Obituary: Mr William Whiting, F.S.A.

( 328 ) ©Btfuatrp. WILLIAM WHITING, F.S.A. The passing of Mr. WilUam Whiting, on September 7th, 1931, caused a deep and widely-spread regret wherever he was known. Born in Ospringe, he spent practicaUy the whole of his life in his native parish. From the first interested in ecclesiastical architecture, he apphed himself to its study, visiting and photographing cathedrals and churches in various parts of the country. But his real antiquarian career was started by the discovery, in 1920, on premises of which he was joint owner, of a Roman burial ground. From that time onward he devoted the greater part of his leisure to the study of Roman remains, undertaking, under the auspices of the Society of Antiquaries, extensive excavations in the neighbourhood, and visiting and investigating Roman cemeteries wherever he could. His finds in Ospringe went to form the magnificent collection of pottery and other rehcs which is housed in the Maison Dieu at Ospringe, a building once forming part of an old ReUgious House, and one which he was himself largely instrumental in saving from demoUtion. When WiUiam Whiting undertook any work, he did it thoroughly and conscientiously. His papers on the valuable finds at Ospringe, printed in our volumes, and the accurate and artistic drawings accompanying them, will always testify to his care. Never idle, William Whiting interested himself in many good works which were going forward in the neighbourhood. He was a member of the Council of this Society, and for some years acted as Local Secretary for the Faversham District. His decease at the comparatively early age of fifty years, during the last two of which he had been in a very poor state of health, cut short a career which would otherwise undoubtedly have continued to prove useful to the antiquarian w o r l d - C.H.D.