Exeter mourns the death of Emeritus Fellow and alumnus David Vaisey CBE

It is with great sadness that we announce that Emeritus Fellow and alumnus David Vaisey CBE died on Wednesday the 8th of January 2025.

David was one of Exeter College’s most loyal and distinguished old members. Born and bred in Gloucestershire and educated on a scholarship at Rendcomb College, near Cirencester, he came up to Exeter in 1956 to read Modern History, after two years’ national service in the Gloucestershire Regiment and the King’s African Rifles. His father was a gardener. After graduating in 1959, he began a long career in the world of archives, libraries, and manuscripts, first as an archivist in Staffordshire and then, from 1963, at the Bodleian, where he was to spend the rest of his working life. In 1975 he was promoted to the leading post of Keeper of Western Manuscripts, which he held until his appointment in 1986 as Bodley’s Librarian, one of the most prestigious and respected roles in the library world. He remained as Bodley’s Librarian until his retirement in 1996. He had been elected to a Fellowship at Exeter in 1975 and remained as Emeritus Fellow after his retirement. In 2013 he was made a Distinguished Friend of Oxford in recognition of his support of the Bodleian Library. He was a notable scholar, writing widely particularly on local history and on early modern social history, and partnering John Betjeman with a book on Oxford shops and shopping.

David was a large and bonhomous figure, good humoured, witty, fond of sport (he was a notable runner), and widely respected and liked. He was an excellent speaker, much in demand as a lecturer and more than once as a guest lecturer on the Queen Elizabeth II (QE2) passenger ship. He and his wife Maureen (‘Mo’) were familiar figures at College social events, and David was often able to give invaluable help and advice to the College on matters such as library policy and on the cataloguing of the College’s manuscripts. His later years were marred by illness and, sadly, the College saw little of him; but those who knew him will not quickly forget him.

David Vaisey, CBE, MA Oxf, FRHS, FSA, 1935 – 2025