Alexander Paul Hunt 1958-2024
The text of Robert Gibson’s tribute to Alex Hunt at the Memorial Service held at Christ Church, Radlett on 11th July 2024:
I’d like to thank Cynthia for asking me to address you, and apparently it was Alex’s wish, too.
When I started thinking about this talk, immediately I had in mind about five main themes. As I spoke to people who had known Alex these themes didn’t really change. They became deeper and richer, as I discovered just how much Alex’s friends and colleagues identified the same qualities. I hope that the next 15 minutes will paint a picture that does justice to a man we should remember with affection and pride.
I first got to know Alex at Rugby School. In our last, Oxbridge terms, we were heads of our respective houses. But I had heard tell of him rather earlier. In early 1976 a rumour had swept the school that a boy called Hunt had bet a fiver – then a colossal sum and more than my term’s pocket money – on England beating Wales in the Five Nations. At that time Wales was in its pomp – reigning Champions and with a squad full of household names – Phil Bennett, Gerald Davies, Mervyn Davies, JJ Williams, JPR Williams and so on. History relates that Wales won that match by 21 to 9, on their way to a Grand Slam, and England ended up with null points and the wooden spoon. One of Alex’s former work colleagues told me that he was not afraid of being contrarian, but I suspect that this particular stance was triggered by irritation at a cocky Welshman more than by any rational contrarianism.
One less familiar aspect emerged, and that was from some notes Alex himself made about his early life. He was sent to a prep school called Quainton Hall. This he described as ‘Very High Church C of E’, affiliated with the Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. Its headmaster and two other masters were celibate priests, and it had its own Chapel with incense, holy water, genuflections and so on. In his notes he comments that he didn’t realise the impact on him as regards the current CofE until later – ”what has happened to Mysterium Tremendum?”
Alex was a member of the school choir that was invited to sing the Magnificat in Gregorian Chant at St Paul’s Cathedral. This was apparently one of the highlights of Alex’s time at Quainton Hall, and hence the music used in the committal service.
From Quainton Hall on to Rugby School which he says he didn’t really enjoy a lot. Bill Krarup was a junior boy in Bradley House when Alex was Head of House. Bill remembers that Alex was one of the kinder older boys. “Rugby was a brutal place in those days but he was one of the good guys. He was head of house in his Oxbridge term and the house was a better place for it.”
And then on to Jesus College Cambridge, to read Chemical Engineering. This is where we got to know each other. We lived in College in the first and third years and shared a house in the second year. This was in Pretoria Road, just over the river from the Fort St George which we established as a sort of HQ. There were many late, Port-fuelled nights listening to the rock bands of the day – Genesis, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Joan Armatrading, an emergent Dire Straits. But in particular there was Mike Absalom. Who? Mike Absalom was a folk singer who wrote songs laced through with satire and innuendo. Alex and I saw him on stage at the Cambridge Union and Alex immediately loved him. He loved the absurdity of the lyrics, which mainly featured themes around sex, drugs and the Church. He set about mastering the lyrics of the Ecclesiastical Cheesecake Walk, also known as “When Mrs Fanshaw Fantasised”. This remained one of his party pieces to the end of his life.
I was, of course, only one of many enduring friendships that Alex made in Cambridge. Organisations and groups included the ‘Tool and Nuts Club’ – TANC. This was a group of his fellow Jesus College engineers. Cynthia pointed out to me a camellia bush in their front garden which was gifted by Ian and Margaret White when Alex and Cynthia hosted a TANC dinner in the early 2000s. Ian went on to become Master of Jesus College.
Alex was a founder member of the ‘Campaign for Real Gin’, a club of like-minded students with an interest in gin when it was deeply unfashionable. The CRG also remains active to this day, with annual Christmas dinners and charitable garden parties. For Alex’s final journey, Cynthia asked that Alex wear a CRG tie.
And then there was the Officer Training Corps – OTC. This was perhaps the main interest for Alex beyond his academic work. Whilst he took the work and exercises seriously it was also a great source of fun and friendship.
Marvin Faure: Alex and I, together with Jamie Leslie, shared many happy experiences in the Armoured Wing of the CUOTC, driving heavy armoured vehicles across various training grounds (and public roads!) in the UK and Germany for three years.
