My friend Séan Godfrey, who has died aged 82, was generous, modest and kind; he was also shy, but displayed a rare warmth. He had an incredible range of knowledge and was an expert on war over the centuries, aviation, cats and the US. He loved blues and jazz. The great depth in which he could talk about his chosen subject would have made him a marvellous filibusterer. He competed internationally in Go, the ancient Chinese strategy game, and in the 1970s was a member of the London Go Centre.
Séan was born in London, the only child of Geraldine Godfrey (nee Bernal). He never knew his father, who was said to be Dermot Morrah, the Times royal correspondent of the time. Séan was educated at Summerhill school in Suffolk, then King Alfred's school in Hampstead, north London, where among his contemporaries were the jazz musician Chris Barber and my grandmother, Myra Gool, who became his lifelong friend.
Séan studied at Birkbeck College, London, where his uncle JD Bernal (known as "the sage of science") was a professor in the physics department. He later graduated in mathematics from Imperial College, London. He served in the second world war and then worked as a computer programmer for the National Coal Board. He retired in 1995.
Being in Séan's company, experiencing his dry humour, imagination and knowledge, you could be persuaded that to enjoy life you should immerse yourself in learning and reflection. He was also adventurous; cycling alone across parts of America, Greece and Spain. He was a longtime resident of Camden Town, north London, where he shared a house with his friend the actor Maggie Clifton.
He is survived by four cousins, Michael, Egan, Jane and Martin.
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