With great sadness I report the death of Dr George Redmonds, famed for his work on Yorkshire dialect, surnames and placenames. He died on Friday, aged 82. The funeral is at St. John's Church, Lepton, on Wednesday 29th August at 2 pm.
George gave a brilliant talk at David Hey's memorial conference in May: straight to the point, full of valuable insights, and perfectly timed. It was about using the evidence of many centuries to work out how place-names came about. Were people named after places, or places after people? The ideas will stay with me. In the same way, George has influenced and entertained many people.
George was a partner in the Yorkshire Historic Dictionary project, jointly involving the University of York and YAHS Record Series. In fact he was founding partner, as it is his lifetime's work on dialect that is being published in dictionary form. The project is well-advanced and his contribution is secure, currently being edited. It will serve as a lasting memorial to him, as well as to his friend David Hey.
There is more information about George's life in the Huddersfield Examiner.