I think I’m right in saying that Alex was permitted to drive around these heavy vehicles before he held a civilian driving licence!
James Partridge: I have memories of Alex, head out of the hatch of an armoured car, blonde hair blowing in the slipstream, shortsighted eyes bulging with excitement and laughing at the infantry slogging slowly past. I don’t know why the various elements of the British Army take the mick out of each other so much but it was an article of faith of both RAC and RA Wings never to walk anywhere, unless into a hostelry.
This puts me in mind of a girlfriend that Alex had in the second year at Cambridge. Name of Holly. We didn’t see so much of Alex for a while, but eventually Holly took up with someone else and this occasioned a momentous session at the Fort St George. Alex wasn’t so fussed about losing the girl, but totally indignant that she had gone off with a ‘grunt’.
Another important and enduring relationship was with the Caius Officers Club. They would extend invitations to their annual ladies’ night dinners which Cynthia describes as ‘brilliant’. Despite having attended Jesus, Alex was an honoured guest, always invited to give a toast, a speech and recite the lyrics to the aforementioned ‘Mrs Fanshawe’.
On leaving Cambridge Alex took his service forward into theTerritorial Army, specifically the Intelligence Corps. The distinctive cypress green beret was part of the mess kit, sometimes referred to irreverently as his ‘lift attendant’s uniform’. Alex took his duties seriously. The backdrop of course was the cold war . Marvin Faure again: “A consummate professional. We will probably never know what he contributed to national security during his many years spent in the TA Intelligence Service but I suspect it was significant.”
James Partridge: “Alex was, of course, very bright and I am sure he was brilliant in the Intelligence Corps, although I know nothing about what he got up to.”
Which, I guess, is the point of the Intelligence Corps.
Perhaps Alex did give us a coded hint, though. A number of us may recall missives in green ink, or just that he used to sign off Christmas letters in green ink. Over a century ago, Sir George Mansfield Smith-Cumming was the first Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service which later became MI6. He used to sign off his correspondence with a solitary C, written in green ink. This is a practice that continues to this day. Maybe Alex knew this and this was his little joke.
Alex’s career in chemical engineering was approached with the same serious purpose, and by all accounts his was a substantial contribution.
Alex worked for energy majors Texaco, Total and BG Group, as well as with consultancies. His work took him frequently to North America, to Europe, to Brazil and elsewhere, though I understand he drew the line at a move to Norway. Perhaps a diet of rehydrated cod and fermented trout didn’t meet his epicurean standards. For Total and BG he developed technology strategies and established and managed portfolios of research and development projects. These involved establishing and maintaining links with relevant bodies including academia, commercial organisations and Government departments.
Alex was an acknowledged expert in flow assurance, essentially ensuring that pipelines don’t get clogged up. He published technical papers – dozens of them. He edited books for both industry publications and international events. He was a frequent contributor to such events, including delivering keynote speeches. He lectured on flow assurance, subsea issues, deep water technologies, emerging trends and technology needs. He was a passionate advocate of innovation and, more importantly, applying such innovation effectively. The strapline for his own consultancy was “Making the New Commonplace”.
Alex wrote and delivered significant training programmes and coursework. He developed, for example, the coursework for and sold the entire output to the Society for Underwater Technology. He was a visiting Professor at Cranfield University, lecturing the Masters course on offshore, sub-sea and renewable technologies. I believe there was also a relationship with Imperial College.
If anyone is still in any doubt about Alex’s significance in his field, then let’s consider his organisation and chairing of the biannual international Multiphase conference, split between Europe and North America. This is an industry-leading technical event presenting peer-reviewed papers of the highest quality; it is considered essential for all engineers concerned with any aspect of multiphase technology. Alex took on and grew this conference. He introduced and sponsored prizes for the best papers.
When Alex was unable to attend the 2023 conference, the new chair, Ian Kopperman, paid him this tribute:
“I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to our previous chairman, Alex Hunt, who unfortunately cannot be with us in Nice. Since 2005 Alex oversaw the conference and its proceedings, through both prosperous and turbulent periods in the industry. Under his exceptional leadership, the conference flourished and achieved remarkable success. His dedication, vision, and unwavering commitment have left an indelible mark on this community, and we all owe a debt of gratitude to Alex for his invaluable contributions.”
