Anyone who knew Dad, knew how big his heart was both in the love he gave and the work he did to support people, whether it be through mentoring at work or via the charity he set up EASST which for the best part of a decade has provided charitable grants for sport in Essex.

His family meant the world to him, especially his three grandchildren and his closeness and bond with them was immeasurable. As many of you are aware my son and Peter’s eldest grandson Finlay, was born with a rare genetic eye condition called Aniridia which meant that he has no iris and is moderately visually impaired. The condition is degenerative, in that many of those diagnosed lose their sight further or fully due to complications with glaucoma, keratopathy, cataracts and other retinal diseases. 

In 2016 we embarked on a research project with Moorfields Eye Hospital to find drugs which could prevent this deterioration. Dad was instrumental in this dream becoming a reality both in the time he gave to the project and by putting up a large proportion of the funding for the work. Over the last several years, the project has expanded and the ongoing work with Professor Collinson at Aberdeen University aims to take the most promising drug candidates from this and use sophisticated models to test and select those for further development, with the ultimate goal of providing a new drug for patients with this life altering condition.

Aniridia is a condition which effects just 1 in 100,000. Due to this low prevalence the funding that goes into researching drugs and therapy is almost non-existent and the small pockets of work that have been done have primarily been driven by families desperate to help their loved one see the world for just a bit longer. This was Dad’s and our aim and any contribution you could make would go some way to making that dream a reality.

With Huge Love Simon, Linley and Rachel