Sir Frederick Holliday

Academic and environmentalist Born: September 22, 1935; Died: September 5, 2016 SIR Frederick Holliday, who has died aged 80 in Aberdeen, was a marine biologist, naturalist, academic and businessman. In a celebrated career he rose to senior posts in academia – notably as a pioneering vice-chancellor of Durham University. In Scotland he was noted as an early champion of Stirling University and a professor of zoology at Aberdeen University.

During his time at Durham, the chancellor was the prima ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn and Sir Fred regularly claimed the first dance at university balls.

Frederick George Thomas Holliday (known throughout his life as Fred) was born in Bromsgrove. His father was a technologist with a glass manufacturing company supplying vital bulletproof glass for Spitfires. He attended Bromsgrove County High School where he became interested in biology, the subject that Sir Fred read at Sheffield University. He secured a first and moved north to do his national service working at the Marine Research Laboratory in Aberdeen. In 1958 he was appointed scientific officer at the laboratory, where he remained until 1961 when he was appointed lecturer in zoology at Aberdeen University.

With the expansion of university campuses Sir Fred was invited to become one of the founding academics at Stirling University and in 1967 was appointed Professor of Life Sciences there. He was to pursue a far-reaching programme which included fitting electronic tracking devices on trouts in lochs.

In 1973 he took over as principal of Stirling and in doing so became the UK’s youngest university principal. Sir Fred was proud of the university’s location in Airthrey Castle and encouraged the campus to be green and open with its loch and abundant wildlife. Two years later he returned to Aberdeen as professor of zoology.

There he continued his maritime tracking work, and developed a tagging system for monitoring basking sharks. On one occasion he received a call in the middle of the night from Nasa (the US space centre) to say that a shark that they were following appeared to be swimming across Scotland. In fact, the creature had been caught in a net and was being driven to safety.

In 1980 Sir Fred was appointed vice-chancellor of Durham University and pioneered a more modern approach to teaching: the university was not only to be a seat of learning but also to include a diverse list of subjects. Sir Fred was proud of the expansion of the university in his time – not least on Teeside.

When Margaret Thatcher visited the area in 1987 and posed for the famous photographs on a desolate and rundown area she turned to Sir Fred and asked what was to be done with it. He immediately replied that Durham University needed the space. There followed some years later the Queen’s Campus and Holliday Buildings.

In 1990 he stepped down at Durham and joined the board of Northumbrian Water becoming chairman in 1993. It was a time of upheaval in the company’s affairs and it was taken over by the Belgian Suez company but he was pleased when it returned to British ownership. He had overseen improvements in expansion in sewage and cleaner inland waterways.

Also in 1990 he was knighted and designed his coat of arms with a badger, a bat, a fish and fruit trees.

While showing Prince Philip round the Muir of Dinnet Nature Reserve, a colleague suggested to the Prince that the Balmoral estate had too many red deer. Sir Fred could see that this formal occasion was not the place for such a discussion. He calmly took his colleague aside with a tactful tug on the arm.

Sir Fred held numerous posts, including roles with Scottish Field Studies Association, Wildlife Scotland, the Scottish Civic Trust, Water Aid and as president of the British Trust for Ornithology

For over 20 years Sir Fred enjoyed a close association with the north east, living in Gosforth during the week and at his family home in Scotland at weekends.

He retained his resolve to the end despite severe illness. In a piece on The Importance of Memory, Sir Fred wrote: “Being confined to the house for the past year has been easier than expected. I looked after my hens, fed the wild birds and squirrels and grew my veg. I read many books unread up till then.”

He is survived by his wife Philippa and their son and daughter.