Dr. John Springhall (1943-2015)

A friend of mine has just made me aware that Dr. John Springhall, who was a Reader in History at the University of Ulster, died suddenly last Sunday. Doing a search I found the following funeral notice:

August 23, 2015, (suddenly), at his home, 22 York Avenue, Portstewart, dearly-beloved son of Iris and the late Onslow and loving brother of Chris. A celebration for the life of John will take place in Wades Funeral Home, Coleraine on Friday at 1.00 p.m., followed by a private cremation. No flowers by request. Donations in lieu, if desired, by making cheques payable to Diabetes U.K., c/o Ms. Charlene Wade, 3 Upper Abbey Street, Coleraine, BT52 1BF. Lovingly remembered by all his family, colleagues and friends.

John and I were only occasional correspondents, but I found his work of huge interest as our preoccupations often coincided, whether it was Victorian-era story papers or the moral panic surrounding horror comics in the 1950s. I always thought of him as "one of us" as, unlike most academics who simply research by reading other academic papers, he actually did some coal face research into the subjects he wrote about.

John was born on September 24, 1943 and educated at Shene Grammar School. He studied history at the University of Sussex before working at the Record Office of the Greater London Council for a year before joining Lanchester Polytechnic (now Coventry University). In 1970 he joined the University of Ulster, where he remained until his retirement in 2004. As an author, he penned numerous academic papers and wrote or edited six books ranging from Decolonization Since 1945 to Youth, Popular Culture and Moral Panics. His most recent book was The Genesis of Mass Culture: Show Business Live in America, 1840 to 1940 (2008).

Obituarues: The Guardian (online 20 September 2015)