Keith Woods died at home in Halton, near Lancaster, on 17 September 2005, after being diagnosed with cancer just a few weeks earlier.

Born in Lancaster in 1941, Keith lived in the Fylde district of Lancashire from 1947, attended Baines Grammar School, Poulton-le-Fylde, and from 1959 studied dentistry at Sheffield University.

Fellow students and staff soon came to appreciate his manual dexterity ... he had tremendous energy and enthusiasm.

Fellow students and staff soon came to appreciate his manual dexterity. In 1964 he was awarded the Gold Medal for Operative Dental Surgery and his BDS degree. After university, Keith became a Lancashire County Council School Dental Officer with special responsibility for the dental treatment of handicapped children. He undertook postgraduate study for the Diploma in Dental Public Health, MSc in Community Dentistry, and Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons. He held the post of NHS Consultant in Public Dental Health from 1993 until his retirement in 2001. Keith was a long-standing member of the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry. He took a special interest in the sequential National Surveys of Child and of Adult Dental Health and participated in a survey of dental health of North West prisoners. Seeing the growth and benefits of modern technology, he helped to develop computer software for the gathering and interpretation of oral health data.

Keith served as Chairman of the Lancaster and Morecambe Section of the British Dental Association in 1972/3 — becoming President of the North Western Branch in 1985/86. Keith had tremendous energy and enthusiasm. He filled his leisure time with a variety of interests — classical music and art, fine wines, cycling and photography — spending many productive hours in his delightful garden. He loved walking in the hills and mountains of Lancashire and Cumbria, but ornithology was his main interest and specialisation. He was a fully qualified bird ringer and National Monitoring Scheme regional representative for the British Trust for Ornithology. He contributed extensively to the accumulated data and knowledge of bird behaviour.

In 1965, Keith married Maria Biesaga, a fellow student at the dental school. He was devoted to their three children, Stephen, Joanna and Richard, and two grandchildren Padhraic and Emma. The family was able to enjoy their Ruby Wedding Anniversary celebrations in May of this year. Keith was much loved by the family and his many friends, respected and admired by colleagues, and will be sadly missed by all — as was witnessed by the large congregation at his funeral in Halton.