Mr Gerald R. Underwood (Chemistry 1939, DIC 1941)

Provided by Professor S.R. Underwood

Gerald Richard Underwood was born on Christmas Day 1920.  He joined Imperial College as a BSc student at the beginning of the second world war studying chemical engineering.  Perhaps not unusually for the time he obtained a first class degree in two years and went immediately into industry manufacturing ethylene glycol for aircraft radiators.  He remained an ICI man for life gaining experience in dyestuffs, petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals finally retiring at the age of 58 from the board of what was then ICI Pharmaceuticals.

He was a gregarious man with an easy personality and a good host.  His love of fine wine and food made many a social event.  He was a bridge player of national standard and he also loved reading, crosswords and fishing.  Sadly, in 1996 he suffered a haemorrhagic stroke after starting warfarin for an irregular heart beat and this robbed him of the ability to enjoy some of the finer things in life, although never food or wine. 

After the death of his wife Catherine he moved to London to be close to his children and he had a quiet but fulfilled life until suffering a further stroke in April 2009.  He is fondly remembered by Janet and Richard and his six grandchildren, and the Underwood name continues at Imperial through his son (National Heart & Lung  Institute, Royal Brompton Hospital).