Jon McQuilken obituary

My friend and colleague Jon McQuilken was a geochemist and highly accomplished petroleum systems geoscientist with British Gas and then BG Group, an exploration organisation that was once part of the public utility. He presented at many international conferences, published widely on the petroleum systems of North Africa, and became a chartered geologist in 2014. He had retired from BG Group only four days before his sudden death, from a heart attack, aged 59.

Born at RAF Halton, Aylesbury, son of Norma (nee Hargreaves) and Thomas McQuilken, Jon had a varied and interesting life as a youngster as the family followed his father's RAF assignments as a warrant officer. This included postings in locations ranging from Uxbridge, west London, to Changi, Singapore, before they finally settled in Beverley, east Yorkshire, where Jon completed his schooling at Longcroft comprehensive.