The Journey...

In the early hours of Monday 13th May an aircraft touched down at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshireand the fi nal chapter in a story of courage and determination began.On Monday 15th April Terry Croft the Departmental Manager in Sheffi eld's UniversityDepartment of Animal and Plant Sciences was watching the evening news on Channel 4. hewatched in horror along with millions of other viewers the terrible scenes as hundreds ofthousands of people fl ed from Northern Iraq into the mountains.He then saw a face he recognized as a former student in his Dearment. Dr. Riadh Francis andhis family were interviewed and demonstrated their plight by saying they have not eaten forthree days!As soon as the interview was over Terry Croft set out determined to rescue Dr. Francis and hisfamily. He contacted the Royal Society who had awarded Dr. Francis a prestigious postdoctoralfellowship to come back to Sheffi eld in October this year. Stephen Cox of the Royal Societyteamed up with Terry Croft as they approached Channel 4 News for help.They eventually persuaded Andrew Veitch Science Correspondent of Channel 4 News to tryto track down Dr. Francis and his family. Time passed by and hope was beginning to fade.Then out of the blue Andrew Veitch telephoned to say that he had located the family in CampDerecek on the Iraq/Turkey border.Discussions with the Turkish and British Embassies ensued and with help from the ForeignOffi ce they eventually enabled passports and visas to be issued and the Royal Airforce agreedto fl y the family out of Ankara to Cyprus and then to Lyneham.Dr. Francis his wife Jenevieve and their two children were met at RAF Lyneham by Terry Croftwho drove them to Sheffi eld where the University is providing a house for them.