Aidan Hyland Lawes died in April this year, at the age of 54, after several years of suffering from heart problems. His career, at The National Archives and elsewhere, was marked by a wholehearted belief in making archival sources available as widely as possible, using both traditional methods and exploiting the potential of modern technology. To further this aim he exploited also his own knowledge of history and archives, which was both broad and deep. Aidan was educated first at Dame Allan's Boys' School, Newcastle upon Tyne. Always having a preference for the humanities, one school report described his maths homework as a 'dog's dinner': it was not surprising, therefore, that he went on to read history - gaining a First Class degree, at Keble College, Oxford.
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