What were the qualities that enabled Alex to make such a mark?
His ex-colleague Frank Wright recalls Alex as a very accomplished public speaker, with a great knack for presenting and making things interesting – even when they weren’t. Apparently Alex told another ex-colleague that one of his tricks was to imagine the people in front of him had no clothes on.
When chairing meetings, Alex often had to deal with vested interests of differing types – academics, R&D outfits, government and industry. I’m told he did this with great aplomb and diplomacy: his technical competence earned the respect of participants, but he never lost focus on the purpose – technologies that would serve the interests of the industry. I hear also that he had a steely side when needed, and wasn’t afraid of bringing recalcitrant participants into line.
And he had another trick up his sleeve – or rather on his sleeve. I remember, probably 40 years ago, Alex recounting that he had seen a gentleman on a train relaxing into the seat opposite him and then undoing the cuff buttons on his suit. He thought this the coolest yet understated way of establishing status. He told me he would start doing this. On Monday Cynthia and I stood outside the shop of Alex’s long-time tailor in Radlett, Stuart Thorne. I told her this story, and she said “but he continued with that for the rest of his life – he used it as a way of intimidating others at meetings!”
This was certainly successful with some audiences – a former Texaco colleague recalled Alex “swanning around Houston in his expensive suits intimidating our US colleagues with his cut glass very English accent” He was also told: “Your accent makes what you say authoritative!.” Of course, he loved that.
But Alex was no seat-of-the-pants operator. Cynthia told me that Alex was always nervous in the run-up to events. Hard work and meticulous preparations were at the heart of all his successes.
Let me read a few other tributes from contacts and colleagues across his industry. You’ll see a few consistent themes.
…both a strong advocate of innovation and as others have mentioned a great personality and pleasure to be around.
A top gent. As well as a great work colleague. My wife Rachel and I enjoyed some fun social evenings with him and Cynthia and as a result I upped my wine budget.
Just the mention of his name conjures up his face, his voice and his more than special character.
Always helpful and always full of good advice. Always full of good humour, he was a class act. I shall miss his annual Christmas letter as well.
No matter what the subject, Alex always had an interesting or funny story or anecdote showing his experience, collected over a long varied career.
He was a fount of knowledge and always made time to share it. He will be greatly missed.
If it weren’t for Alex’s enthusiasm for Technology whilst at BG Group then today’s super AUV “Flatfish” would never have existed for tomorrow.
When I was a new entrant to the industry, Alex was always prepared to stay a bit longer with you and pass on his knowledge which was always appreciated.
Alex was always generous with his time and deep technical knowledge and happy to share these with us all.
Alex was a great colleague who commanded a passion for all developments technological and an excellent wit. We are all a bit poorer for his passing.
Alex gave special time to me in helping to write communications to the right audience. He had humour, lots of it, a wise fellow.
Alex was the politest and most dignified of men.
In short, Alex’s expertise, diligence and character earned the respect and admiration of peers and colleagues from across his industry.
A full account of Alex’s life and interests cannot ignore his gastronomic tastes. Good food and wine were one of his great loves, especially when combined with good company. He managed to combine this very satisfactorily with his work.
While working with Annette Cutler on ‘Project Eucharis’, which involved time spent working in Brussels and Paris, he decreed that they should take in a different restaurant every night, and put himself in charge of organising the itinerary. Later he suggested to Annette – who was his boss – that she should produce a food diary listing all the eateries they visited. She declined.
Alan Burns remarked of Alex’s time at Elf: “Knowing your way around a wine list and menu was one sure key to success when working for a French company.”
There was little coincidence, of course, that the European multiphase conferences were held in Cannes. This was mixing work and pleasure to the highest degree. Cynthia kept a food and wine diary for Alex’s and her last four trips to Cannes. Alex was always careful to plan and make reservations for dinner. As with Annette, never the same place two days running.
Alex had a favourite Lebanese restaurant in Houston. Margaret Santamaria, a former Texaco colleague, recalls that on one of his trips, they squeezed in a Lebanese meal just before his flight back to the UK. Alex was in Business Class and apparently the intense garlic from the meal was so odorific that the traveller sitting next to him requested to be bumped down to Coach Class to move as far away from Alex as possible. Cynthia recalls that Alex still smelled of garlic when he arrived home the next morning!
