Wolfson College Record 2021

they did.
After my revelatory initiation into the College, I quickly settled down into the
homely and comfortable environment of No. 60. The ambience of this nineteenthcentury
house generated a feeling of relaxation and bonhomie, and it was a delight
to be there. In that marvellous small volume Wolfson College Oxford: The First Fifty
Years, under the section on 60 Banbury Road, the comment is made that the
relaxed atmosphere that the College prides itself on today is an important legacy
from those days.
Of course, as a scientist I spent most of my time in the lab, the Physical Chemistry
Laboratory in South Parks Road, but I could stroll to No. 60 in ten minutes or
so across the Parks for lunch or for a post-diurnal period of recuperation before
going home. The dining room was small, so it was inevitable that very soon one
got to know practically everyone, students and staff. And it wasn’t long before I
met my namesake.
Michael Hitchman and I got on very well, and exploring our respective heritages it
seemed that we had no familial link. What we did have in common, though, was
that we had both been given our second names from our fathers’ names, which
fortunately were not identical: I was L and he was A. The two Michael Hitchman
chemists could be distinguished. At least, we hoped so, but see below …
I have fond memories of those I met during my time at Wolfson. Amongst the
students there were those in particular whom I joined in forming the first Boat
Club, of which more later. And some of the Fellows whom I recall having interesting
discussions with were Michael Argyle, Michael Brock, Frank Jessup, Geoffrey Masefield
and Stuart McKerrow. But one for whom the memory is particularly vivid was Peter
Hulin. Roger Hausheer has given a delightful account of Peter’s erudition and unique
character in The First Fifty Years, but I would like to add a few personal reminiscences.
Peter could be smartly dressed when it was called for, but he often came into College
in what could only be described as builder’s clothes: a scruffy jacket, open-necked shirt
and baggy trousers, all of which were spattered with paint, plaster and cement dust.
He was very much involved in the renovation of his house south of Oxford and, as
he once said to me, he was often so absorbed in building that he did not notice the
approaching time for a lecture he had to give, and he just had to drop everything and
dash into town as he was. Interestingly, he named the house ‘Shalmaneser’s Palace’
after the Assyrian king whose inscriptions he studied for much of his scholarly life.
The original palace covered about five hectares and included more than two hundred
rooms, but Peter’s building efforts were not on quite such a grand scale.
I had the chance to see for myself the results of his DIY labours when I was
invited to his house one evening. There is no doubt he was a very accomplished
craftsman. The pièce de résistance was a huge weaving layout for the family model
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Memories