David Rubinstein

1932 - 2019

It was with great sadness that Area members learned that David Rubinstein died suddenly but peacefully at home with his dear wife Ann on Sunday 28 July 2019. David was a ceaseless campaigner all his life for rights of way and the environment, and for public transport - perhaps his greatest achievement for the Ramblers was his part in the creation of the Yorkshire Wolds Way.

David was born in Cleveland Ohio, USA, in 1932. In 1952 he had a cycling holiday in Britain and France and fell in love with both.  So in 1954 he came to study for a PhD at the London School of Economics and then spent most of his career at the University of Hull as Lecturer in social history. He married Shirley Livingstone, and they had three sons. After their divorce, David married Ann Holt.

After arriving in Hull, David soon became involved with the Ramblers' East Riding Area, talking some of his University friends into taking part in a Ramblers 1965 protest walk and rally over Millington Pastures, trying to maintain public access.   He soon became Area secretary at a time when the Area had a strong committee that was working with its team of over 50 footpath inspectors to improve the rights of way network and campaign for East Riding County Council to publish its provisional footpath map required by the Countryside & National Parks Act 1949 - the last authority in England to do so. In 1968 David initiated a successful campaign to create the Wolds Way and in his autobiography he wrote “We were astonished at the immediate and favourable publicity which our sketchy proposals for a Wolds Way generated when we published them”. Following support from the County Council,  he wrote its first guide book which was published by Dalesman in 1972 (the official opening not coming until 1982). In 1968 he and David Nunns helped launch the York Ramblers Group. After stepping down as secretary in 1971, he became Area vice-chairman, served briefly as treasurer, and remained on Area Council until 1984. In recognition of his outstanding work, he was elected president from 1991-1997, and then vice-president until stepping down in 2012. 

In addition to his work for this Area, David became a member of the Ramblers National Executive Committee (EC at the 1967 General Council in Birmingham, during a time when membership nationwide was increasing rapidly because of the public's recognition of the importance of the rights of way network and the need to protect the countryside. He served as EC vice-chairman from 1980-3, and chairman 1984-7, and stood down from EC in 1988. He was elected vice-president in 1989 and served until 2003. David was chairman in 1985 when the Ramblers' held a rally at Edale, which was the start of the Access Campaign, with Tom Stephenson speaking aged 92.

After early retirement at Hull, David worked for Tower Hamlets Borough, and lectured in France at the universities of Tours, Angers and Boulogne.  On full retirement, David and Ann moved to York and became active members of York Ramblers, with David campaigning as an effective environment secretary against several poor planning applications for the historic centre of York. At this time, David suddenly suffered a major stroke, but against all the odds he made a remarkable recovery, with help from his devoted wife Ann.

David was a man of many parts, respected academic and effective campaigner nationally and locally for access to the countryside and for the protection of the environment, sometimes ahead of official thinking. Latterly he wondered whether he had been too critical of some professionals, but although he could be sharp, he always apologised if he felt he had overstepped the mark.  We send Ann and David's sons and families our sincere condolences.

Peter Ayling 7/7/19, with contributions from David Nunns