Farewell to the 'warm, energetic and good natured' Warwick University lecturer who did so much for the Leamington music scene

Tributes have been paid to Dr Iain Smith, a Warwick university lecturer who is remembered by his colleagues for his "warmth, energy and good nature" and for doing so much to help the Leamington music scene become successful and vibrant.

Iain, 82, died of a stroke on Tuesday December 7 leaving behind his three children Adrian, Milena and Stefan.

He also leaves behind four grandchildren - Elsa and Grace (twin daughters of Milena born in January 2007), and Olivia and Kamil (daughter and son of Stefan).

His wife Teresa Halikowska-Smith, to whom he was very happily married for more than 50 years, passed away - also of a stroke - in November 2020.

Iain was born in Yorkshire and further educated at Edingburgh University and Wisconsin - where he held a Fulbright Scholarship - as well as Oxford.

Between 1969 and 2006 he was a lecturer for the University of Warwick's history department.

His friend Professor Robin Okey has described Iain as "a colleague remarkable for his warmth, energy and good nature".

Prof Okey said: "He could express his views lucidly, indeed forcefully, on the wide variety of matters which engaged him without ever arousing personal rancour, a rare gift: I never heard him make a disparaging or sarcastic comment about anyone.

"He had attended a Quaker secondary school, though the family were not Quakers and in 1974 he spent a year in Vienna looking after the business of a Quaker institution there.

"He retained the traditional Quaker values of humanity and tolerance, if not the Quaker faith, throughout his life.

"Having opted for the humanities only after completing Science A levels, he was a resourceful and practical man with a very wide range of knowledge and skills, which he was always ready to use to benefit his friends and, of course, his students - he was an exceptional teacher, whose solicitous concern extended in many cases well beyond former students' years at Warwick.

"His marriage with Teresa, a prominent figure in the Polish community regionally and beyond, was a harmonious partnership of strong personalities in which each retained the best side of their respective national characters."

More about Iain's work at the university and further tributes from his colleagues can be found on the web page https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/news/iainsmith/Prof Okey said that, living in Leamington from 1975, Iain and Teresa had 'an all but open house for lovers of music, literature and discussion of all kinds'.

It was through this that he became friends with Richard Phillips who now runs the Leamington Music Society with his wife Veronica.

Following the demise of Warwick Arts Society at the end of 2005, Iain was one of a group of music lovers who realised that this could be the end of the monthly string quartet series at the Royal Pump Rooms in Leamington that had been working so well for the last dozen years or so.

After a series of meetings and with the determination of Richard and Veronica to keep the series going, a committee emerged and Iain agreed to be the chairman - a position he held with the society until 2016.

During its time with Iain as the chairman, the society put on almost 350 events and developed a thriving education programme.

Richard said: "Iain's knowledge and enthusiasm for chamber music was crucial to the success of the organization and the committee meetings were always positive, looking to ways in which Leamington Music could provide as varied and active a programme for music lovers, both locally and nationally, as audiences will travel for quality performances.

"He loved his music and was very knowledgeable about a range of genres, which extended to opera.

"He used to write crits after seeing operas and would vent his disapproval if the director had gone too far in the production. He loved talking to musicians and through Leamington Music, many came to stay with him and Teresa.

"In particular he enjoyed the company of the Czech pianist Martin Kasik and members of the Royal Quartet from Warsaw.

"He was a great fan of the Takacs Quartet and attended many of their London concerts and helped to bring them to Leamington too.

"This was just one of the many ways in which Iain contributed to the local music scene and he will be missed by us all."

Iain's family have said he was a very musical person who regularly played at home on the baby grand piano he inherited from his father until a sporting accident resulted in damage to the ligaments in his hand in middle-age, thus making playing painful.

They said: "Dad was a very lively and passionate family man who had a wide range of intellectual and cultural interests.

"He traveled extensively for his research (in South Africa) and throughout Europe on holiday and to visit family members (his late wife Teresa was Polish).

"He was passionate about Scotland (his father was Scottish and he had attended Edinburgh University) and it played a significant role in his imagination.

"As a family we spent many happy holidays in the Highlands and on the Hebrides, and he continued to go there virtually every year after we had grown up and left the family home.#

"He was a lively and active member of the Leamington community and felt lucky to live in a town like Leamington, which was so accessible and friendly. He was always willing to engage in discussion and lively debate and was a great letter writer.

"He enjoyed teaching as well as conducting research and his students often kept in touch with him after they had left university to embark on their careers.

He had a very rich cultural life, attending concerts and the theatre, and knew a lot about art.

A talk Iain gave about the Leamington artist Tessa Beaver, whose prints adorn the walls of his home, can be watched by clicking here.

Iain's funeral will take place at Oakley Wood Crematorium's North Chapel on Thursday December 30 at 11am.

The service will also be broadcast online at https://www.wesleymedia.co.uk/webcast-view

The pin to access this webcast is 540-8850.