Meirion Thomas spent all but a year or two of his professional career at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (formerly Armstrong, later King’s College, University of Durham) following army service in World War I. An account of his arrival there says his advent was quite an occasion because of his Oxbridge accent, his air of culture and sophistication, his beautiful manners and his military bearing. At the memorial service for him it was said: ‘Through all the talks about him there runs a note of admiration for the research worker, the teacher, the quintessential bachelor, the regular worshipper at the Cathedral or the Welsh Chapel, and for the least warlike of men with a good first war record.’ Meirion was a quiet, naturally friendly man with a twinkle in his eye and a fine sense of humour, but a persistent shyness gave him a somewhat aloof manner and he maintained a personal reticence which none of his colleagues fully penetrated. He was extremely thorough in all he did and brought to his work high ideals and a sense of duty acquired in youth. He set the highest of standards and his students regarded him with some degree of awe, but in after years many expressed their respect and affection for him and gratitude for the rigorous training he provided.
