Imperial romance

We’re compiling the stories of the many couples who met while they were studying at the College to include in the February edition of the e-bulletin and on the alumni website

Maybe your eyes first met across a crowded laboratory, or you danced the night away in the Union; however you and your partner met, if you’re both Imperial alumni we’d like to hear from you. Inspired by the story of Nigel and Julia Kelland, below, we’re compiling the stories of the many couples who met while they were studying at the College to include in the February edition of the e-bulletin and on the alumni website.

The Alumni Reunion proved an opportune occasion for Nigel Kelland and his wife Julia to return to the place where they met and fell in love over 40 years before. Nigel arrived at Imperial in 1962 as a DIC student in the Department of Applied Geophysics, and stayed on to complete an MSc.

He explains: “Some months after the start of my DIC course a young lady, Julia Childs, joined the Department, first working as a technician for Professor Mason, eventually becoming the departmental secretary. She was in strong demand by PhD and MSc students throughout the RSM for both typing and printing theses, and preparing the associated maps and figures.

“As the only available young lady in the RSM, Julia was in even stronger demand as a female partner at dances and visits to the theatre and cinema.”

Matters came to a head as the annual RSM Christmas Ball, when Nigel, elected as President of the Geophysics Society, considered it his prerogative to be accompanied to the event by the Department’s star attraction! He smiles: “That was it, romance quickly blossomed, and we married in January 1967 at a ceremony attended by a large contingent of RSM students!”

Send the stories of how you and your beloved got together to the Alumni Relations team at alumni@imperial.ac.uk. Please include the full names of you and your other half, and if you have it to hand, your alumni membership number in your email.