ABSTRACT
I first met Bill McCrea on a cold windswept rail station in Bangor, North Wales, back in 1959. I was then an undergraduate and Secretary of the Student Mathematical Society, the President being Dr R A Newing. He had decided that the Mathematical Society needed reviving and that a good way doing this would be to invite a very well-known scientist to comeand give a lecture.McCreawas suggested as thiswell-known scientist, who acceptedmy invitation. I learnt somewhat later that Dr Newing had in fact been one of the first two research students that Bill McCrea had supervised. This little incident illustrates the respect and fondness that all his research students had for McCrea. It also highlights the willingness of McCrea to help and encourage his ex-students, in this case by undertaking a long journey from Surrey, where he was Professor and Head of the Mathematics Department at Royal Holloway College, to Bangor.
