[Dialogue] Sir James Lindsay

[PSchrijnen at aol.com]

Dear Colleagues, 
With great sadness I write to inform you of the death  of Sir James Lindsay. 
He died last night at 11pm. Peggy was by his side. They  had recently 
celebrated the 60th anniversary of their first meeting  on 7th February 1947. He was 
91.  
By chance I took a chance to visit him yesterday, and  found that he was 
moved to the local hospital, because of breathing  difficulties.   While I was  
there he received the last rites and communion.  
Speaking was difficult for him, and yet, every other  word he said was one of 
gratitude, thank you, thank you. Or the single raised  finger to indicate: 
fine, ok. Did he need anything? ‘I am fine’, ‘I have  everything’. I told him 
of family events. And his response was a litany of  ‘amazing’, ‘well done’. 
I told him of Kanbay’s recent success: ‘fantastic’ he  said.  
Many of you will remember how he threw himself with  gusto at the IERD 
challenge. Without him, it would have been a very different  thing, if indeed we 
could have done it without him at all.   
I remember John Patterson’s words, when he honoured  Jim, probably in the 
summer of 1984. ‘All of us are no-bodies’ he said. ‘Not  Jim. Jim has 
accomplished things in the world.’ He was knighted for playing a  role in the connection 
between the Indian and British governments after the  Independence. He  
played key roles in various industry bodies and was managing director of Metal  Box 
in India. He taught international management and leadership at Henley and  
many other places. I remember him talking about a talk he was supposed to do in  
China. He had expected an audience of 20 or 30, but he found himself  
addressing an auditorium with several thousand people.  
Many of us had a chance to work and travel with him,  as he toured the planet 
tirelessly, gracefully to get support for the IERD, to  support our 
development efforts, to encourage us and many other development  initiatives.  
During the last 10 years, after his strokes, his mind  fragmented somewhat. 
You could see his mind trying to connect various parts, not  always succeeding. 
His spirit was fine, unbroken. His words were always  encouraging, words of 
gratitude, never a complaint. He was fine yesterday.   
He will be buried or cremated later this week in  Henley on Thames. 
A gracious death.  
Paul 
The address of Peggy is:   _PegLindsay at aol.com_ (mailto:PegLindsay at aol.com)   
or  
Christmas Cottage
Crowsley
Lower  Shiplake
RG9 3IT



   
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