Rex Ashley Walford, (14 February 1934 – 2 January 2011) was a British scholar, educator, and former journalist, who in later life specialised in teaching others to teach geography.

Education

Walford was a strong supporter of

lifelong learning Lifelong learning is the "ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated"Department of Education and Science (2000).Learning for Life: Paper on Adult Education Dublin: Stationery Office. pursuit of knowledge for either personal or professional reasons ...

and, in addition to serving as a tutor with Cambridge's Institute of Continuing Education, continued his own studies throughout his life. From 1952 to 1955, he studied at the London School of Economics, graduating with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree. Then, he attended King's College, London, graduating with a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) teaching qualification in 1956, and a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

(BD) degree after only two years of study in 1958. He studied for a master's degree from Northwestern University, Illinois, between 1960 and 1961. In 2003, he was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree by

Anglia Polytechnic University Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public university in East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins are in the Cambridge School of Art, founded by William John Beamont in 1858. It became a university in 1992, and was renamed after John Ruskin in ...

: his doctoral thesis was titled "'As by magic': the growth of 'new London', north of the Thames 1918-1945 and the response of the Church of England" and combined his love of geography with his strong Christianity.

Career

His first career was as a journalist for the ''

Hendon Times The ''Times'' series is a group of north London newspapers published weekly by Newsquest in the London Borough of Barnet The London Borough of Barnet () is a suburban London borough in North London. The borough was formed in 1965 from parts ...

'' (1951–58), but then turned to teaching as head of geography at a Church of England secondary school in Hendon, London (1958–62). In 1962, he made his final career change, moving into academia as a

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

in geography and mathematics at

Maria Grey College The listed building near Twickenham and Isleworth where the college was from 1946 Maria Grey Training College was a training college in London, England, for teachers from 1878 to 1976. When it opened, it was the first teacher training college fo ...

a teacher training college in London: he rose to principal lecturer and served its senior tutor. Then, from 1973 until his retirement in 1999, he taught geography and education at the University of Cambridge: he was elected a Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge in 1988, and served as Head of the Department of Education in the 1990s.

Personal life

Walford was a committed

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Christian. While at university, he served as national chairman of the

Student Christian Movement Student Christian Movement may refer to one of the following national organizations: * Australian Student Christian Movement * Student Christian Movement of Canada * Student Christian Movement of Great Britain * Indonesian Student Christian Movem ...

(1956–1957). He was also involved with amateur dramatics, and served on the council of the Guild of Drama Adjudicators of Great Britain from 1970. In 1969, Walford married Wendy Kirby at

John Keble Church, Mill Hill The John Keble Church is a Church of England parish church in Mill Hill, London Borough of Barnet. The church was completed in 1936 and is of a modernist design. It is the only church dedicated to John Keble, one of the leaders of the Oxford Movem ...

. On 2 January 2011, he was a passenger on a boat travelling across the River Thames from Pharaoh's Island to Shepperton when it overturned: a non-swimmer, he was one of two people to die in the accident.

Honours

In 1990, he was awarded the Back Award by the Royal Geographical Society. In the

2000 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2000 for the United Kingdom and New Zealand were announced on 31 December 1999, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2000. The ''Honours list'' is a list of people who have been awarded one of the various or ...

, he was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) for services to geographical scholarship.

Selected works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walford, Rex 1934 births 2011 deaths 20th-century British journalists British schoolteachers British geographers Fellows of Wolfson College, Cambridge Officers of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of the London School of Economics Alumni of King's College London British Anglicans Alumni of Anglia Ruskin University Northwestern University alumni Academics of the Institute of Continuing Education