Tributes paid to Harper Adams alumnus who set up fellowship
Tributes have been paid to a Harper Adams University alumnus who helped set up a fellowship and made a mark on the agricultural industry.
Flags at the Harper Adams campus were flown at half mast on Monday, to mark the death of Peel Holroyd, a leading figure in the food production industry.
Mr Holroyd, who worked in both the poultry and pig industries after completing his studies at Harper Adams, died in December after a short illness.
Representatives of Harper Adams will be among the congregation at his funeral.
As a valued member of its alumni community, Mr Holroyd was made an honorary fellow of Harper Adams in 1989.
He was also instrumental in setting up the Temperton Fellowship, a long-standing fellowship marked at Harper Adams to commemorate the contribution of Dr Harold Temperton, director of the National Institute of Poultry Husbandry at the university from 1951 to 1974.
Current vice-chancellor of Harper Adams University, Professor Ken Sloan, paid tribute to Mr Holroyd.
He said: “The impact of Mr Holroyd on agriculture, the poultry and pig industries, and rural life in general, is reflected in his deep and ongoing connections to Harper Adams since graduating.
“Through the establishment and chairing of the Temperton Fellowship, the awardees of which are celebrated in a dedicated room on campus, and his being awarded an honorary fellowship of this institution, his distinguished career is being rightly acknowledged.”
A resident of Newbury, in Berkshire, Mr Holroyd was a friend and mentor to many in the industries he served, both in the UK and globally, whether working with major companies such as Marks and Spencer or providing his own independent consultancy across the total food chain.
