My friend Iain Reddish, who has died aged 72, had a
varied career in which he was a parliamentary aide, teacher, public relations
officer and sports executive before becoming an international environmental
lobbyist with Greenpeace for more than a decade and, up to retirement, European
lobbyist for Eurogroup for Animals.
Born
in Hampstead, north London, Iain was adopted by a Nottinghamshire couple, Enid
and Mowbray Reddish, and grew up in Woodthorpe, Nottinghamshire, where his
adoptive father worked as an engineer. He never shared his gay sexuality with his
parents. He read political sciences at
Durham University (1965-68) and attended the College of Europe in Bruges
(1970-71), He had a placement at the European Commission in Brussels and
visited the US on a Roosevelt scholarship.
After his studies he worked in
various jobs, including as a Liberal party parliamentary aide, teaching at a
school in Notting Hill, west London, and as a public relations officer for the
London borough of Richmond in the 1980s. We first met in the Islington Labour
party, campaigning during the 1992 election.
From 1986 to 1995 Iain was head
of international affairs at the British Sports Council, during which time he
went to the Olympics at Seoul (1988) and Barcelona (1992). He joined Greenpeace
in 1995, moving to its Amsterdam headquarters, and worked on various projects,
including the Save the Whale campaign. By the time he left in 2007, he had
visited 149 cities in 38 countries. His final role was as European coordinator
for Eurogroup for Animals, an organisation based in Brussels that seeks to
improve the treatment of animals in the European Union, a job he held until
retirement in 2012.
Passionate
about politics, Europe and the arts, Iain was angered and saddened by the
Brexit referendum result, and became a Dutch citizen in 2016. He loved France
and the country life of markets, art and food, and shared a house in Provence
with his friends Alesha and Fred for 20 years. He was tall, handsome and
wore bespoke colourful matching clothes and shoes. Iain supported artists by buying their work and his flat was
filled with interesting work. He
was an excellent host, throwing memorable 50th and 60th birthday parties in
Amsterdam.
Iain found and met his birth
mother in 1995 and enjoyed having new relatives. He is survived by his nephews,
Jo-Jo and Rupert.
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