My friend and colleague Geoffrey Woodward, who has died aged 79, did a great deal to enhance the profession of optometry. He was principal optometrist at Moorfields eye hospital (1976-87) and professor of optometry and visual science at City University, London (1987-99).
Geoff's wish to see members of the public protected in their dealings with optometrists and dispensing opticians led to his service on the General Optical Council (1977-2000). He was also concerned with how the profession should best be run, as a council member of the College of Optometrists (1980-98), with a year as president (1983-84).
Born in Leamington Spa, where his father was a chief inspector of police, Geoff was educated at Warwick school. He qualified in optometry at the Northampton Polytechnic (in London, where it is now part of City University) in 1956. Eight years later, following national service in Malaya, he set up a contact lens practice in Nottingham, while providing optometric services to the RAF hospital at Nocton Hall in Lincolnshire. His interest in contact lenses led on to a PhD on keratoconus, a condition in which the normal shape of the cornea is lost and in which contact lenses can often restore good vision, while spectacles generally cannot. He also played a big part in the development of standards for the solutions with which contact lenses are maintained, there having been none such previously, and became involved in early initiatives to secure the right to independent prescribing of drugs for suitably qualified optometrists.
Invitations came to take his expertise to Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and the Irish Republic, and he authored or co-authored more than 60 peer-reviewed scientific publications.
In the arts Geoff was a particular follower of Wagner and the writer Anthony Powell. For years Geoff and his wife, Elizabeth, owned a narrowboat, which allowed them to range freely over inland waterways and which became a second home. Latterly, they undertook tours on international cargo vessels, always accompanied by heaps of books.
A ready listener, Geoff was always helpful and generous, both to me and to many others. In conversation, his well-developed sense of humour was always near the surface.
He is survived by Elizabeth, his daughters Leonora and Ann Louise, and five grandchildren.