Dates

• Existence: 1916 - 1984

Biography

Frank Wild was educated at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Blackburn, and Downing College, Cambridge. After his graduation with a degree in Natural Sciences, Wild remained in Cambridge and obtained a Ph.D in 1940. During the latter part of the Second World War he worked on explosives for the Government and for the Ministry of Aircraft Production.

In 1945, Wild was appointed Research Chemist in the Faculty of Medicine. He also became a Fellow and Tutor of Downing College. Wild became the Senior Tutor of the College in 1950, a position he held for 15 years. He was made Deputy Registrary of the University in 1966. During this time Wild also served as a Syndic for the Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES) from 1964-1967.

In 1971 Dr Wild was sent by the university to intervene in a staffing dispute at UCLES. The following year he left the Deputy Registraty and was appointed Secretary of UCLES, a position he held until his retirement in September 1983. On his retirement from the Syndicate he was elected to an Honorary Fellowship of Downing College.

Dr Wild was twice married. In 1947 Wild and Daphne Patricia McKay Ohm married. Daphne died in 1955. Ten years later Wild and Janet Burchnall, an Assistant Secretary of UCLES, married after meeting on an overseas visit. They had one son, John. Dr Wild died on 19 December 1984. The Frank Wild Building, part of the Syndicate Buildings at 1 Hills Road, Cambridge, was named after him in 1985.

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