Denys J Voaden – In memoriam
Oct 22, 2020 8:07:04 GMT
Post by Paul Jackson on Oct 22, 2020 8:07:04 GMT
Denys Voaden—an appreciation by Robert J Ruffle
Founder Member F012 – of 250 awarded that honour in 1948 – Dr Denys J Voaden died at his home in Maryland, USA, on 12 August 2020, at the age of 94. Born 1926 in Devon, he found an interest in chemistry at the local Grammar School and in 1941, went to Imperial College London to study for a BSc. Luftwaffe air raids added an extra ‘duty’ in the form of many nights as fire-spotter on the rooftop. Having flunked one examination, Denys found himself doing National Service, initially as a coal-miner. Then in 1947-48 he served in a pathological laboratory of the British Army RAMC in Egypt.
In 1949 he entered Oxford University, gaining his MA and BSc and later his DPhil. After a period in industrial and post-doctoral work, he was invited to Fordham University, USA, in April 1959. After the initial "culture shock" as Denys put it, he became a member of the American Chemical Society, Boston, before moving to Massachusetts University in late 1960. He eventually settled at the US Department of Agriculture Research Center at Beltsville, Maryland, when he took US citizenship. Between 1971 and ’73 he was seconded to a pesticide laboratory in Cairo with the UNDP. He retired in 1997. In the USA he was a member of the Mongolia Society (initially as Vice-President, later on the Senior Advisory Committee), the Mongolian American Cultural Association, and the Tibet Society, Newark, New Jersey.
Together with Air-Britain's founder Charles W Cain, Denys in 1953 published a small paperback Military Aircraft of the USSR. For Nigel Eastaway and myself, as well as many ‘aircraft spotters’ of the day, it opened a window into another world. He made regular visits to Mongolia and several trips to Soviet Union/Russia. Those who knew him well will recall his very individual technique of "blending in" during those earlier days, when foreigners in the USSR stood out so clearly. Denys was a member of the Russian Aviation Research Group and a Patron of the Russian Aviation Research Trust. He never married, but we extend our sincere condolences to his brothers and wider family.
Founder Member F012 – of 250 awarded that honour in 1948 – Dr Denys J Voaden died at his home in Maryland, USA, on 12 August 2020, at the age of 94. Born 1926 in Devon, he found an interest in chemistry at the local Grammar School and in 1941, went to Imperial College London to study for a BSc. Luftwaffe air raids added an extra ‘duty’ in the form of many nights as fire-spotter on the rooftop. Having flunked one examination, Denys found himself doing National Service, initially as a coal-miner. Then in 1947-48 he served in a pathological laboratory of the British Army RAMC in Egypt.
In 1949 he entered Oxford University, gaining his MA and BSc and later his DPhil. After a period in industrial and post-doctoral work, he was invited to Fordham University, USA, in April 1959. After the initial "culture shock" as Denys put it, he became a member of the American Chemical Society, Boston, before moving to Massachusetts University in late 1960. He eventually settled at the US Department of Agriculture Research Center at Beltsville, Maryland, when he took US citizenship. Between 1971 and ’73 he was seconded to a pesticide laboratory in Cairo with the UNDP. He retired in 1997. In the USA he was a member of the Mongolia Society (initially as Vice-President, later on the Senior Advisory Committee), the Mongolian American Cultural Association, and the Tibet Society, Newark, New Jersey.
Together with Air-Britain's founder Charles W Cain, Denys in 1953 published a small paperback Military Aircraft of the USSR. For Nigel Eastaway and myself, as well as many ‘aircraft spotters’ of the day, it opened a window into another world. He made regular visits to Mongolia and several trips to Soviet Union/Russia. Those who knew him well will recall his very individual technique of "blending in" during those earlier days, when foreigners in the USSR stood out so clearly. Denys was a member of the Russian Aviation Research Group and a Patron of the Russian Aviation Research Trust. He never married, but we extend our sincere condolences to his brothers and wider family.
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