I've been reconnecting with Sheffield University recently and was looking up old friends. It was so sad to come across this page - Richard and I were good mates at university (i.e. 1989-1992). Our lives went in different directions in the nineties and, unfortunately, we didn’t stay in touch. I remember Richard as an ambitious Economics student who loved his subject and enjoyed life to the full. In the Common Room, he was the first to join in with an intellectual argument, often on subjects unrelated to Economics! He liked to laugh, provoke and surprise - and then to laugh some more. He was a big character and must have made a great academic and teacher in the years that followed Sheffield. Richard often talked proudly of his large, loving family and I got the feeling they doted on their talented relative too. He was one of the few students in Halls with a portable colour TV in his room, and I clearly recall Richard visiting a town-centre tailor ahead of an end-of-term celebration to have a bespoke suit fitted - not your average Sheffield student! My abiding memory, though, is of a few of us crowded into Richard’s room to watch England during Italia 90. He liked to moan about us messing up his tidy belongings, but we all knew he secretly enjoyed being the generous host. I will never forget Richard exploding with joy when David Platt volleyed in the winner against Belgium. It was the final minute of extra time...and it felt as if life would never get better. It was a privilege to know Richard. I wish so much that he was still with us. Rest in Peace.
Steven W.
03/01/2026
