Remembering John Holroyde: The man who made Warwick students ‘welcome’ at Leamington’s Café Scientifique

Back in July of this year, I wrote an article in The Boar SciTech section about Leamington Spa’s Café Scientifique. To do so, I sat down with organisers of the event, including John Holroyde, who I am now sadly reporting passed away earlier this month at the age of 71.

By all accounts John lived a full life, spent loving golf, his grandchildren, and many other things. I can only speak to his role as organiser of Café Scientifique for the last five years of his life, where he fostered a spirit of openness, gratefully welcoming both students and staff from the University of Warwick at the events he ran.

When asked for one thing they wanted the Warwick student body to know, John responded instantly: “That they’re welcome.”

October’s Café Scientifique saw Mike Frost give an animated talk on the 1737 eclipse and its impact on Warwickshire’s industrial revolution, but the energy immediately prior to that was sombre, as dozens of attendees raised a glass to John, and a room that was visibly emptier without him in it.

The events are continuing, and 17 November’s will feature a talk on the development of the Jaguar E-Type, something many young people living in Leamington may be interested in. The mailing list and sign up details for Leamington Spa’s Café Scientifique can be found in my article from July.

Donations in memory of John are being sent to The Friendship Project for Children or Cancer Research UK, and more details can be found at: https://johnholroyde.muchloved.com.