This is what should be a beautiful sweet gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) planted by Friends of New Walk at the entrance of the Oval public space to celebrate the life of one of our most distinguished Trustees, Dr Adrian Weston MBE (20. 2022). The tree has a lovely shape and a wonderful show of colour in its leaves in autumn. And thank you to Leicester City Council’s Dave Jones Trees & Woodlands Manager for making it possible so quickly and efficiently.
People will probably most remember Adrian as senior partner of the Harvey Ingram LLP (15 years ago the largest law firm in the Leicester, now part of Shakespeares) and a member of the Leicester University Council for 10 years. He was also, however, an all round good egg.
A Leicestershire native, educated at schools in Thringstone and Ratcliffe on the Wreake, he spent two years in the Royal Air Force as a Pilot Officer in Fighter Control, mostly in Germany, where the RAF played a central role in the Cold War. Deciding that his future career lay in law, he took a Masters in Jurisprudence at Queens College, Oxford where his lifelong enthusiasm for sport developed into a passion for hockey.
In 1958 he became an articled clerk with a Leicester firm of solicitors, Harvey Clarke & Adams, where he stayed for 41 years, eventually retiring as Senior Partner at what had by then become Harvey Ingram LLP.
He served as non-executive director of Atkinson Design Associates Ltd, Pensions Bank Ltd, Everards Brewery Ltd and Primalux Ltd and was a member of the RAF Club. He was a Governor of Leicester High School for Girls and Ratcliffe College, serving for seven years as Chairman of Governors at the latter.
A keen sportsman, he was a member of the Leicestershire Golf Club and Vice-President of the Leicestershire County Cricket Club. But his passion was always for hockey. He served as Captain and Secretary of the Leicestershire County Hockey Association in the 1960s and then as Vice-President for 34 years. He was also Vice-President of the Midland Counties Hockey Association and Executive Chairman of the English Hockey Association. In addition to all this, he served sequentially as Chairman of first Leicester Sports and Recreation Advisory Council and then Leicestershire Sports and Recreation Advisory Council.
In 2017 he generously commissioned and donated to the University the stainless steel sculpture ‘Adagio’ which stands in Centenary Square. The sculpture by John Sydney Carter, based around elements of brass musical instruments, was commissioned in memory of Adrian's wife Bridget, who passed away in 2014 and who had been a keen supporter of Sir Bob Burgess’ work to add sculptures to campus.
Adrian served as a Trustee of the Friends of New Walk for over 20 years. One of his main foci was the provision of works of art on the Walk. He was the driving force behind the Clicker, the Clothier and the Writers Pavement, securing both the sponsorship and the design. His last project was ‘the Nib’ to celebrate Leicester’s authors with a vertical feature in New Walk’s latest public space in front of Mattioli Woods offices. As Trustees we are currently working hard to deliver his final project.
