at that time one of the world’s leading suppliers of networking hardware, and then Voltech Instruments (a transformer testing company) before becoming an independent contractor under the banner of “White Horse Design.” WHD was instrumental in developing cell phone SMS messaging systems, providing software support services for Hong Kong airport, designing GPS tracking devices for fleet truck operators and WHD also pioneered a voice activated guidance system for the Devon & Cornwall Police air operations unit. As a result of his work in a multiplicity of electronic fields, from hardware testing to programming and embedded systems, Adrian has amassed a truly enormous collection of electronics hardware including some prehistoric 12 inch floppy disk drives!

In his spare time, when he wasn’t working on some other computer related project, he took time out to go sailing in the Baltic, the Hebrides, navigating from distillery to distillery; Marseilles in France, the Poldas in Holland and on Loch Ness, where one evening, with Nessie’s alleged help, his boat accidentally slipped away from its moorings. He had an annoying habit of moving from one interest to another with amazing rapidity. Just like the Robot “Number 5” in the 80’s movie “Short Circuit,” Adrian appeared to have a voracious need for “more input.” He accrued information that would take others years to digest, at an extremely fast pace before moving on to his next area of interest. He was Treasurer of Bolton Computer Club for three consecutive years, a member of the Reading University Computer Users Group, a contributor to the ACCU (the association of C and C++ Users), a member of the Thames Valley Computer Club, Zetnet member, keen amateur photograper, member of a theatre group, a 4x4 enthusiast, and he even took up archery. He had an excellent and extremely comprehensive angling collection at one point, but I don’t recall him ever going fishing! In the last two General Elections, he canvassed for one party, got invited to the all night count by a second and actually voted for a third! He took a keen interest in the local community and had letters printed in the local paper and “The Times.” His text and voice contributions were frequently read out on the BBC Radio Berkshire. The presenter used to look forward to the contributions from “Adrian from Woodley.” Although one afternoon when Jane was driving along with the radio on in the car, she heard the presenter say,”and we’ve just had a text from Adrian from Woodley…Oh dear…I can’t read that out on air! Honestly Adrian, sometimes I worry about you!” It was that community spirit that led him to undertake voluntary work for the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust until he quite literally became too ill to do so. That is why the BBOWT is his designated charity.

Adrian was always an obliging sort and on one occasion whilst my parents were on holiday in the USA, he became the designated pet-sitter for our old black Labrador called “Midnight.” After opening a tin of dogfood, Adrian decided that it was revolting and fed him on best steak followed by an eclair and during the walk that followed, Midnight was wheezing so badly he had to take him to the vet who gave pills to counteract the over rich diet which was killing him. Although Adrian never had pets, he always was very attached to our two family dogs, Champagne and Midnight, and the two original cats, Vodka and Tonic!

Jane Willis proved to be a great friend of Adrian’s over the last eight years, and we have corresponded frequently by e-mail over tha last month. I am sure she would not mind me adding her recollections of Adrian. “I often told Adrian that if he was half as good a friend to himself as he was to other people he wouldn't have a fraction of the troubles he had. He was one of the kindest, most thoughtful people I've ever met - when he wanted to be! - And incredibly generous too. He couldn't afford to be generous with money so he was generous with time instead. Several times I've admired a recipe book in his collection and because he couldn't afford to buy me a new copy, he spent hours scouring charity shops until he found one for me….Just a few weeks ago Adrian gave me a new notebook to keep in my handbag, and on the first page he had written ‘To my best friend, who puts up with far more from me than anybody should ever have to’”…

We are going to scatter Adrian’s ashes in the Lake District, England’s largest National Park and an area of the country that he loved and visited on many ocasions over the years. He loved walking and hiking, especially when combined with a stop at his favourite store in Grasmere where he could pick up some Sarah Nelson ginger biscuits. Indeed, just before he passed away, he was talking with his mum about making another visit to this exceptionally beautiful part of England.

It's certainly true to say that Adrian always made an impression on everyone he met.  He was a true fountain of knowledge and an exceptional companion. His wonderfully cheeky and irreverent sense of humour was always a highlight of conversations with him. His infrequent letters, with the envelopes adorned with cartoons of militant Ayatollah’s and other subjects that you can’t mention in polite company, would be filled with witty comments and amusing anecdotes. He was an exceptionally gifted writer, although he felt his talents lay elsewhere, and his communication skills were superlative. He was definitely one of a kind. The world is poorer in his absence and heaven is certainly richer.

“In one sense, there is no death. The life of a soul on earth lasts beyond his departure. You will always feel that life touching yours, that voice speaking to you, that spirit looking out of other eyes, talking to you in the familiar things he touched, worked with, loved as familiar friends. He lives on in your life and in the lives of all others that knew him.” [Angelo Patri]