Professor Peter Ambrose 1933 – 2012
Professor Peter Ambrose died peacefully on the morning of the 22st August. He had been struggling against cancer for several months. His condition deteriorated sharply resulting in a couple of falls in the night. The ambulance was called and he was made comfortable; but by the morning he had died.
Working with Peter was always both informative and fun. My last e-mail from him was on the 20th August. We had both read about a legal decision which showed the law to be more than the usual ass. We both love Gilbert and Sullivan and can quote chunks of the patter songs. I had sent him the first lines of the Lord Chancellor’s song from Iolanthe as a comment on that decision.
The law is the true embodiment of everything that’s excellent,
It has no kind of fault or flaw, and I Mi’Lords embody the Law.
Peter answered with the next lines; .
The constitutional guardian I of pretty young Wards in Chancery
All very agreeable girls and none are over the age of 21.
The email before that on the same day provided six horror stories about overcrowding in the London Private Rented sector which he had researched with London Citizens in 2009, which will be sent to the GLA review of the PR sector. He had finished drafting the Pro-Housing Alliance submission to the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards on the 17th August, which was sent on the 19th. On the 20th I had a final e-mail exchange with him giving advice about a note on the Commission which I was sent to Bishop of Durham who is a member.
We have on the Zacchaeus 2000 and the ProHousing Alliance websites a store of wisdom and information from Peter which will inform our work for years to come. It should never be forgotten that he foresaw the crash in 2008; his long standing foresight was included in the Zacchaeus 2000 Trust 2005 Memorandum to the Prime Minister on Unaffordable Housing; it was read by Tony Blair. All this important work on housing and health was done with love and out of profound concern about the impact of decades of dreadful or non-existent housing policy on the poorest citizens of the UK.
Rev Paul Nicolson, Chair
Zacchaeus 2000 Trust.
Member Pro-Housing Alliance.
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