[FPSPACE] Neville Kidger appreciation - Spaceflight

Erik Tronstad erik.tronstad at nilf.no
Mon Jan 18 02:26:30 EST 2010 

I suggest uploading the PDF to 
http://www.bis-spaceflight.com/ and distributing 
its link to this forum. Any who wants so can then access the PDF.

Erik Tronstad

At 19:52 15.01.2010, David R. Woods wrote:
>Folks,
>
>Rex Hall had a very nice tribute to Neville 
>Kidger that he wanted to pass along to the list 
>members.  Unfortunately, it was in PDF format 
>and exceeded a message size limit as well.  I am 
>taking the liberty of passing it along, in text 
>format.  Thank you Rex for sharing it with the membership.
>
>Dave
>
>
>Subject:
>Neville Kidger appreciation - Spaceflight
>From:
>Rex Hall <mailto:rex at rexhallassociates.com><rex at rexhallassociates.com>
>Date:
>Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:04:13 +0000
>To:
><mailto:Fpspace at Friends-Partners.Org>"Fpspace at Friends-Partners. 
>Org" <mailto:fpspace at friends-partners.org><fpspace at friends-partners.org>
>CC:
>Igor Lissov 
><mailto:lissov at novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru><lissov at novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru>
>
>
>Good Afternoon.
>This is a pdf of the appreciation of the work of 
>Neville Kidger which has appeared in the latest 
>issue of Spaceflight.  As a friend for nearly 30 years he will be much missed.
>
>Regards
>Rex
>
>Spaceflight Vol 52 February 2010
>
>Neville Kidger FBIS ­ 1953-2009
>Urban cosmonaut and space historian
>
>Neville Kidger, who compiled and wrote 
>Spaceflight’s monthly ‘Space Station Chronicle’, 
>died suddenly in hospital in Leeds, England, on 
>2 December 2009, aged 56 years. He leaves a 
>wife, Wyn, and two daughters, Ellie-Louise (15) and Katie-Beth (13).
>
>A true Yorkshireman, the family lived in Morley, 
>a suburb of Leeds. He grew up as an only child 
>but never knew his dad. He had been married to 
>Wyn for 35 years.  Aside from his family, 
>Neville had two passions in life ­ space and 
>Leeds United FC. He had been a season ticket 
>holder at Elland Road for over 35 years and also 
>travelled to many away matches, including some overseas.
>
>His love for all things connected with space 
>started as a youngster. He went on to regularly 
>correspond with cosmonauts and astronauts in 
>Russia and America, and had met many over the 
>years. He wrote articles for numerous magazines 
>and contributed to many books on space.
>
>Neville joined the British Interplanetary 
>Society (BIS) in July 1978 and became a Fellow 
>in 1984. His work and dedication was recognised 
>in 2003 when he was awarded the Sir Patrick 
>Moore medal.  Neville started his regular 
>Spaceflight column on space activities aboard 
>the early Soviet and Russian space stations in 
>1978, continuing with Mir and then, for the past 
>decade, faithfully chronicling the construction 
>and operation of the International Space Station (ISS).
>
>His unique, detailed and accurate Space Station 
>reports appeared every month in the pages of 
>Spaceflight for more than 30 years, which must 
>be a record for such a commitment.
>
>Many tributes to Neville, whose work is renowned 
>throughout the world, have been received by the 
>BIS in London and posted on space-related websites.
>
>Space author, Dave Shayler, first made contact 
>with him in 1979 after complimenting him on the 
>detail of his reports on the Salyut 6 space station.
>
>It was a friendship that would blossom over the 
>next 30 years as both became members of the 
>unofficial ‘Soviet space sleuthing group’ and the Society’s Soviet Space Forum.
>
>Neville’s unselfish commitment did not include 
>any authored books, though he had discussed the 
>possibility of a joint work in the future on 
>‘Space Station Operations’ with Dave Shayler, 
>with whom he also worked between 1985 and 1991 
>on the compilation and production of Zenit 
>magazine. Neville was skillful at interpreting 
>and explaining operational and technical details 
>of the Soviet programme and contributed many 
>hours each month to make Zenit an informative 
>and collectable magazine. His participation in 
>the early BIS Soviet Technical Forums was 
>crucial in securing the popularity of the events over the last 30 years.
>
>Like many, Dave Shayler has fond memories of 
>Neville’s characteristic Yorkshire enthusiasm 
>when talking about all things space, including a 
>memorable visit to Stansted airport in 1983 to 
>view a brief stopover of the Enterprise Space 
>Shuttle on top of the 747 carrier aircraft.
>
>Space journalist Brian Harvey, who worked with 
>Neville on the ISS chapter of the Space 
>Exploration Annual 2007, admired his commitment 
>and persistence in compiling the reliable and 
>well-informed Space Station articles, describing 
>him as a pleasure to work with.
>
>Neville always maintained a sense of fun, and 
>typical of this was in January 1987 when he set 
>an unofficial world record for the longest ever 
>continuous space lecture. It lasted 28 hours and raised funds for a local
>appeal and astronomical society.
>
>He was also a good singer and enjoyed 
>entertaining at parties, particularly at his 
>local pub the Gardeners Arms in Morley. Among 
>his favourites was the Robbie Williams’ song ‘Angels’.
>
>Several hundred people packed St Peter’s church 
>in Morley for Neville’s funeral. Music included 
>‘Angels’ and Queen’s ‘Best Friend’, and there 
>was a wreath in the white, blue and yellow 
>colours of his beloved Leeds United. Shaped like 
>a football, it did not escape the attention of 
>many that it also resembled a Sputnik. Donations 
>were made to the Clover Unit at Pinderfields 
>hospital in Leeds where for many years he received treatment for Leukemia.
>
>Neville always used to think he had not made a 
>mark or was not popular ­ just a kid from the 
>‘Denshaws’. But how wrong he was.
>
>This appreciation was compiled by Rex Hall and 
>Clive Simpson with contributions from Wyn 
>Kidger, Dave Shayler, Brian Harvey and Martin Dawson.
>
>Two great photographs accompany the article 
>showing Neville with his broad smile, one with 
>Karen Nyberg after her flight on the STS-124 
>Space Shuttle mission, and another taken with 
>Leeds United players Ben Parker and Johnny 
>Howson at the 2009 Christmas lights switch-on in Morley.
>
>
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>     Subject: Neville Kidger appreciation - Spaceflight
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