In memory of Elliot Charles Gordon Pinhey (10 July 1910 – 7 May 1999)

All dragonfly enthusiasts will have been greatly saddened to learn that Dr Elliot Pinhey died on 7 May 1999, at the age of 88. He was truly one of the masters of Old World odonatology; his scientific contributions will surely be judged by posterity to have been as important as those ofRis, Fraser, Lieftinck and Asahina. As he had lived so long, many of his generation have now passed on and he had little contact with other enthusiasts for almost the last ten years of his life. I only met him once, when we invited him to talk to the British Dragonfly Society in Leeds about his experiences with African Odonata. He was a most humble, likeable and interesting speaker, and I remember him well for his infectious love of both Africa and African people, as well as for the enthusiasm we all shared for dragonflies. I offer this small contribution with considerable trepidation as I scarcely knew him and I have only been working on African Odonata for a few years, but I found his work to be incredibly accessible and helpful when I was starting out to study African dragonflies, and I would like to express my thanks for the life of such a talented man.