It is with great sadness that I learned of Wilson’s death. We had known each other since the early 1970s as fellow postgraduate students of Dan Bradley, first in Queen’s University, Belfast, and, soon after, in Imperial College, London. Wilson was a continual source of support and encouragement, and gave practical assistance during the closing stages of my PhD, when pulses from what was effectively the first femtosecond laser were being analysed and measured by his streak camera. I found Wilson to be a man of great integrity and energy who would give selflessly of his time and expertise. Life in London at that time was not all work, as we also shared a flat for almost six years until I moved to Glasgow in 1977. I have still great memories of the fun and laughter we enjoyed. My sincere condolences to Barbara and his family.