WE trust that the passing of one of Keighley’s most notable sons Lord Asa Briggs at the age of 94 will not go unnoticed or unrecorded.

Like Denis Healey, he was born of that generation who grew up during the hard times of the 1920s and 1930s and resolved to make the world a better place after the horrors of the First and Second World Wars and what had caused those.

He gained scholarships, first to Keighley Grammar School and later to Cambridge University. During the war, he worked for a while at Bletchley Park, the Government code-breaking establishment.

Inspired by the history of our local area and particular figures, he became one of our foremost historians, and was known as a particular expert on urban history and the history of the Victorian period and broadcasting.

He wrote many books and was often heard on the radio and sometimes on television. He held vice-chancellor and chancellor-ships of universities, particularly Sussex and the Open University, being a strong believer in widening access to education.

His life and work should be celebrated and be an inspiration to our young people. Our thoughts will also be with his family at this time.

STEPHEN BENNETT

Grafton Road

Keighley