We regret to inform members that our senior Vice-President, Emeritus Professor Brian Kemp, BA, PhD, D Litt, FSA, FRHistS, died on Monday 12 August. Brian was a founding member of the Society, served on Council from 1985, was President 1991-1996, and thereafter as a Vice President until his death.  He continued to teach at the University of Reading until his death. We know him best for his publications on monuments, notably English Church Monuments (Batsford, 1980) and a booklet on Church Monuments, new edition (Shire Books, 2010), but his major publications also include editions of Reading Abbey Cartularies, 2 vols. (Royal Historical Society,1986-7); four volumes of Salisbury Episcopal Acta (British Academy, English Episcopal Acta, vols. 18-19, 36-37, 1999-2000, 2011); Twelfth-century English Archidiaconal and Vice-archidiaconal Acta (Canterbury and York Society, 2002) and at his death he was working on the episcopal acta of Jocelin of Wells, bishop of Bath (1206-42), and Roger of Salisbury, bishop of Bath and Wells (1244-47), for the British Academy. He was also active in many other areas, being member of the Council of The Canterbury and York Society, and of The Pipe Roll Society; member of the British Academy project committees on The Acta of Henry II, and on English Episcopal Acta. He was also President of The Friends of Reading Abbey; member of the Oxford Diocesan Advisory Committee for the Care of Churches; member of the Executive Committee of the Royal County of Berkshire Churches Trust; and a member of the Standing Conference on Archives of Berkshire Record Office. He will be greatly missed for his knowledge and wise counsel.

A fuller obituary will appear in our next Journal.