OXFORD University physicist, John Wells, who died at the age of 70, was a much-respected member of his north Oxford community and a keen disabled rights advocate.

Born in Essex, the elder of two brothers, he grew up in Leigh-on-Sea.

Following studying hard at Westcliff-High School for Boys he achieved 11 stunning O-levels and four grade A A-levels leading him to be the first in the family to go to university.

He studied Physics as an undergraduate at Hertford College, Oxford.

At Oxford, John made new, life-long friends and obtained a first at the end of his first year and as a result he was awarded a scholarship.

After graduating, he moved onto Wolfson College, obtaining a doctorate in particle physics.

John had two spells in London Colleges and one at Glasgow. He also worked at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, while building up associations with many Oxford colleges including Sommerville where he became a college lecturer.

Oxford Mail: John Wells, Oxford University physicist

When 21, John severely injured his back resulting in his first spinal operation. His treatment led to some contrast dye (Myodil, Iofendylate) being left in his back, causing arachnoiditis. Consequentially he lived with extreme pain and limited control over his legs.

By the age of 35 he had to take early retirement.

Understandably, he was very frustrated by the pain and became dependant on morphine.

John settled into a life of retirement, though he continued to supervise many Oxford physics students, which he loved doing.

He showed immense grit, courage, and determination to deal with his health issues and have as normal a life as he could.

He swam regularly and gained new interests including history and archaeology. He was an eccentric man with a large ‘O’ scale model railway, which he ran into his garden and through holes in internal walls between rooms.

His much-loved Siamese cats, and visitors were thoroughly entertained by this.

John was a very caring and kind person, who would go out of his way to help people with their problems.

He had multiple godchildren and was well-known in his neighbourhood, Sunnymead in north Oxford, especially following him chaining himself to a tree to stop it being cut down.

He was active in his work for disabled charities and relentlessly wrote to combat issues experienced by the disabled.

As John moved into his 60s, life became even more challenging. He developed sarcoidosis, an auto-immune disease. Sadly, this rendered him blind.

John passed away aged 70 on December 3, 2021.

A wonderful man, he is much missed by friends, neighbours and family including his brother Stephen, sister-in-law Sheida and niece Fiona.