David Warr
MyVision (Oxfordshire) is sad to learn of the death of David Warr at the age of 81 on 18th November 2024. For many years David John Hood Warr was a Trustee of MyVision, formerly Oxfordshire Association for the Blind, and, as its chairman until his retirement in 2019, he worked tirelessly during difficult times with four changes of director in as many years. The charity owes much to David’s insight, tenacity, and dedication, and all the team at Bradbury Lodge will greatly miss his contributions.
David studied architecture at Liverpool University during the 1960s where, as a member of the University Air Squadron, he qualified as a pilot and was invited to join the RAF but decided to continue with architecture. Early in his career as a chartered architect, he won an award for a social housing scheme in Liverpool.
In 1973 he joined, as a full partner, the Oxford Architects Partnership where he remained until his retirement in 2008. He joined at a time when computing applications in architectural design were in their infancy and David initiated Computer Aided Design (CAD) in the partnership.
Amongst his architectural work, David continued his interest in social housing schemes and worked on many projects for academic institutions such as several Oxford University Colleges, Cheltenham Ladies College, the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester, and Eton College. He received a special commendation for his work in refurbishing the Victorian Gothic interior of the Oxford Union Debating Chamber.
His interests were wide ranging. For many years he was a Trustee of the Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust where he was the quinquennial architect for the Trust and provided many popular lecture tours to Oxfordshire historic churches. He was also an active member of Abingdon Astronomical Society and excelled in his astro-photographic contributions.
He was a parish councillor for Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor and designed their Jubilee Sports Pavilion. As a resident of Kingston Bagpuize, he established a Silver Surfers’ Club for those in the village needing to get into the computer age. This was typical of David’s altruism; he was always willing to give freely of his time, expertise, and help for the benefit of others in need.
[Professor Adrian R Hill]
