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We are sad to share the unexpected news of the death of Dr James Gibson, our long-time friend and partner in the REED project. Jim died peacefully in his sleep on 27 February. The funeral will take place on Monday 26 March at 10.30am at Holy Cross Church, Church Lane, Bearsted, Maidstone ME14 4EE. The church is about 10 minutes' walk from Bearsted Station. It will be a burial with lunch to follow. An announcement about the funeral arrangements will be made in next week's editions of the Kent Messenger and Downs Mail. Jim Gibson received his B.A. in 1970 from Houghton College and his M.A. in 1974 and Ph.D. in 1976 from the University of Pennsylvania. He lectured in English literature and writing at Houghton College, before going to Kent on sabbatical leave in 1984 to begin researching the Kent dramatic records for REED. After settling permanently in Kent, he began work as part-time archivist in 1987 for The Rochester Bridge Trust, where he catalogued the bridge archive, helped write and edit the bridge history, Traffic and Politics, and designed the Trust?s first website. He also catalogued the records and wrote the histories of The New College of Cobham and the Walthamstow Almshouse and General Charities. For REED, Jim was a much-valued colleague and ongoing collaborator. His 3-volume Kent: Diocese of Canterbury (2002) was a remarkable achievement ? some said the size of the whole Kent project was an impossible task, but Jim, undaunted by the challenge, has been engaged in completing the Diocese of Rochester records in recent years. We will remember him with gratitude for his dedication to archival research, his meticulous editorial skills and his further contributions to our field in published essays and conference presentations. We will also recall with fondness his quiet dignity, his devotion to his two children and his generosity to others. If any of you have special memories of Jim, please share them with the Gibson family at 27 Pine Grove, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 - 2AJ. Or if preferred, you can e-mail me direct and I will compile memories from our REED network for his son Nick and daughter Rosie. Sally-Beth REED Director of Research/General Editor