Alan J Child (English, 1973, County) has a number of family connections with Lancaster starting in the 1970s and continuing until 2017. Here he explains the various links across the years.

"I met my wife, Alison Reid, in the 1970s when we both read English. I graduated in 1973 and my wife in 1975. My cousin, Dennis Smith, began his degree in Religious Studies a year or two earlier and my sister, Janet Child, completed her degree in French and Latin a couple of years later.

The next family members to benefit from the Lancaster University experience were my daughter, Georgina Child, who read social work and topped the Child family tree graduating with a first class degree in 2008 and was awarded her postgraduate diploma in 2017, and her younger brother, Robert Child, who gained his degree in Business Management in 2009.

The family connection was then maintained when Adam Child, my oldest son and a University of York graduate, was appointed to the administrative team as Assistant Registrar in 2011.

My children’s careers have flourished with Georgina holding a senior post with Lancashire County Council and Robert in management with Mars in King’s Lynn. Adam has recently been appointed Academic Registrar at the University of Surrey.

My sister, Janet, emigrated to Australia in the late seventies and teaches in the secondary sector. My cousin Dennis continues his ministry at St Faith’s in Crosby after many years teaching at Merchant Taylors School.

Alison and I have been married for over forty years and are now in semi-retirement running our boarding kennels and cattery. Alison still contributes to adult education in Blackpool for a few hours each week. I put my LLM degree (awarded in 2012 from UCLAN at the age of 62!) to good effect providing employment law advice to a national charity.

The only flaw in this family connection is my son Simon, Adam’s younger twin, who chose his academic pathway to his doctorate via Durham and Manchester universities!"