Brian Dobson

[Renatus]

This is indeed very sad news. I first attended Brian's Roman Army courses in 1971 and have been to every one since, as well as to other courses that he ran on Hadrian's Wall and Roman Scotland. We knew that he was ill, of course, when we attended the Hadrianic Society Reunion weekend and Roman Army School this year but I am sure that none of us expected him to die so soon afterwards. He was an inspiration to us all and I was always in awe of him. It was under his auspices that many of us who attended his courses, myself included, were encouraged to pluck up the courage to lecture at them ourselves and I shall always be grateful to him for that. This year's Hadrianic Society Reunion was the 40th and, although we wondered if Brian would be able to make it to the celebratory dinner, there was really no doubt that he would, if he possibly could. He did and gave a characteristically eloquent speech in which he handed over his vitis to the younger generation. Let us hope that those to whom he entrusted it do not drop it.