Professor Alfred Felix Landon Beeston 'Freddie' (1911-1995)

Freddie in Graz in 1986 with Professor Dr Maria Höfner (left) and Dr Th. Mayer (centre).

Maria Höfner was born in 1900 and was one of the great specialists on South Arabian and Ethiopic studies of the twentieth century. Freddie described her as 'crucial link between the late nineteenth and early twentieth century scholars, and those of the great expansion of interest that took place after 1950.'

Freddie was a very sociable person and enjoyed travel, so he was a keen participant in conferences. He had an extraordinarily wide range of interests and an extensive knowledge of a great variety of subjects, whether it be British wild flowers or the complicated dynastic relations of European noble families, music, architecture, or church history, his interests were unbounded. The twin urges to discover and to understand were exceptionally strong in him and made him not only an inspiring teacher and profound scholar, but a delightful companion.

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