David Falla (1934-2021)
Dr David Falla (1934-2021) former Treasurer of the Aberystwyth Bibliographical Group
David Falla was born in Guernsey in 1934, the eldest of three brothers. The family moved to Bristol when the Germans invaded the Channel Islands, but David’s grandmother chose to stay behind. At the last minute she changed her mind and followed the family to the harbour, but took the wrong road and missed the boat, thus having to stay and live under German occupation. The family returned at the end of the War, after which the youngest brother Victor was born. Although David was away during crucial years of childhood, he was familiar with the Guernsey French dialect. His secondary education was at Elizabeth College in St. Peter Port.
David read Physics at the University of Bristol, and stayed there to do a doctorate. He did post-doctoral research at the University of Manchester, then lectured at Queen Mary College in London in the early 1960s. He specialised in astrophysics, a field in which he made a number of interesting acquaintances, including the Astronomer Royal Lord Rees. He was appointed to the staff of the Physics Department in Aberystwyth in 1965. He was a popular lecturer, and took a great interest in his students. He also did his best to maintain a little museum in the Science building.
David’s other role at the University was as Warden of Padarn Hall, in the former Lion Royal Hotel at the top of Great Darkgate Street. At the start of each academic year he received details of the new students with accompanying photographs, which he carefully memorised. Thus on one occasion he was able to greet by name a fresher walking through town with his parents before he had even arrived at the Hall. Until his retirement as Warden in the 1980s David maintained the tradition of wearing gowns for Sunday lunch in Hall, which the students greatly appreciated. For decades after the Hall closed, he organised a biennial reunion dinner of the Lion Royal Society, where the alumni continued to address him affectionately as “Doc”.
David’s interest in the past out-weighed his interest in modern technology. He steadfastly refused to buy a typewriter, let alone a computer or television. He never learnt to drive a car, but he had shares in a re-furbished Norwegian fishing-boat and would invite friends and groups of Padarn Hall students to accompany him on trips around the Welsh coast. Often the rope fouled the propeller so that the boat didn’t make it out of the harbour, but a good time was had by all, as David was the perfect host.
He was an habitué of Staff House in Laura Place, and greatly regretted its closure, as he did that of Padarn Hall. For years afterwards he organised an annual Christmas lunch for former members of Staff House. A group of friends had been used to meeting at Staff House on Sunday evenings for informal conversation, including Eiluned Rees from the National Library.
It was Eiluned who introduced David to the Bibliographical Group, which he served as Treasurer for a remarkable 32 years. He used his scientific contacts to attract several distinguished speakers, and his genial company at dinners and on outings made him universally popular with the membership. His humorous presentation of the carefully hand-written accounts at the A.G.M. was always a delight. He was also active in several other local societies, including the Aberystwyth Civic Society and the Cardiganshire Horticultural Society, and attended Holy Trinity Church.
David’s first house in Aberystwyth was in Waunfawr, but for years he lived at 1 Trefor Road, where he hosted elegant dinner-parties and wine-tastings, as well as meetings of the Bibliographical Group committee, at which he served coffee in eighteenth-century cups. In latter years the three-storey house on a steep hill proved to be a mixed blessing.
David was a proud Guernsey-man and a loyal member of La Société Guernesiaise; he attended the meetings whenever he was in Guernsey and gave talks himself, and even ran the Society’s Astronomy Section from his home in Aberystwyth. He returned to the island each year for Christmas, Easter and part of the summer vacation, staying initially with his brother Geoffrey in the family house in St. Peter Port, and latterly in a charming cottage he had inherited from his grandmother in St. Martin’s Parish, which he had spent some years restoring and extending. He timed the length of his stays carefully in order to avoid having to pay tax in both homes, and occasionally spent a few days in a hotel in Sark so as not to exceed his allowance of days in Guernsey.
It was a surprise to some that David chose to stay in Aberystwyth after retirement. He held an honorary lectureship in the Physics Department, and continued with his research and his involvement with the Bibliographical Group and other societies. His activities were considerably curtailed following a stroke a few years ago, but he continued to enjoy the visits of friends from near and far, which unfortunately were largely prevented during the last year of his life by Covid-19 restrictions.
David Falla passed away on 20th July 2021 after a short stay in Bronglais Hospital. He is survived by his brothers Geoffrey and Victor, sister-in-law Shirley and nephew Jamie, all of whom live in Guernsey. He was a gentleman with style. He was also a kind, warm-hearted, good person, and those of us who were privileged to be his friends will always be grateful for what he contributed to our lives.
Eiluned Rees and Timothy Cutts
July 2021