Bill Kellaway did a great service to historical scholarship in general, as well as to the history of London, during his 13 years as secretary and librarian of the Institute of Historical Research in London.
He used to show new readers around the library, remembered who they were, and often went for a cup of tea in the common room to talk with readers and make sure that they met others working in their field.
He had an encyclopedic knowledge of historians, young and old, and was the crucial moving spirit of the Anglo-American conferences that were then held every year and did much to strengthen the IHR’s role as a national centre for historical research.
