Robert G. Andry (1923–2014)

Professor Robert Andry had a multifaceted international career as a clinical and forensic psychologist.

Following active service in New Guinea in WWII, he completed his undergraduate and master’s degrees at Melbourne University. Upon graduation as a clinical psychologist with a special interest in forensic psychology, he held the position of Psychologist-in-Charge at the Melbourne Court clinic (1949–1953), alongside the post of Secretary (Victoria section) of the recently established Australian branch of the BPS.

In 1953 he moved to England to read for a PhD at the LSE under Hermann Mannheim, a leading criminologist. His thesis challenged John Bowlby’s theory of the mother–child relationship as being the main causal factor leading to delinquency, and his research suggested both parents played an influential role. His thesis was subsequently published under the title of Delinquency and Parental Pathology (Methuen, 1960). This was followed by The Short Term Prisoner in 1963 (Stevens & Son).

In London, he held a dual appointment as Lecturer in Psychology at the Institute of Education and as the Clinical Psychologist-in-Charge at St Thomas’ Hospital. He represented the AustralianBranch on the Council of the BPS and helped separate the APS from the BPS. While in the UK, Andry played a big part in setting up the British Association of Psychotherapists and acted as its Chairman between 1968 and 1973. He was also a Fellow of the Group Analytical Society. During this period he acted as a Consultant to UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the UN.

In the mid-1970s, Andry moved to take up a position as Professor at the University of Montreal with shared duties at McGill University. He acted twice as a UN Consultant to the Hong Kong Government to advise on setting up psychological and rehabilitation services in the Correctional Services Department. In 1982 he moved to a full-time post on the invitation of the Hong Kong government. This proved to be a fruitful period as he set about installing and overseeing all the psychological services and research projects, rehabilitation programs, staff training and administration. On his retirement from the Correctional Services, he was appointed a visiting Scholar in the Psychology Department of the Chinese University and an Honorary Professor to the Department of Criminology at the University of Hong Kong. When he finally retired, he came to live in Sydney.

In 2003 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia, for ‘Services to International Forensic and Clinical Psychology’.

Ann Andry
Woollahra, Sydney