A SCHOLARSHIP fund has been set up in memory of a popular Aberystwyth actor and university lecturer who died last year.

Drama teacher David Blumfield, who died in October from septicaemia, was well-known throughout the town for his performances at Aberystwyth Arts Centre and as the director of Castaway Community Theatre Company.

When outgoing vice-chancellor, Prof April McMahon, announced at the graduation ceremony for theatre, film and television studies students that the £7,000 scholarship had been set up, the news was greeted with a standing ovation, cheers and applause from his former students.

“I didn’t know that was going to happen but, you know what, I would have been disappointed if it hadn’t,” Prof McMahon said of the students’ fitting response.

Paying tribute to the 53-year-old, she said: “David was an immensely popular and inspiring member of the teaching team.

“He worked tirelessly to unleash the creative potential of many drama and performance undergraduates across the years.

“He had an infectious enthusiasm for the subject area and his work with both the student community and the wider community in the town because of his dedicated leadership of the Castaway Theatre Company.”

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