In Memory of
Dr. Andy Johnson
Dr. Andy Johnson, a Principal Academic in the Psychology Department at Bournemouth University, sadly passed away on 11th September following a period of illness.
Andy was a much-respected colleague who was immensely popular amongst staff and students from BU and beyond. He completed his PhD in Experimental Psychology at Cardiff University in 2007, and worked at Coventry University as a lecturer before joining BU in 2012. Andy’s research examined modularity in short-term memory, where he made considerable theoretical contributions to the field and enjoyed many external collaborations. Andy was also Conference Secretary for the Experimental Psychology Society, and was instrumental in organising a meeting of the Society at BU in 2019.
Beyond his professional contributions it is difficult to put into words just how valued Andy was by everyone who knew him. As a colleague, he was always the person to lighten the room with a joke, and he was renowned for his sense of humour. At the same time, he was the first person to step up and support anyone who needed him, and the time and effort he spent with any student who crossed his path was nothing short of exemplary. His passion and dedication to his work, compassion for those around him, and his gentleness and generosity were just some of the qualities that Andy exuded to all. The Department of Psychology are honoured to have had Andy as a colleague, and for many it was an even greater privilege to call him a friend.
We have created this book so that colleagues, students and friends can share their thoughts and memories about Andy. This will then be printed and given to his family on behalf of us all. Thank you for your contributions.
Book Owner: Sarah Bate
Book Size:Â 200 Messages
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Becca Legg
Andy was my supervisor for my MRes and the start of my PhD. Some of my favourite memories are of us talking about our mutual love of Center Parcs and distain for the traffic around Wareham and Swanage in the summer! I always enjoyed Andy’s sense of humour, like how he told me to invest in good health insurance when I started having health issues a few months after his diagnosis. Unsurprisingly, Andy always prioritised checking how my health was in our meetings, despite his own situation, and selflessly continued to supervise my MRes and PhD. During the last conversation Andy and I had, I told him how grateful I was for his support and guidance and reminded him of our first meeting together. It was about a month after I had started my undergraduate degree, and I was really struggling with a particular assignment. We had to do a 5-minute presentation and the idea of standing in front of anyone and speaking was so terrifying that I was considering dropping out. I decided to speak to Andy (who was the unit lead) before I dropped out and setting up that meeting was probably one of the best decisions…
Angela Barton
I still cannot quite believe Andy has gone, I was so shocked to hear of him passing unaware he had not been well. It has taken me a long time to put pen to paper. I was a mature student in my 50’s embarking on a degree for the first time in 2018 and was very grateful for all the help Andy provided, he was so understanding. I consistently felt out of my depth among the younger students, trying to find my place. His words of wisdom always put my mind at rest as well as his wonderful sense of humour. His door was always open, knowing he was approachable made everything more bearable. I truly do not what else to say apart from the pain you must be feeling is unbearable. I am so so sorry for your loss wishing there was something I could do to help. Sending so much love and thinking of you all x…
Sine McDougall
I am sure many of us will remember “the Andy effect” – he managed to lighten and leaven moments when work was getting a bit much for everyone and make us laugh while being kind and self-effacing. While we had inevitably lost touch since I retired, he was often in my thoughts particularly when I heard about his illness. I had hoped against hope that he would be one of the very few who managed to get through this type of cancer – surely, if anyone could do it, Andy could? Unfortunately, that was not to be, but I am sure he will be remembered for a long time to come as someone who was greatly valued by all who knew him….
