It was with great sadness that we heard this week of the passing of our colleague, the legendary photographer Georg Gerster, who died at his home in Switzerland at the age of 90.

Born in Winterthur in 1928, Georg studied German and English at Zurich University from where he received his doctorate. From 1956 onwards, he devoted himself to photography, specialising in scientific and aerial work.

His illustrious career spanned over half a century and his aerial images of archaeological and historic sites from places like Iran, Iraq and Egypt remain unrivalled, not least because many of them have fallen victim to recent wars and wanton destruction.

His legacy is amply preserved in countless photo books and museum collections. He will be sorely missed. Our thoughts are with his family.