LIFE OF DR. LAURIE (Laurence) KAY

2 September 1935 – 11 December, 2022

Obituary written by his niece, Kay Murray

Laurie (also 'Lol') Kay was born in Droylsden, Manchester on the 2nd of September 1935 to James and Ada Kay. His father was a factory worker and his mother worked in a mill. He had an elder brother, James, who died in a tragic road accident aged 6, six years before Laurie was born. He also had a sister who he affectionately called Ede, short for Edith, who was ten years older than him, and looked after him in his younger years. He never forgot his humble beginnings and was very proud to come from a working class family.

In 1938 when Laurie was 3 the family moved to Swinton so his father could be closer to the battery factory where he worked. Their home in Swinton was a modest terraced house comprising two downstairs rooms, one of which was a kitchen, and two upstairs bedrooms. There was no bathroom and just an outside toilet. He had to share a bedroom with his sister.

Just around the corner from his home lived L. S. Lowry who was later to find fame as an artist. Laurie always spoke about playing at the back of his house with his friends and finding sketches and paintings Lowry had done on pieces of cardboard he'd put in his dustbin. If he only knew then that one day Lowry would become famous, and they would all have been worth a considerable amount of money now. Some years later, next door to Lowry lived Sir Ben Kingsley, (Krishna Bhanji) the famous actor, whose father was a local family doctor.

In 1939 just as the war began, Laurie started at Cromwell Road Infant and Junior school. He was thought to be well advanced in learning for his age and excelled at all the subjects he was taught. The headmaster of the Junior school was so impressed by his all round knowledge that he made provision for him to sit his 11 plus exam aged 10. He passed the exam and started at Eccles Grammar School a year before he should have done.

While at Eccles Grammar school Laurie excelled at physics and maths along with all the other subjects he was studying. Two of his peer group were Tony Simpson, who later changed his name to Tony Warren and was the creator of the long running soap opera Coronation Street, and Elgar Howarth, who became a well known brass band conductor and composer. Laurie also excelled at sport and played cricket and football for the school teams. He also played football for Lancashire School Boys. It was from here he was spotted by Manchester United scouts and played for their youth team alongside Duncan Edwards and Albert Scanlon, both of whom were later to become players on the Busby Babes team. Laurie passed all his GCE’s with excellent results, and studied Physics, Maths and Theoretical Mechanics at A level which he passed with top grades.

On learning about Laurie's death, Dr. Harry King, professor emeritus in exercise and nutritional sciences at San Diego University and a former pupil of Eccles Grammar School wrote:

I started at at Eccles Grammar School the very year Laurie left. It is a great measure of the respect that everyone had for him that I heard his name mentioned in revered terms for the whole seven years I was there. Pupils that knew him personally, and the teachers who taught him, always spoke so highly of him, both for his academic prowess and his athletic skills. The endearing qualities he had in his school years undoubtedly sustained him well in the long years that followed. I much regret that I never got the chance to meet him.

Laurie was accepted at Manchester University to study Physics on a special scholarship. Here, he was advised by his physics lecturer to stop playing football for Manchester United and concentrate on his career in physics as it would earn him far more money! Laurie excelled in his studies and was the only student in his year to gain a first class honours degree in Physics at Manchester University in 1956.

Laurie took up a temporary position at the University lecturing in Physics, and in 1959 became a Research Fellow. In 1961 he became an assistant lecturer there in Physics. While at Manchester University Laurie began playing tennis and squash on a regular basis and was a tennis and squash champion at his club. He carried on his love of tennis when he relocated to Canterbury and was a former Kent tennis champion playing both singles and doubles until he reached his early fifties.

When Laurie was 6 years old he began piano lessons. His sister Edith could play the piano, and he wanted to learn too. He passed all his grades and was a talented piano player by the time he was 12 and was able to play most tunes without sheet music. From being 14 Laurie stood in for the church organist when needed at his local church. Laurie also taught himself to play the clarinet and saxophone which he played in various bands while he was at university.

Laurie left Manchester University in 1964 to take up a position as Senior Scientific Officer at the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Laboratory at Culham, Berkshire, where he specialised in nuclear physics. While working there he gained his Ph. D. in Physics in 1965 and was approached by the American Government, who wanted him to be head of research at their laboratories in Texas. He decided not to take up their offer but applied for a new post of lecturer in nuclear physics at the University of Kent at Canterbury.

Once established as a lecturer at the university, Laurie became interested in beagling and joined the Blean Beagles, and eventually became Master of the Beagles. He had to know all the beagles by name and by sight, and there were around 30 of them at any one time. He said his hardest task was getting all the beagles into their correct kennels after they had been out, the dogs in one kennel and bitches in another, but sometimes this was easier said than done, so it was quite an ordeal for him at times.

Laurie became quite well known around the East Kent area as he played in various jazz groups. Being musically talented he played keyboards, saxophone and clarinet. He had his own jazz group, The Laurie Kay Trio, and he was also a member of the University of Kent Orchestra. In 1999 Laurie moved to live in Nottingham with his long term partner Thea. Thea had taken up a position as the Chair of Trent University's Christel de Haan Travel and Tourism Research Institute. Laurie also did some part time lecturing in physics there too. Sadly, Thea died in 2006 after a tragic accident whilst riding her horse. With no reason to stay in Nottingham, Laurie made plans to return to Canterbury where he had many more friends and colleagues. When he returned to there, he carried on his love of walking and mountain biking, especially along the Kent coastline, and was a regular cyclist along the Crab and Winkle pathway that stretched from Canterbury to Whitstable. Another of his interests was Scuba diving: He and Thea travelled around the world Scuba diving when they got the opportunity.

Sadly, three years ago Laurie was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and became a permanent resident at Littlebourne House Care Home in Littlebourne, Kent. He often played the piano in the lounge for the residents and their visitors and sometimes they would have a sing-a-long. In these years fe spent lots of his time outdoors, walking around the grounds or watching birds and any wildlife he happened to encounter. He loved chatting to the staff and taking coffee and biscuits with them. Laurie will be very sadly missed by everyone at Littlebourne where he received the best care possible that any family could have wished for. He was given love, respect, attention, and a great depth of understanding from all the staff. A perfect gentleman until the end.