Terry Dawson obituary

  • The Guardian,
Terry Dawson
Terry Dawson

One of my oldest friends, and former husband, Terry Dawson, who has died aged 61, was living proof of the advantages of Britain's postwar policies of free education and healthcare, which enabled children from poorer families to realise their physical and mental potential. He was a structural engineer in the UK and later in south-east Asia, and advised younger engineers in developing economies around the world.

Born in Goole, East Yorkshire, the eldest of four children in a family of dockers, sea captains and railway workers, he became the first in his family to attend the local grammar school. He was in the army cadets at school and narrowly missed going to Sandhurst for officer training, arriving late for the interview after an extended hitchhiking weekend.

His mother insisted that he stay at school for A-levels, and in 1966 he won a place in the civil engineering department at Newcastle University. Terry gained one of the best degree results of his year, although he never appeared for early lectures and spent most of his time in the bar, at the cinema and rock concerts, reading science fiction and wandering around Victorian cemeteries.

Ove Arup consulting engineers had a small office in Newcastle, where Terry worked during holidays and eventually permanently, while studying for his professional qualification. He became the resident engineer at Eldon Square, the city's first modern shopping centre.

Terry had Viking looks and a wanderlust inherited from seafaring ancestors. In 1975, he was constructing water towers in Kuwait. Saline deficiency after a night-time concrete pour in the desert, a trip to Isfahan, Iran, during the dying days of the Shah, and hearing a BBC report on the incursion of Iraqi troops over the border were just a few of his adventures.

Later, he spent six months in Abu Dhabi as resident structural engineer on the city's first football stadium. In Hong Kong, he led one of the site teams reclaiming land for the construction of Sha Tin New Town. He also constructed bridges and highways connecting with the new Chek Lap Kok airport. In Thailand he was contracts manager on Bangkok's new underground. Terry tried to deal fairly with everyone on construction sites in rapidly developing countries, where safety and social security were unknown concepts and workers considered expendable.

He was a great traveller and chose Thailand for his early retirement. He played the guitar, enjoyed every imaginable land and water sport, and was a mine of information on modern literature, films and science. He had just completed building a house in the countryside when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. His second wife, Pim, survives him. His love, friendship, intelligence, humour and generosity will be greatly missed.

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