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+\hyphenation{Peter}
+\title{Requiem for Aston}
+\author[Malcolm Clark \& Chris Rowley]{Malcolm Clark\\Chris Rowley}
+
+\begin{Article}
+
+\noindent The recent move of the UK~CTAN node from Aston University to Cambridge
+University brings to the end a very long relationship between \TeX{}
+and Aston---a relationship that brought great benefits to both the
+University and the \TeX{} world.
+
+The beginnings of this association go back to~1987 when, with the
+active support of the Vice Chancellor, Peter Abbott established
+a \TeX{} archive based on the VAX systems at Aston---it then
+amounted to~200MBytes of data.
+
+He also organised experts on various aspects of maintaining such a
+system into a volunteer group of `archivists'---and made Aston a
+thriving and friendly focus for their activity. These volunteers came
+from around the UK and, later, also from `mainland Europe', whilst
+knowledge of the archive and its benefits rapidly spread throughout
+the world. Thus the university became, in a very real sense, the
+centre of a world-wide effort to produce and distribute high quality
+software that was greatly needed and appreciated throughout that
+world.
+
+Within a few years, the collection of software, together with the
+traffic created by users, had grown to such a size that it was no
+longer possible to host it on the existing equipment. To solve this
+problem of being `too good', Peter successfully negotiated the donation
+of equipment by~DEC and other suppliers. This enabled the Aston Archive
+to continue its rapid growth and thus to evolve into a mature, well-managed
+system.
+%note: sparc was departmental, not gift
+%maybe bhk would know dec details?
+% add bits re papers for VCs version
+
+A significant development was the arrival on Peter's desk
+of a Sun Sparc in mid-1992.
+This was quickly put to use as a fully (archive-) functional second
+platform and proved to be well suited to further development of the
+service; thus it was that Aston became the first site in the world to
+implement the then on-going discussions of the TUG Technical Working Group
+on Archives. During 1992--1993, first George Greenwade implemented this
+same TWG structure at Sam Houston State University, Texas and then
+Rainer Sch\"opf implemented it for DANTE at Universit\"at Stuttgart,
+Germany (and subsequently on DANTE'S own machine).
+This pioneering work resulted in the first multi-site archive of this
+size to be successfully implemented anywhere; it was especially
+appropriate that the announcement of the completion of this major
+technical achievement could be made at Aston University, during the
+international TUG conference in July 1993. Thus the project started
+by Peter as a service to the UK community had become, in six hectic
+years, the internationally-acclaimed, state-of-the-art Comprehensive
+\TeX{} Archive Network~(CTAN).
+
+Access to the archive has been further enhanced, and gained a
+completely new public, through cooperation with Prime Time Freeware,
+who regularly produce CD-ROMs containing the contents of the
+archive---or to be precise, almost all: it's now too big to fit on
+one~CD!
+
+Peter was, of course, also involved in many other aspects of making
+this vast range of high-quality software easily available to as wide a
+range of people as possible. In particular, he was one of the
+founders of the UK \TeX{} Users Group and, here again, the reputation of
+Aston University was enhanced by the many ways in which he was able to
+support and guide the fledgling organisation. His valuable activities
+on behalf of the group have, of course, not been diminished at all by
+his retirement.
+
+Both the archive, in its new role as a CTAN node, and Peter Abbott
+will continue to provide a large range of services to promote the
+rapidly growing use of \TeX{} throughout the world but, regrettably,
+Aston University will no longer be part of this important hub of
+expertise and service which over many years contributed so much to its
+reputation as an international centre of academic and technical
+excellence.
+
+\end{Article}