Keble College will host a memorial service for former Warden Professor Dame Averil Cameron on Friday 12 June 2026 at 2pm. The service will be held in the college chapel to honour the life of the distinguished historian, who died on 7 April 2026 at the age of 86.
Dame Averil was a pioneering figure at the university, becoming the first woman to serve as Warden of Keble College in 1994. She held the position for 16 years until 2010. During her tenure, she also co-authored the college’s official history, Keble Past and Present, alongside history tutor Ian Archer.
Beyond her leadership at the college, she was a renowned academic who specialised in Late Antique and Byzantine history. Before returning to Oxford, she taught at King’s College London, where she founded the Centre for Hellenic Studies in 1989. Throughout her career, she received numerous honours, including the British Academy’s Kenyon Medal in 2020.
Her contributions to academia continued until her final years, including the publication of her memoir, Transitions: A Historian’s Memoir, in 2024. Her personal archive has been donated to the Bodleian Library.
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