And finally, moving from Alex’s second greatest passion to his greatest passion.
Cynthia and Alex met at a dinner hosted by Judith Pain. Cynthia was Judith’s lodger, Alex and Judith knew each other from the TA. The date was Friday, February 9, 1990. Alex immediately won favour by offering Cynthia a cigarette, and then produced a flat silver cigarette case. The attraction was immediate, they talked all night. They were united by a shared bad habit and Alex’s old school courtesy.
Very soon thereafter, Alex informed my wife Lynne that he had met the love of his life. I suppose he must have informed Cynthia as well, since they were married, at Jesus College Cambridge, on August 11th 1991. I was given the honour of being Best Man.
For much of the 1990s, Cynthia tells me they made a point of travelling to work and returning together. One anniversary Alex had ordered a bouquet from the florist at Marylebone station. Cynthia arrived at the platform to see Alex, waiting with about 200 people holding the most enormous bouquet, which he then presented to Cynthia on the platform. Triggering comments of “How romantic, I wish my husband would do that for me”.
Alex and Cynthia gave each other constant companionship. They shared many common viewpoints, and were able to talk to each other on all levels. They were fully on each other’s wavelength. In Cynthia’s words they “merged into a unit.”
We all have our customs and rituals. Friday and Saturday were ‘pink drink’ nights, involving Bermuda Rose cocktails – gin, apricot brandy, grenadine.
In 2013 after their trip to Cannes, they started watching French food shows, mostly first-runs as they appeared on French television and older documentaries from YouTube. So, they weren’t just sitting in the living room holding hands in front of the telly. They were also improving their language skills!
They rarely had English subtitles but managed to get by. What one missed, the other picked up. It was a team effort.
A favourite was Philippe Etchebest and his M6 shows, TopChef and Cauchemar en Cuisine. They also watched other M6 shows: La meilleure boulangerie de France and Le Meilleur Pâtissier de France. In the later stages, they had Alex’s custom-made hospital chair placed right next to Cynthia’s so they could watch TV together.
Those of us who received Alex’s Christmas letters will know how much they had put into making their home ideal for their retirement. Poignantly, Cynthia says it won’t be the same without Alex by her side.
Cynthia asked me to mention her gratitude to all the hospital and hospice staff, and in particular his physiotherapist Jan. One of her final living memories was of Jan coming to take Alex out for a wheelchair ride in the hospice garden, and Alex asking “will you be there too?”
Another person to thank is Alex Trotter the Creative Therapy leader at Peace Hospice. In April, she spearheaded a patient project involving gluing pieces of a London-themed jigsaw puzzle together. The puzzle is currently on exhibition in London along with a comment from Alex. Alex Trotter suggested a shared meal, so a tapas lunch followed. That lunch was the last that Alex and Cynthia had together outside the house and the last with other people. They had a wonderful afternoon with three other patients, another guest and Alex from Creative Therapy. They had supermarket tapas, because that is what the daughters of one of the patients brought in, along with two bottles of wine. Cynthia and Alex contributed a bottle of Bolly. Cynthia says it was one of the best lunches Alex and she ever had – the food and the company were superb. Cynthia was very moved to be told by one of the participants that Alex had told her what a good cook Cynthia is. The refreshments after this service will be a partial recreation of this precious meal and memory. Cynthia says “Even if I cannot create the same experience for his friends, it’s worth a try”.
I really loved an observation from James Partridge: “After Cambridge, I really only bumped into Alex at CRG events, but he seemed still to be the light-hearted, kind, but occasionally acerbic undergraduate I first knew and, of course, very proud of Cynthia.”
Finally, I have given rather too many of these talks. Where we were remembering people who went well before their time, I have generally said that the lesson is that those of us that remain must make the most of the life that we are lucky to have. That’s still true, but also picking up on some comments that Cynthia made to me, I’d add another lesson. That as we grow older, perhaps we think there’s time to call up old friends, to get back in touch when it’s been a while, but we should guard against letting time slip by.