Peter Roberts was IFRF Director for much of the period when Fred was most active in the IFRF, and recalls that Fred first became involved with the Research Station in the late 1970’s, when the staff of the IFRF Research Station cooperated with him and Imperial College London on the topic of coal characterisation. This resulted in the development of a new experimental rig at Imperial College. Using results from this rig and various IFRF trials in which detailed measurements were made in pulverised coal flames, Fred developed the coal flame modelling capability ultimately leading to the formation of the CINAR modelling business as an Imperial College spin-out.

Over the years, Fred was a regular visitor to the Research Station and participated actively in IFRF Technical Meetings. From 1989 to 1998, he became a Member of the IFRF Joint Committee advising the other Joint Committee members on the subject of Mathematical Modelling. A particularly important aspect of his cooperation was his supervision of IFRF Investigator John Smart in the preparation of his Ph.D. thesis, “The effect of Burner Scale and Coal Quality on Low NOx Burner Performance”, 1992.

He had a particular love of “well-worn” Land Rovers. He seemed to have two or three at any one time, one of which was road worthy and in use, whilst the other two were a source of spare parts. Those were the days when a Land Rover looked like it could live up to its name and Fred’s certainly did!

He was also an experienced transatlantic sailor. One of his stories related to a west to east crossing in which they were subjected to a series of westerly storms.  Due to heavy weather, it was impossible for them to plot their position.  They were simply being blown fast across the Atlantic with no precise knowledge as to where they were. Fred explained laconically that their worry was not that they would miss their landfall at the Scilly Isles but that they would actually crash into them! Of course, he had his own sailboat which didn’t surprise me. But one day I was working with Bjarne Hulden, setting up the new Finnish Flame research Committee and the inaugural Swedish-Finnish Flame days. Bjarne saw Fred’s name on a list and asked if I would ensure that he would be there. He particularly wanted to meet him. I agreed to ensure that Fred would be there; that was not a difficulty. So at dinner, the evening before the start of the Flame Days I ensured the Fred and I were seated with Bjarne. They were delighted to meet each other. But this was nothing to do with the meeting. It was actually because Fred’s sailboat was one of a series of famous boats built in a Scandinavian yard! That effectively eliminated me from the conversation between two sailors!

Former IFRF Investigator and Director Neil Fricker recollects that in recent years, Fred and his family had acquired a vineyard in the Beaujolais (Maison des Bulliats) producing an excellent Regnié Beaujolais Cru (one of the 10 Crus in the BJ). I was fortunate enough to visit him there several times to buy his wine and enjoy his company and that of his wife Helen. His two sons, Fred Jr and Toby, followed him into the energy business with Fred Jr working in Paris (for Air Liquide) and Toby with the IEA International Centre for Sustainable Carbon (previously the Clean Coal Centre) in London and currently with the Clean Air Task Force.

Former IFRF Investigator Jean -Bernard Michel also pays tribute to Fred Lockwood: It was with great sadness that my wife Barbara and I learned the sad news of Fred Lockwood’s passing. I had known Fred since my early days as a researcher at the IFRF in 1976, when he was my mentor. At that time, he was a prominent member of the UK Flame Research Committee and also led the IFRF Heat Transfer Panel. Fred is the author of numerous papers and two book chapters on combustion and flame modelling with many different fuels, including sewage sludge, heavy fuel oil, coal, and combustion systems (boilers, furnaces, kilns, turbines…) and all types of processes such as heat-transfer, pollutant emissions etc. His modelling works were applied to other disciplines than combustion, such as sea water desalination. He co-authored a paper and book chapter with Brian Spalding on turbulent mixing in a cylindrical furnace[1].

After I left IFRF, I kept in touch with him. We did not have e-mail at the time, but we met at IFRF events and the Clean Air Conferences. Fred and his colleagues had developed a CFD model of coal flames, based on their earlier work at Imperial College and he was working on applications of the code to model cement kiln flames. The work was funded by the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB), Blue Circle Industries and the British Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC). Fred used the experimental results of the so-called “Long Coal Flames” trials I had conducted as principal investigator and he found that his model matched the detailed temperature and gas concentration profiles I had measured in the IFRF kiln quite well. I was very lucky, as at the time I was preparing a doctoral thesis in engineering at the University of Valenciennes (F). He was very helpful in providing me with CFD results and graphs, which I was able to include and comment on in my thesis.

After his retirement, his wife Helen and I met several times at his home, Maison des Bulliats, in Beaujolais, where he produced Grand Cru Régnié Beaujolais red wine using the traditional method. He also visited us at Monsols, our home in the Beaujolais region. We spent some very pleasant moments together, discussing our past experiences. I admired him and will remember him as a kind, humble person, eager to help and support others.

And on the link to the CEGB, former CEGB researcher Ken Matthews adds – I got to know Fred quite well through the IFRF and BFRC and also through working together on mathematical modelling of flames.  He was a great inspiration with his quiet manner, but also his insightful understanding of flame processes. He will be missed by the combustion fraternity, but also by his Canadian family.  He told me that he returned to visit whenever he could when he was in Canada.

Former Director of Research at the IFRF Research Station, Roman Weber, recalls after receiving “this very, very sad news, that Fred was a great supporter of the IFRF, and a friend to many of us. Last time I saw him, it was more than ten years ago in Portugal at a Clean Air Conference. This was a conference at which he took farewell to his last scientific duties. The Portuguese group was always very fond of Fred who supervised in London many Ph.D candidates from Portugal”.  

A last word from Peter Roberts: A major facet of Fred’s work was his “hand’s on” approach to life. This facet seemed to permeate all his activities. Fred was widely known throughout the IFRF membership, not only for his scientific achievements and his good humour but for his willingness to contribute valuable advice and to participate. He is already sorely missed.

[1] F.C. Lockwood, F.M. El-Mahallawy, D.B. Spalding, An experimental and theoretical investigation of turbulent mixing in a cylindrical furnace, Combustion and Flame, Volume 23, Issue 3, 1974, Pages 283-293, ISSN 0010-2180, https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-2180(74)90110-2. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0010218074901102)

Also published in https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-030937-8.50015-5