Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Anthony (Tony) Haws was born in Sheffield on 23 October 1946. He attended King Edward VII School in Sheffield, and then Wadham College Oxford to study mathematics, with a special interest in probability and statistics, graduating in 1968. Tony met his wife Jackie at Oxford, where she studied English at St Anne’s College, and they were married in August 1969. After Oxford, Tony went to the University of Birmingham where he received a PhD in Operational Research in 1971. Tony’s PhD topic was on the allocation of emergency hospital admissions during periods of overloading. Until February 1972, Tony worked for the Birmingham Regional Hospital Board as OR manager, where his research findings were implemented. Some 20 years later Tony discovered, to his satisfaction, that the same basic approach was still in use. From 1972 to July 1974, Tony worked for the London Borough of Merton carrying out surveys of critically ill and disabled people, and also researching the provision of free local transport for the elderly. From 1974 to 1978, he worked in the Research and Intelligence Unit for South Yorkshire County Council, working mainly on environmental statistics, while investigating the introduction of free transport there too. From 1978 to 1980, Tony worked for the National Ports Authority studying UK port capacity. This was the first-ever systematic statistical study of UK ports. This work was extended to cover parts of Europe and the findings were presented to the European Commission. When the National Ports Authority was wound up in 1981, Tony moved to work for North West Gas in Altrincham. He progressed to be Head of Finance, and retired in 1996. While working for South Yorkshire and North West Gas, Tony also edited the journal of the Operational Research Society. Tony joined the Institute of Statisticians (IoS) in 1981 and became a member of the Council of the Institute in 1982. He was Deputy Honorary Secretary from 1987 to 1988, Honorary Secretary in 1989, and Chairman from 1990. From 1989 to 1991, Tony also edited The Statistician, the Institute’s journal. The idea of a merger of the Institute with the Royal Statistical Society had been raised on a number of occasions but had not made lasting progress, and the question was reopened during Tony’s Chairmanship. After much work, especially with David Rowe of the RSS and the RSS President Peter Moore, the IoS and the RSS finally merged on 01 January 1993. The success of the merger depended on balancing the interests and representation of members of the two bodies, and lengthy and careful discussions with the Privy Council relating to the RSS Royal Charter. The establishment of a single body to represent statisticians, and the creation of the Chartered Statistician qualification, did much to establish the professional status of statisticians. Successful conclusion of the merger was a notable achievement for all involved, one in which Tony played a decisive role. Tony and Peter Moore were jointly awarded the Chambers Medal in 1995 in recognition of their work. Tony also served as RSS Vice President and Honorary Secretary from 1992 to 1996 and held Chartered Statistician status. Alongside his successful professional career as a statistician, Tony felt an increasing call to church ministry. He started training for ordination at the Northern College in Manchester in 1994, and was ordained into the United Reformed Church in 1998. He gained a BA in Applied Theology from the University of Manchester in 1998 and an MA from the University of Newcastle in 2003. His first church was St Andrew’s Blackhill, Chester-le-Street, County Durham, and he moved to St Andrew’s church in Ealing in 2003 where he served until he retired from full-time ministry in October 2013. He was a much-loved and respected church minister, and he continued to be active in church ministry for as long as possible. Tony is survived by his wife Jackie, two daughters, Sarah and Rachael, and four grandchildren, Max, Tom, Mary, and Charlie.
Author: Richard Hackworth
Language: English
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funder: European Commission
OpenAlex ID: W4401877782