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Professor John Hutt 1935-2017

Remembered by James Hartley and Keele colleagues.

21 February 2017

Professor Sidney John Hutt, holder of the 2nd Chair in Psychology at the University of Keele from 1973-1995, died on 9 January, 2017.

John initially studied psychology as an undergraduate at Manchester University (where he met his first wife, Corinne) and he then completed his national service at RAF Farnborough. He and Corinne then joined forces in Oxford (where he was a member of the faculty of the Experimental Psychology Department and a Fellow of St Catherine’s College) and together they embarked on research into childhood autism and play. 

John and Corinne joined the psychology department at the University of Keele in 1973, when he took up the second professorial appointment in psychology (after Ian Hunter). At Keele John and Corinne lead several large grant-funded research teams which resulted in numerous publications – chief among which were: Direct Observation and Measurement of Behaviour, Behaviour Studies in Psychiatry, Early Human Development, The Young Child at Home, and Play, Exploration and Learning.  Unfortunately Corinne died suddenly in 1978 and – largely as a consequence of this – John devoted the last fifteen years of his academic life mainly to teaching.

John was a keen footballer (he played for Wolverhampton Wanderers before going to Manchester University) and musician. His wit, talent and enthusiasm for psychology is already sorely missed.

John leaves behind two sons, Simon and Mathew, and 5 grandchildren – Samuel, Daniel, Bryony, Lily and Findlay.

Matthew is now a consultant clinical psychologist and so the good work continues.