Linda Crust (1936-2016) was a much valued member of SLHA and her sudden death in August was a shock to her many friends. Linda was much in demand as a speaker on local history topics, especially Methodist history; she was a model of clarity and clear diction.

She wrote many articles for Lincolnshire Life and was author of several books*. She suffered many setbacks in her personal life - deaths of two husbands, a fiancé and a son - but was always positive and sensitive to the needs of others.

* Fiery Proprietory of Sturton By Stow (1990)
Billy Paddison of Soloby - Methodist Farmer (2000)
Lincolnshire Almshouses: Nine Centuries of Charitable Housing (2002)
Ration Books and Rabbit Pie: Lincolnshire Folk Remember the War (SLHA, 2008)
Thomas Cooper: A Very Giant of a Man (2016)

Lincolnshire lost an experienced and knowledgeable local historian when Dr John R Ketteringham MBE died on 24 December at the age of 86. John was born in Alford and had been an active SLHA member for many years, making valuable contributions to the society's publications and website.

His special interest was church bells and bell-ringing and in 1990 he was awarded an M Phil from the University of Loughborough for his thesis The Use of Church Bells in the Diocese of Lincoln, 1536-1799. He wrote two substantial books about the church bells of his native county: Lincoln Cathedral: A History of the Bells, Bell Ringers and Bell Ringing (1987) and Lincolnshire Bells and Bellfounders (2000).

He was also the author of several popular books about men and women born in or associated with Lincolnshire, some famous, others relatively obscure.