Credit: Jane Moorhouse

Alex Inglis died on 3 September 2014 at the age of 77 following a brief illness. He was the last of a line of distinguished King's dental deans prior to the merger of the then King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry (KCSMD) and The United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas' (UMDS). Alex was not a King's graduate but was an Old Londoner and one of a significant group that moved from the London to King's. This group, who all became deans or heads of departments at King's, comprised Ian Gainsford, Alex Inglis (in 1979), Peta Smith, Barry Eley, John Langdon, David Davis and Newell Johnson. Alex was appointed Head of the Department of Restorative Dentistry in 1983 on the retirement of Ivan Curzon. He was appointed Dean of Dental Studies at King's for a period of 12 years from 1987 to 1998 when the merger with UMDS took place. At that stage Frank Ashley was the senior dean of the merged schools and became the first dean of the new Guy's, King's and St Thomas' Dental Institute (GKT). On Frank Ashley's death, Alex became dean of the merged schools and remained so until his retirement at which time he was the longest serving dental dean ever in the United Kingdom. His management style was based on charm, persuasion and loyalty and not on an autocratic style. His achievements were immense. He had staff working harmoniously on three sites, he established a very successful integrated five year GKT undergraduate programme, he introduced team training for undergraduates and was a champion of distance learning making King's one of the leaders in online learning. Perhaps most importantly of all he was able to balance the books during a very difficult phase in the evolution of King's College London Dental Institute.