Letter: Edward Mortimer obituary

In 1961, as a very raw third secretary at the British embassy in Dakar, Senegal, I looked after the first four VSO volunteers sent outside the Commonwealth or colonies. Edward Mortimer was the first, and I took him to St Louis du Senegal, the oldest French settlement in Africa. Situated on the boundary between the Sahel and Sahara regions, it had a rich mixture of French, Creole and Wolof cultures.

Mortimer, with his intellectual curiosity and natural warmth, took full advantage of the experience. His fascination with Africa, Islam and France would remain.