Wilson was a remarkable scientist and exceptional person.  I enjoyed his conference talks and remember him coming to one of mine at CLEO Europe in 1994.  He was instrumental in my move to St Andrews in 2000, and his pioneering work on modelocked lasers was a very attractive aspect of the department.   It was an exciting time as he had just won the largest ever grant from EPRSC for the Ultrafast Photonics Collaboration.  Although it was not his field, he could see the potential of organic semiconductor research decades before these materials became part of our everyday lives and supported my work to develop them, including for medical applications.  He was always very happy to discuss any technical issue, grant idea or problem.  He was very incisive, whilst also being very  supportive and encouraging, thereby contributing not only to the scientific life of the department, but also its constructive atmosphere and culture.   He was a very engaging speaker, and in conversation gave his undivided attention to whoever he was talking to.  He is an irreplaceable colleague who will be sorely missed.