The Microbiology Society was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Professor Jeff Cole, a long standing member who held many positions in the Society, including as General Secretary from 1979 to 1984. Most recently, he was serving as an Editor Mentor on Access Microbiology at this time of his death. He had also been an editor of the Journal of General Microbiology and later edited the Society’s symposium volumes in 1988 and 1993. Jeff was elected an Honorary Member of the Society in 2011. In the same year, he was awarded one of the Society’s Prize Lectures and spoke about how bacterial physiology provides the key to understanding pathogenicity.