George Philip Wells, 17 July 1901 - 27 September 1985

George Philip Wells was a scientist of a kind that is now unusual. He seems to have had little thought for building a scientific empire or becoming one of the establishment, but followed science simply to satisfy his curiosity and as an enrichment of experience for himself and others. He had an intellectual background extending to both the arts and the sciences. His famous father, whom he resembled in traits of character as well as in physical appearance, had devoted his life to promoting the idea that rationality and the application of science can transform the human lot, but the kindly and tolerant influence of his mother perhaps tempered the crusading approach that the son might have inherited from the father. He could have been a successful artist but from his early years he had an interest in living things and followed his parents’ footsteps to become a zoologist. As a scientist he added greatly to our knowledge and understanding of one kind of animal—in his own words he was ‘a one beast man’—but he drew from its study principles of wide biological application. He did not make any outstanding advance in approach or technique yet he was a superb communicator and his genial, unobtrusive, yet shrewd, guidance was of major importance in advancing experimental biology in the United Kingdom. He was a man of great kindness who enjoyed life and the sharing of his enjoyment with others. Everyone who knew him well remembers him with affection. To these, as to his family, he was known as Gip and it is this name that will be used in this memoir.