In Memoriam: Allan Taylor, 14 November 1946 – 8 August 2024

We are sorry to announce that our Emeritus Fellow and former Bursar, Allan Taylor, passed away on 8 August following a stroke at the age of 77.

Allan took a degree in History from the University of Bristol. He briefly worked at the Post Office, before joining the Inland Revenue where he was an HM Inspector of Taxes for 18 years. He then worked at KPMG for 12 years as a Partner overseeing the work of several teams in its Tax Division. This role included advising several universities, one of which was Oxford, and it was this experience which led him to apply for the role of Bursar at St Antony’s.

Allan took up the position of Bursar in January 2001 and it is no exaggeration to say that in the following few years he turned around the college’s finances. Allan was also instrumental in reorganising the College’s administrative structures as well as designing and introducing the model of the Management Executive Team which is still in place today. When he retired in 2011 and was elected to an Emeritus Fellowship, the College’s finances, administration and management were almost certainly in their best shape since the College was founded in 1950. Allan’s legacy will be fully recorded in the official history which is being prepared for the College’s 75th anniversary in 2025.

On appointment, Allan, together with his wife Rosalind, moved to Hamilton Road in Summertown (a mini-St Antony’s ghetto at the time) and they threw themselves into Oxford life. Allan was a keen participant in college seminars, particularly those put on by the Parliamentary Visiting Fellows. On retirement, he took on various voluntary roles, including acting as a steward at Kelmscott Manor which he particularly enjoyed. Even after he and Rosalind moved back to Surrey to be nearer their children Allan continued to visit the college regularly to attend events.

Allan was a superb administrator. He was a hands-on manager who respected, and enjoyed the respect of, his team. He was a true champion of the student body and greatly improved the college facilities for them. He enjoyed interacting with the Fellows and academic visitors; he was genuinely interested in their work and extraordinarily tolerant of their foibles and occasional intransigence as he tried to introduce long-needed reforms. His stint as Bursar was transformational for the college.

Allan was a kind, thoughtful and generous colleague with a terrific sense of humour and the ability to get on with anyone from any walk of life. He will be much missed by all those who had the privilege to know him. Our thoughts are with Rosalind and the rest of the family at this very difficult time.

It is fitting that the College flag should fly at half-mast in Allan’s memory since this was an act that, when he was in office, he always oversaw himself.

Roger Goodman, Warden