Abstract

Professor D H (Tim) Holt (1943-2022)
Tim Holt was a very special colleague to many, through his leading role in official statistics for half a century, most particularly in the United Kingdom, Canada, the Antipodes and Europe. His legacy will benefit future generations of statisticians. It has been a tremendous privilege of belonging to one of the generations that were able to get to know Tim not only from his written work, but through experiencing the kindness of him and his family. We all held Tim in the greatest regard professionally and as a colleague.

By the time of his retirement from his last major role as the Head of the UK Office for National Statistics, Tim had set in train an innovative 2001 population census, a radical expansion of methodology, and the groundwork for new statistical legislation. The Standards and Protocols of the new National Statistics charter were intended to bolster the 1922 Census Act and 1948 Statistics of Trade Act, until the politicians saw fit to replace it. I see the 2007 UK Statistics and Registration Service Act as the gradual culmination of Tim endeavours and foresight as RSS member, ONS Director and then Royal Statistical Society President. On his retirement from the ONS in 2000 Tim was made Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB). He then returned to a Chair in Social Statistics at the University of Southampton, later to become Emeritus Professor. After retiring from Southampton, he continued to be active within official statistics, through consultancy work and other activities such as chairing the UNSC Friends of Chair meetings on Statistical Indicators and the RSS National Statistics Working Party.

Tim completed a BSc in Mathematics and a PhD at the University of Exeter, before he set out on his long and distinguished career in official statistics, beginning in 1970 at Statistics Canada. In 1973 to take up a lectureship at the University of Southampton. He became Leverhulme Professor of Social Statistics, a post he held from 1980-1995, and was Deputy Vice Chancellor from 1990-1995. Tim was an important academic social statistician whose research and teaching influenced many people across the world. His interest spanned the methodological, operational and managerial foundations for trustworthy statistics. The collaboration between Tim Holt, Alistair Scott, Fred Smith, John Rao, Gad Nathan and Chris Skinner was long lasting and an enduring legac

Tim was someone whose integrity matched his intellect, which perhaps underpinned why his engagement in official statistics was able to be so wide ranging. I first met Tim in 1981, when he came to New Zealand for several months, and some two decades later followed Tim in his role at ONS.

I know that I can speak for all that knew Tim of the deep respect, admiration and affection which this little big man in statistics was held, and of the enduring friendship that Tim and his wife Jill provided to us. Tim’s death was soon after the death of Jill and then their son Dickon.