Alan went to the University Appointments Board in his first year in Cambridge and asked what a mathematician could do for a living. No answer was provided and he was told to return the next year, when he was asked what class of degree he had been awarded in Part 1. Although that was a First, the only suggestions were Banking or Insurance. Disillusioned, but knowing what two Sidney Sussex students in the year ahead of him had done, he decided to stay on to take the Diploma in Mathematical Statistics. His supervisor was David Cox, who at the time was a young Assistant Lecturer. The first research Alan undertook was a statistical analysis of the counts on bull semen. The lengthy report contained a huge number of calculations performed with a hand-held Brunsviga calculator.

... study a wide variety of problems in production, planning and other activities. ... ability to handle data, to think objectively and to exercise a high degree of imagination and initiative essential.

One was to control a team developing Monte Carlo methods for weapon design, and thus he was one of a small team directly responsible for Britain's first hydrogen bomb. He did early pioneering work on the generation of pseudo-random numbers for high speed computers but the work was classified and he did not receive recognition for it. The other role was as operational research/statistical consultant to the whole Establishment. In this capacity he continued the stochastic processes work upon which Fuchs, the atom spy, had been working at the time of his arrest, and he was responsible for the statistical work on the detection of underground nuclear explosions.

I am indebted to Dr D R Cox for suggesting this problem and for his criticisms during the course of the work.

... as the senior manager responsible for OR, statistics and data processing. Within eight months of joining the company, he had determined the company's data processing needs, ordered the computer and taken delivery of it, had a computer room built, recruited and trained systems analysts and programmers who in turn had programmed and implemented an ordering, inventory control and accounts receivable system.

The Department of Management Science has one of the largest groups of operational research and systems teaching staff in Europe. Most of our faculty have previous industrial or public sector experience. We have a strong commitment to produce research of practical importance, capitalising on a tradition of collaborative research with industrial partners.

Alan's last visit to the Department was in September 2013, to take part in a day of celebration of 50 years since Pat Rivett's appointment. He gave a typical, lengthy, speech, full of forthright opinions, which several alumni regarded as spellbinding. On Christmas Day I received an email from Alan. He had delayed opening his copy of 'Inside O.R.' until then, and found a report of the celebrations. Alan wrote: 'Page 10 includes a photo of me, which is significant for two reasons. First, it includes the words Lancaster University, to which I devoted most of my life. Second, it is likely to be the last photo of me.' Alan was highly innovative, with a wide range of interests. He had an abrasive style that many will remember. Nevertheless, he made a huge contribution to O.R. in the UK, through his development of the Lancaster O.R. Department, and in Europe, through his editorship of the European Journal of Operational Research.