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See Newsletter 2002 for further obituary
"With the untimely and totally unexpected death of George Hamlyn the
Patent Office has lost probably its best known ambassador and certainly its best
loved one." So said Ted Blake, one time head of Publicity at the Patent
Office with whom George built up the Patent Office Road Show over the last
twenty years.
George had a wonderful talent for making the whole subject of intellectual
property come alive, and managed to convey a freshness and an enthusiasm to
every audience (he made a similar presentation to around 2000 audiences in the
UK and abroad,) no matter how many times he recounted any particular story or
theme. (He even gave a very amusing version of this talk at one OC dinner)
It is difficult to pin down the origins of his talent; public school education
in Dorset plus a degree from Edinburgh University produced a very definite style
of charm, courtesy and humour. It was impossible to get angry with George,
because he always apologised in such an endearing way for errors of omission or
organisation. For George was disorganised and could cause immense frustration
around him as his office struggled with his diaries which were never
co-ordinated, or were just plain lost, along with several mobile phones and
memorably a complete box of slides lost whilst en route by train. There was a
time when he phoned from a taxi in Retford. "I don't know where I am going,
I left the papers behind".
Yet when it came to organising darts matches, cricket tours and dinners George
had a great talent.
A keen sportsman in his younger days - his prowess at all sports at Clayesmore
is legendary, - he played squash in the Cambridgeshire league, cricket for
everyone (a Cormorant stalwart for many seasons) and table tennis for the Patent
Office.
As one of his colleagues said. "There was not a single ounce of malice in the man" and that showed in his dealing with everyone, and though always short of funds, he was always generous and reliable to friends. Somehow despite seemingly insurmountable problems which involved caring for family members in three different and widely dispersed locations, he always had a cheery smile and a greeting whenever you met up with him. You always felt better for having had a chat with George
(This is an edited version of the obituary which originally appeared in both the Patent Office Magazine and the CIPA Journal)
See Newsletter 2002 for further obituary