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John Macvey died suddenly in the summer of 1990 of a heart attack, while on holiday in the USA. He had been a Council member of the BIS Scottish branch, and after publishing the books "Journey to Alpha Centauri" and "Alone in the Universe?", he became involved again during the Interstellar Project in 1967; his contribution is the basis of Chapter 3 of "Man and the Stars", and he also prompted me to take up research into the Long-Delayed Echo phenomenon, leading to the 'Epsilon Bootis affair' which he had me cover as an appendix to his own book, "Whispers from Space".
He represented ASTRA at his own expense at the launch of Apollo 15, lectured on it when he opened the society's new meeting rooms at Guthrie St., Hamilton, and brought back a great deal of technical material, which was featured in our 1971 International Space Exhibition and which he afterwards donated to the society. In 1976 he took part in some preliminary experiments when we were trying to commission the satellite tracking station, but then had to drop out due to ill-health.
At the same time John gave up his post as a research chemist and safety officer for ICI's Nobel Division in Ayrshire. But he continued as a writer, adding such titles as "Space Weapons, Space War" and "Interstellar Travel" to his list, though unfortunately his later books weren't published in the UK. He also continued as a well-known radio ham, and a member of the British Astronomical Association Variable Star Section, as well as studying for a degree in geology with the Open University. At the time of his death he was writing a book on the San Andreas Fault and was considering another on the Grand Canyon. Although he hadn't visited ASTRA for many years, for health reasons, he was still felt to be a loss.
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Date Last Modified: 31 07 1999
