Harpenden's founder of TALC charity dies

A FAMILY is mourning the loss of a man who helped save the lives of children in developing countries by providing health information.

Professor David Morley of Eastmoor Park, Harpenden, died suddenly of a heart attack last Thursday, July 2.

The Emeritus Professor of Tropical Child Health, best known for starting up the St Albans-based charity TALC (Teaching-aids At Low Cost), leaves his widow Aileen, children Robin, Andy and Ruth and seven grandchildren.

His son Andy, who flew over from his home in America when he heard of his father's death, said: "My father believed in people helping people and that you could do that by keeping things very simple.

"This meant you could have St Albans housewives helping people in the developing world by working with TALC to get the information out there.

"Even though I lived in the States we were very close and he made a point of really talking and listening to my wife and children whenever we met so that we all had a bond with him."

Professor Morley began working in the field of child health in Nigeria in the 1950s. He was a medical teacher, a researcher and author of numerous books and papers on child health. His Paediatric Priorities in the Developing World became a medical workers' classic and is still widely read and quoted today. In recent years, Professor Morley was responsible for designing and developing low-cost simple health accessories and developed innovative medical kit from everyday objects - such as a flytrap, water purifier and asthma inhaler made from old plastic drink bottles.

He was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1998 along with a host of other honours too numerous to mention.

A Thanksgiving Service for family and close friends will be held at St John's Church, Harpenden, at 2.30pm next Tuesday, July 14.