Nabil Hasshim
Andy started his lectureship at BU a few months after I started my PhD. From our first interaction (in the carpark where he was searching his car boot for a sandwich among what seemed to be a pile of camping gear – which he explained was there because he just moved to Dorset and was sleeping in a tent at the beach while looking for a place to live….?) I already got the impression that he was an amazing character. I frequently bumped into him along the corridors of Poole House, and they were always hilights of my day. Our interactions often involve me trying my best to come up with an even more outrageous reply to his witty and hilarious quips, updates on the current progress of his hunt for a replacement royal wedding mug (“unfortunately the princess met with an accident… it didn’t involve a Parisian tunnel this time”), and the latest research he was conducting (highlights include: “you know the Stroop task, and emotional Stroop? What about sexy Stroop?”, and describing a tactile memory task as “I bring the students into a small room, occlude their vision, and touch them…” ). A role-model to myself and…
Richard Stephens
Wow, shocked to learn that Andy has passed away. I met him at BPS Psychobiology conferences where we had in common having both researched cognitive effects of chewing gum. He also invited me to talk at Coventry Uni Psych Department, then, after he moved to Bournemouth, at a BPS Student conference down there. We last chatted at a virtual poster session during an EPS conference that was held online because of COVID. I really liked Andy and remember him as a warm and kind person who knew immediately how to put people at ease. He also had great instincts for choosing fascinating research topics. He will be in my thoughts. Condolences to his family and friends….
Chris Miles
Andy Johnson: A Personal Memoir. For Charlotte, Alex and Arabella. Part 1: The Easy Part I have had Andy’s memoir scripted in my head for some time now. But I seem to have a form of ‘output paralysis’ that is acting to inhibit me from putting finger to keyboard. This, I think, is because seeing the written word makes it scarily real-Andy really is no longer with us. Time for me to face reality-here goes. I first met Andy in October 2003 when he was a bright-eyed (and bright) final year undergraduate at Cardiff University. I never fully understood the School’s procedure for assigning final-year project students to members of staff, but as luck would have it, Andy was assigned to me. My habit in those days was to check each student’s academic profile, to see what I might reasonably expect. The first thing I noted was that Andy had transferred out of his Law studies at King’s in London after 18 months. Quite rightly, he had deduced that life in a grey suit was not for him. The second thing I noted was that Andy was an excellent undergraduate-1sts all the way, bar one minor blemish in…
Christina Howard
I shared an office with Andy while we were both finishing our PhDs in Cardiff back in 2007. He was an all round excellent human being. I remember fondly his talk to the PhD cohort on short term memory for olfactory stimuli – he’d embedded a sound file of a person loudly and inelegantly sniffing into the slides and didn’t miss a single opportunity to play it, whenever the term ‘odour’ was mentioned. Mostly I just remember him being a very kind, very clever and very funny man, he will be greatly missed. My sincerest condolences to his family….
Geoff Ward
Just heard about the sad passing of Andy Johnson. I had the privilege of being Andy’s External Examiner and I have followed his research ever since. I can’t believe that he has now gone; way too young. With deepest sympathy to his family and friends, — Geoff Ward…
Shannon Snell
Dr Andy Johnson was one of my lectures in first year psychology back in 2015. Andy was an incredible lecturer, full of knowledge that he combined with humour. I used to look forward to seeing his name on my timetable. Andy created a buzz of motivation among us. He could make anything exciting, even data collection and analysis. I remember actually being excited to start coursework and revise for exams on his content. It was the first time I went from being an average performing student to someone who got firsts in every test. This pattern followed me through to the rest of my degree. Andy made me realise I was more than capable when “given the right tools”. I would sit in the front row of his lectures every time, fully engaged with any content, waiting for the next joke. Not only was Andy an excellent teacher, he was also incredible supportive of any student who came to him. He always made time for everyone. Some of his lectures will stick with me forever. I use the wisdom learned from his seminars in every day work. I’m sure Andy’s family know this but he loved to talk…
Rachel Skinner
It turns out I met Andy the same year he started at BU, when I joined for my Undergrad. Whilst he wasn’t my official personal tutor (or whatever they were called back then), he was always approachable and gave great advice. He went onto take me on as a research assistant in my second year, where he was showing students risque images in an eye-tracker – being through the looking glass now I’m surprised that got through ethics. It was at this time I realised I would like to get into academia, mainly through how inspiring Andy was. He supervised my dissertation and handled my absolute chaos very well, and was always encouraging. From this he supervised my MRes, and took me to my first international conference where we were both presenting posters. Budapest was great, and it helped show me how presenting isn’t always so scary. A distinct memory from Budapest was when Geoff Ward was talking to me about my research, and a totally starstruck Andy comes running over to introduce himself as my supervisor. A less great memory from that trip was the drive home from the airport where I navigated Andy off the motorway somehow…
