Geoffrey RANS (Head of English,1954-59)

Geoffrey Rans came to West Leeds as head of English in succession to Oswald Harland in 1953. His previous post had been at Barnsley.

He appears in the staff photos for 1956 and 1959. Also as headmaster in the play Vice-Versa 1959.

Click here to read recollections of his time at West Leeds

Geoffrey Rans, became a professor of English at the University of Western Ontario He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and worked for his doctorate in the University of Leeds School of English. He has published articles on Saul Bellow, Milton, and other subjects, in various magazines English and American. He worked on on James Fenimore Cooper, and on American Puritan Writing.

Obituary Toronto Globe & Mail:

Geoffrey RANS
March 12, 1927-June 6, 2001. At home, surrounded by family and friends, of lung cancer. Beloved husband of Virginia Hung and the late Goldie (Wiener), father of Sara Catherine, London, Ont. and Martha Rachel, Vancouver, B.C. and friend to Leif and Davin Moore, Toronto.
Professor Emeritus, University of Western Ontario, Department of English, author of ; Edgar Allan Poe and ; Cooper's Leatherstocking Novels, a Secular Reading.

A gifted and dedicated teacher, Dr. Rans will be remembered vividly by the many students with whom he shared his love of American Literature. He was a founding member of The 20/20 Gallery in London, Ontario and a lifetime supporter of Canadian art and artists.