Prebendary Chris Curd writes:

I READ the obituary about Dr Roger Hurding (Gazette, 2 August) with both sadness and respect. I was a student at Bristol University when he was one of “our” doctors. He was universally held in the highest of regard.

The week before my finals, I came down with a flu-like illness, and the initial request for a doctor’s visit made by a friend on my landing was met with some uncertainty. When she came back with the message, “Dr Hurding’s coming!”, a cheer went along the corridor. I cannot remember what, if any, medication he dispensed, but I vividly remember to this day, more than 45 years later, the pastoral care and reassurance that he brought with him. He made me feel safe.

Within the last year I saw that a Roger Hurding was a friend of a friend on Facebook. The usual tentative query (“Are you the person who . . . ?”) was met by an affirmative, and I was glad to be able to exchange a greeting and thank him for what he did that day.