Sandy Mitchell passed away peacefully on Friday 28 June at St Monica's Nursing Home in Bristol. Sandy had been bravely fighting cancer for the last three years but had continued to remain actively involved in teaching until only months before his death, at the age of 83, when he became too weak to continue.

Sandy was an apprentice with A V Roe & Co Ltd, an aircraft manufacturer in Manchester, before completing a BSc and MSc in Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Bristol in 1962 and 1966 respectively. He subsequently enjoyed a long and successful career with Rolls-Royce at the Filton site for close to 30 years, where he worked as a member of the Advanced Projects Group, eventually being appointed as Chief of Advanced Propulsion Systems Engineering in 1987.     

Sandy rejoined the Department of Aerospace Engineering in 1994 and, despite lecturing being a second career, played a leading role in the teaching and development of our aerospace programmes for the last 30 years. He ran and contributed to many of the programmes' core propulsion and aircraft design teaching units. This included the flagship aircraft design project, which students undertake with industrial partners such as Airbus, and which has always been a highlight of their learning experience. Sandy was an inspiring lecturer and all the students he taught have very fond memories of the way he brought his teaching to life with anecdotes from his time in industry and his unrivalled knowledge of aerospace history.

Alongside these teaching activities, Sandy also played a vital part in the successful running of the department and its links with both industry and the wider academic community. He undertook roles such as Deputy Head of Department, Admissions Tutor and Examinations Officer, as well as being a key member of the Industrial Advisory Board. Sandy also took over the organisation of the Department's Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Conferences in 1995, which he ran successfully on an annual basis until 2012. In addition, he helped to initiate and run several collaborative activities with the Royal Aeronautical Society and the Western Aerospace Centre, such as annual talks and prizes for students.

In order to help increase the Aerospace Department's impact on industry, Sandy became heavily involved with an Integrated Graduate Development Scheme (IGDS), a modular Master's programme run in conjunction with the University of West of England (UWE) and the University of Bath. This was aimed at engineers working in industry and later became known as the CPDA (Continuing Professional Development in Aerospace), run by Bristol and UWE. As well as contributing to the successful running of this programme, Sandy also created and contributed to many of its teaching units. 

Alongside his tremendous contributions to both Rolls-Royce and the Aerospace Department, Sandy was also awarded a British Empire Medal in the 2024 New Year's Honours list for his decades of service to Bristol sport. He was a talented rugby player, and after playing for Churchill Hall whilst at University, later went on to play for Bristol Saracens. He served from 1974 as Secretary, Chairman and subsequently President of the Bristol & District Rugby Football Combination, which represents over 50 local rugby clubs, and worked tirelessly to mentor and encourage new volunteers. He was also a member of the Gloucestershire Rugby Football Union (GRFU), which represents over 80 rugby clubs, from 1982 until 2014, serving in many capacities before ultimately becoming President. Although Sandy’s main passion was always rugby, he supported a much wider range of sports, including leading the development of a community sports ground at Lockleaze, Bristol, through his role as Chairman of the Trustees. Thanks to Sandy’s efforts over a 10-year period, what began as a group of football and rugby pitches with outdated changing facilities was transformed into a modern, multipurpose sporting facility, which attracts up to 3,000 local residents per week from all walks of life.

In addition to these many achievements, Sandy was an incredibly kind and caring man who was always at the heart of the Aerospace Department's close-knit community. He was much loved by all his colleagues and the thousands of students he interacted with, many of whom chose Bristol after meeting Sandy on an Open Day and seeing his passion for the Aerospace Engineering course. Sandy will be very sorely missed by everyone who knew him but has left a lasting legacy in aerospace teaching at Bristol that will always be remembered.