Emily Arden-Close
I met Andy very soon after I arrived in the department, as his office was next door to mine. I soon became aware of his dedication to his job in Induction week, where he provided a wealth of support to myself and the other personal tutors as well as the students. He was always willing to go the extra mile. I remember him driving me home (which was a detour from a long trip he had to make) after one open day. He was also extremely helpful, going above and beyond every time we worked together. He always individually congratulated everyone who was promoted, which made us feel valued. He is still remembered by many former BU undergraduates, even people who I have met many years since they taught him, at other universities. Teaching second year qualitative research methods, where students had to choose an interview topic, one group wanted to conduct interviews about how much they liked Andy! Through teaching together, I soon became aware of his sense of humour, which lightened many a difficult moment. After a challenging email exchange with someone else, I remember Andy saying to that person “It’s not long until Christmas” in September! …
Nicola Gregory
Andy was a genuinely rare and wonderful colleague. He was what every lecturer should aspire to be: dedicated, hugely intelligent yet completely understated, kind, generous to all and of course sharply witted (his laugh-out-loud emails brightened up many an otherwise dreary day). The students and staff admired him in equal measure. He had a real gift for making the job look effortless and for making it fun, even at times when it was far from it. He will be hugely missed by us all. I am so very sorry for your loss. Nicola….
Emmy van den Heuvel
I remember Andy mostly as my office roomie for about 1.5 years. I remember being a bit nervous about sharing an office with Andy, because I wasn’t sure I would understand his jokes. Most of his humour was probably lost on me without me realising, but we had such a great time. I was completely in awe with how he managed to be an inspiring teacher and supervisor to students, recognized expert in his field and active researcher, a funny and compassionate colleague, and still go home at a reasonable time to see his family. I was very aware of how lucky I was to have Andy as my mentor, and very grateful for the time we worked together. The memories that stand out to me are related to how he would always offer his help and support to me and others, even when just as stressed and overworked as everyone else. He would go the extra mile for colleagues, students and in everything he was involved with. I remember how much time he put into organising the EPS conference in Bournemouth, including the small details that made everyone smile, such as candyfloss and our very own rock. He…
Rachel Moseley
Andy was that truly rare thing – someone who put others before themselves. Someone who stood up for people who were vulnerable or being disenfranchised, unafraid to put himself in the firing line. Someone who tried to make things better for everyone rather than furthering his own agenda. He often performed “little” acts of kindness, which were not little at all in terms of their emotional significance, but which were done inobtrusively and without seeking recognition or commendment. These, again, often involved checking up on people who were struggling, reaching out and trying to help even though his own workload was unimaginably immense. He noticed those people, and tried to help. He performed so many thankless tasks while he was part of the Department of Psychology, and we are so much poorer without him. He was the warm heart of our community. Andy was the first year (L4) tutor for many years. This is an exceptionally challenging role, because every single year, you have to welcome literally hundreds of scared and excited teenagers who are away from home for the first time. You have to make them feel safe and looked after – essentially being a parent in absentia. It is…
Georgie Powell
Andy was such an inspiration to me early in my career and I very likely would not have had an academic career without him. I first met Andy as an undergraduate student – he was the charismatic and friendly PhD student whose experiments all the psychology undergraduates wanted to do. But I got to know him much better during a summer research placement with his PhD supervisor Chris. Andy was a perfect inspirational role-model for a budding researcher; intelligent, thoughtful, rigorous, creative, but also endlessly kind and patient with me. I loved helping Andy with his research so much that a year later I applied to do PhD, and here I am 15 years later still in academia. Reading these messages, it is clear how many others Andy inspired over the years, changing the course of their lives for the better. It is a wonderful legacy, under the most heartbreaking circumstances. …
