Peter Robert Kaim[1] was born in Breslau[2] to a middle-class German Jewish family on 14 December 1916.
[1] At the outbreak of World War II he was interned for fifteen months as an enemy alien in the Isle of Man and later in Canada where his career in education began with organising classes for fellow internees.
At the war's end he returned to Britain and married Patricia Caudle, a Londoner and former landgirl and later English teacher.
This was followed in 1950 by a move to the University of Durham where he spent the rest of his professional life and made the city his home.
[5] His contributions to Irish social policy research were recognised by the award in 2002 of the honorary degree of D.Litt.