For readers who may not be familiar with the ethos of the ISVR it may be compared to a closely knit community that is so immensely proud of its self achieved success that it will fight tenaciously to retain it’s freedom and independence.

This inbred competitive nature has resulted in academic staff being very successful at gaining external financial support over the whole range of sound and vibration topics ranging from signal processing to medico-legal. These topic-centred wide ranging interests have generated a very confident and friendly atmosphere within which to work, and it was interesting to note how easily Eric Zepler fitted into this ethos which appears to have been present in the ISVR from the moment of its inception.

He was very personable with an endearingly dry sense of humour. I recall an incident that amused him greatly in the days when one car key fitted all. Having driven his green Triumph Herald car home for lunch he remarked to Laura his wife that he must get it looked at by the garage as it felt strange. She investigated the situation and was quick to point out that it was not his car and that he had better return it immediately to the University and come home with the right one. To play bridge with him was a cherished experience.

Although he was a hard taskmaster he tempered justice with mercy, as is reflected in the comments of one of his successful PhD students who wrote, after Sophocles, ‘This is the end of tears: No more lament’. The comments of others of his past students give testimony to his warmth as a person and to the value which was placed on his judgement. It is fitting to quote two examples by Professors Roger Thornton and M J Griffin.