We Met At King's - Behind the scenes of a romance to last the ages

Though Stuart and Roma broke up before their time at King's ended, an unexpected climbing accident brought the two back together again years later.

Stuart sadly passed away in 2024 at the age of 88. Here, Roma reflects on her life with Stuart, from carefree university days to a lifetime of adventures shared together.

Why King's?

If you wanted to study English in the 50s the obvious place to go was London for its theatres. I visited London in the early 50s from Suffolk (travelling by train through the bomb ravaged East End) and had loved the feeling of excitement, of renewal.

I must admit that my most vivid memory (though not very intellectual!) is of seeing Call Me Madam with Ethel Merman. A close second was Peggy Ashcroft as a sexy, uncorseted Cleopatra. John Osborne revolutionised drama with Look Back in Anger a few months before I came up.

Why King's and not UCL? I can't remember, although ironically my first accommodation was in Gordon Street overlooking the back gates of UCL.

A dramatic 'meet cute'

Stuart and I met during a rehearsal for some drama society play. He, as stage designer, was shinning down from the flies while wearing, as actor, a fetching pair of tights. I (silently) admired the legs, and he apologised for nearly knocking me over. We got together during the tour of Germany with The Lady's Not For Burning later in 1957.

My memories of being with Stuart at King's are mostly connected with parties; we were friends with other students in other years, mostly brought together by the drama society. Stuart and I were in different faculties so were together socially rather than when attending lectures. We had both moved on by 1958. Kings brought us each other but also brought lifelong friends.

Rekindling romance through the highs and lows

After graduating, I worked as an advertising copywriter in London. Meanwhile, Stuart had become a serious climber. While at Cambridge doing his PhD in 1961, he had an almost fatal accident on the Aiguille du Dru.

Barry Davis (English 1957) was the first to tell me (Barry became an admired television director after King’s, and sadly passed away after an accident in 1990). Then Bryan (BS) Johnson (English, 1959) asked me to visit Stuart to help cheer him up after he regained consciousness many weeks later.

It obviously worked, because during his recovery over the next few months we renewed our closeness. The years between had brought a new maturity and led to a richer relationship.

From London to Scotland and Sweden

Stuart and I got married in 1963 and moved to Sweden. Here, Stuart completed his PhD and then worked as a research scientist in Edinburgh until he was 80. He died peacefully in May 2024 from Parkinson’s Disease, just before our 61st wedding anniversary.

After having two daughters in the mid-60s, I qualified as an English teacher and worked full time, part-time and as a temp in and around Edinburgh. Scotland has become home but we were moulded by London and Kings.

Perhaps it’s old-fashioned, but I am most proud of our four beautiful, clever granddaughters. And I am least proud of the planet we are leaving them to cope with – a result in no small part (I’m afraid) of those carefree days in the 50s and 60s!

On behalf of King’s, we’d like to offer our condolences to Roma and her family, as we join them in paying tribute to Stuart. We will be featuring Stuart’s obituary in our upcoming edition of InTouch magazine.