It is with great sadness I report the death of Douglas Swift. He started his career as an assistant lecturer at Bradford technical college in 1955 before leaving to take up a post as a research student and demonstrator at Chelsea College from 1956 to 1958. His first lectureship was at Sunderland Technical College in 1958, where he stayed for three years. He moved back to Bradford and was a lecturer in pharmaceutical chemistry at Bradford University (formerly Bradford Institute of Technology) for 23 years, until he took early retirement in 1984. He subsequently took a post as a relieving tutor in pharmacy at the Central Institute of Technology in New Zealand for one year and continued working as a locum pharmacist locally and latterly in Calderdale until he was 70 years old.
My father helped many students over the years to fulfil their potential both at home and abroad, and continued even in his locum positions to encourage the staff in furthering their education. I am sure there are many pharmacists today that owe him a gratitude of debt, and will have been touched by my father’s generosity of spirit and encouragement; but he was very self-effacing and I am sure merely felt he was fulfilling his role.
He leaves a wife Sheila, and daughters Helen Swift and Caroline Baskerville.