OBITUARY : Frederick Woods
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.May I add to Valerie Grosvenor Myer's obituary of Frederick Woods [2 March]? writes Professor Bernard Bergonzi.
In the early 1950s, when he was working as a young assistant in a south London public library, Woods started a little poetry magazine, Platform, which ran for four numbers. In 1954 he published under its imprint my first book, Descartes and the Animals, a collection of poems. It is a very attractive production, brought out by a local printer under Woods's direction, and it is a sign of his talent as a book-designer, among the other gifts which later became apparent.
When I visited him a few months ago I was impressed by his courage and optimism, despite his poor health. He was proud of the doctorate he had just acquired for his work on Winston Churchill, and was looking forward to the visits to Cambridge and America in pursuit of Churchill scholarship which, alas, he was unable to take.
Without wishing to detract from your obituary of Frederick Woods, writes John Selwyn Gilbert, I would like to point out that, before I left Argo Records, in 1969, I produced the first and I think the only records from Argo featuring Cyril Tawney, Tom Paley, Shirley Collins and the late Peter Bellamy. I also worked closely with the late Harley Usill, Argo's founder and presiding genius, who produced almost all Ewan MacColl's recordings for Argo.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments