Peter Thomas

Dr Peter Thomas, who passed away in September 2014, was a long-serving member of the English Department of University College Cardiff and of the merged School of English, Communication and Philosophy of Cardiff University.

A fine historian and expert on the seventeenth century, his major work was the Sir John Berkenhead, 1617-1679, published by Oxford University Press in 1969. Peter's later career saw a devotion to the works of Henry Vaughan and to the much-respected journal Scintilla on which he served as Editor for fifteen issues. Together with Anne Cluysenaar, in 1995 Peter organised the first Vaughan Colloquium, which led to the beginnings of the Vaughan Association and the Scintilla journal. Peter's memory is celebrated in volume 19 of the journal, where his deft skills, enthusiasm and generosity of spirit are recollected. The volume concludes with a fine 'Remembrance' dedicated to Peter's professionalism and valued friendship by Professor Alan Rudrum, complementing the moving tribute by Anne in volume 18, ‘Absence, Presence: Recalling Peter Thomas’.

Martin Coyle

School of English, Communication and Philosophy