Peter Shepherd: George Walford Memorial

George Walford 1970s

I wish I had been able to write much earlier, if only to give credibility to my expression of regret, forming in fact one of the main supplementary reasons for the writing of this letter, that I never made my peace with George. I suppose I vaguely thought the breach would heal itself in the course of time, so took no steps to try to heal it myself. Possibly I attached less importance in any case to the occasion of our ceasing communication; I recall the details now only dimly. However, I should have acknowledged his feelings about the whole matter.

It is encouraging to know that George’s papers are in the Institute in Amsterdam, with Harold’s. If in the end Harold’s and George’s work is given serious academic attention, it seems, then, that it will be by Dutchmen, Japanese and Israelis. The words in the Gospel according to St Matthew that refer to the honour in which a prophet is held come to mind.

George himself once (by rather obvious implication) reproached me for not having used my own position appropriately, and indeed it is not easy to explain my lack of relevant output. I can only at present acknowledge that it must have been frustrating; explanations may be attempted at some later time. They could be instructive.

July 1995

continue reading George Walford, A Memorial (1998):
Introduction | Notes and Quotes | Trevor Blake | Alan Bula | George Gook | Mary Anne Knukel | Encounter in Autumn by Dr. Zvi Lamm | Seeking George Walford by Paul Minet | Peter Shepherd | John Rowan | George R. Russell, SPGB | Thoughts on Ideological Minimalism by Eric Stockton | Reminiscences of George Walford and the Walsby Society 1976 to 1994 by Adrian Williams | Jack as I Knew Him by Brenda McIntosh | Alison Walford, Sharon Goodyear, Richenda Walford

Sidebar