R.I.P Dudley Fuller

[John]

Dudley Fuller was a real character in astronomy and the man behind Fullerscopes and ultimately Telescope House:

http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Dudley-Fuller-1929---2014.html

I met and chatted with him a few times at the Telescope House shop in the Farringdon Road, London when I used to pop in there during the late 1980's. He made one of his Mk III equatorial mounts for me and, while it took ages to produce, our dialogues on progress were very entertaining   

[nightfisher]

Sad news, rip and condolences to his family

[swamp thing]

Sad news. My thoughts go to his family.

I too remember Dud from chats we had at farringdon road. He had an E-type jag then and I had a 1948 ford hot rod we would gas for hours about them together. Must have been the only guys in astro shops talking cars

[estwing]

Very sad ..RIP.

[laser_jock99]

Sad news indeed. I remember reading all the BC&F catalogues and stuff in my youth and looking at the Fullerscopes range.

[philj]

Very sad news. My first proper telescope was Fullerscopes 6" Cassegrain Newtonian which I built up over some time buying bits when i could afford them. Fullerscopes stuff may not have been up to modern day cnc machining standards but it got lots of folks into astronomy when astro kit was either scarce or very expensive.

[Peter Drew]

Sad news indeed, so pleased I got to know him during the high days of British commercial telescope making. Very much a character and like the late Sir PM, a bit of a musician on the side. R.I.P.

[trynda1701]

Yes, condolences to his family and friends.

Although I never owned a Fullerscopes telescope, I remember when I first got into astronomy more seriously that they were one brand a lot of people wanted. I too remember oogling their catalogues. Although I finally went with a Celstron C8, the name still brings back fond memories.

A well known name lost to us all. Rest in the stars, Sir.

Mark

[andrew63]

Thank you for bringing this sad news to our attention. There are a lot of us along with the likes of Sir Patrick who owe these pioneers a huge debt of gratitude. I also recall visiting the shop which was like an aladdin's cave.  

Having a sort out a while back i came across an old Fullerscopes catalogue, so thought i'd post an image which might stir some fond memories.

andrew

[trynda1701]

That takes me back!

Mark

[John]

That takes me back!

Mark

Me too - thanks for posting the picture Andrew 

[Merlin66]

We seem to be loosing all the amateur mentors we grew up with......

Dudley - gone but not forgotten.

(I've mentioned this to others - must get that T shirt printed "Help me! I'm a thirty year old trapped in this aging body")

[lloydy81]

Very sad... r.I.p

[astro mick]

That is sad news indeed.

I remember well the catalogues,and longed for one of their scopes,but I had no money at the time.

I eventually bought a small carboard Refractor with plastic lenses,form Charles Frank of Glasgow.

It was truly awful.

Mick.

[dph1nm]

I bought my 8.5" from Fullerscopes in 1973 (mainly as a kit of parts), and it is still going strong.

NigelM

[Laurie61]

Sorry to hear this and my condolences to the family. My astro birthday present arrived from T.H. a few weeks ago and I noticed his name still appeared on the invoice as Chairman, I thought then he must  be a good age by now. I am another who bought their first serious kit from Fullers and still have it, as has been mentioned not the standard of finish we have come to expect today but all the important bits worked properly. Fullers provided my brother and I with an instrument which has contributed to keeping us interested in astronomy for many years. R.I.P Dudley.  

[Doley68]

I would occasionally travel up to Farringdon Road in the mid to late eighties when I was in my late teens, just to be around telescopes really.

On one visit I got chatting to a chap in the shop who seemed to work there. I had just started work and used to operate a vacuum coating plant to make mirrors for microscopes. He was most interested in this and spent the next hour showing me around downstairs where he used to coat his mirrors (amongst piles of bits of telescopes!). It wasn't until years later that I discovered that the chap in the shop that day was Dudley Fuller.

A great memory.

Chris.

[barkis]

I'm very sad to learn of Dudleys passing.

I've visited London many many times, and a highlight was a visit to his premises in Farringdon Road.

The Astronomy community has lost a good man.

Ron.

[sungazer]

A very sad loss to all amateur astronomers, he will be missed. I knew Dudley way back in the 60s .John.

[alan potts]

Very sad news indeed. I never met the man myself but he was of course behind Fullerscopes, when I started back in the 70's it was the only quality outlet that I knew of, there was no interenet. Must be the longest running business for astronomy in the UK.

Alan.

[TheMightyKong]

RIP.

I think Broadhurst, Clarkson and Fuller is not only the longest running astronomy business in the UK, but the the whole world.  

[PaulB]

Very sad news. 

But he's in good company now with Sir Patrick.

[FenlandPaul]

I remember being in awe of him when my dad took me as a young teenager for a trip to London to BC&F and a meeting at the BAA in Savile Row. I used to take the catalogues to bed at night and drool over all the cool equipment. I'd memorised the faces from the adverts they used to have in AN and to me he was a celebrity. He sold me (or rather my dad) my Burnhams Celestial Handbooks and looked at me with a wonderful warmth, saying "you'll still be looking at these books when you're my age". I'm not yet his age, but I'm still looking at my Burnhams. Wonderful character.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[canuck]

I loved the Telescope House building on Farringdon Rd.  I enjoyed the wonky floors, creaky stairs & raised platform in the middle that you could walk around and just gaze up at all the telescopes.  I bought my first real telescope there and the two gents that helped me are friends of mine to this day.

While I never met Dudley, I would have liked the opportunity to...we were just never knowingly in the same place at the same time.  

R.I.P Dudley...Astronomers will enjoy the night sky through your telescopes for many years to come.  I believe this is a great legacy to leave behind.