My brother, Donald Harris, who has died aged 90, had a quietly distinguished career as a historian.
He was born in East Ham, east London, the elder child of Charles, an accountant, and Margaret, a teacher. Our parents moved to north London in 1929, and we attended St John’s primary, North Finchley, an old-fashioned church school, where scripture and the three Rs were hammered in daily.
At 11, Donald became the second boy from the school to win a scholarship to Haberdashers’ Aske’s school, then in Hampstead. Seven years later, another scholarship took him to St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, where, after a career interrupted by second world war service with the RAF, he obtained a first- class degree in history.
His war service took him first to Canada for training and then, as a qualified navigator, to Malaya, where he was deeply moved when helping to bring home the survivors of the Japanese PoW camps. After graduating, he began a teaching career, mostly in Canada, but including a four-year spell back in Malaya. During these years he began writing articles that were published in newspapers and historical journals.
In 1977 he returned to the UK and settled in Shrewsbury, where he had taken the post of head of history at Meole Brace school. Two years later, he was joined by his new wife, Iris; they had met as teenagers and became unofficially engaged but the fortunes of war had taken them on differing paths.
They had more than 30 years together there, sharing their delight in music and gardening. They joined a choir, and also the local historical society. Here members were encouraged to undertake their own research projects. Donald had discovered that a family from Shropshire had sailed on the Mayflower and he became so interested in their story that he dug deeper. When a friend remarked that he had amassed enough material for a doctoral thesis, Donald took the hint, signed up with Birmingham University and at the age of 74 was awarded his PhD.
Donald is survived by Iris, his stepson, Kim, two step-granddaughters, and also by me, my son, Michael, and daughter, Margaret.
