Obituary: Michael Tillotson

Michael Tillotson has died at the age of 95.

Remembering his friend, Don Grocott, a past president of the AOP and Euromcontact, as well as a past chairman of the Association of Contact Lens Manufacturers (ACLM), shared: “Michael will be remembered in optics not for his remarkable military career – he reached the third most senior rank in the army – but as secretary general of the ACLM and of Euromcontact.

“His impact on the contact lens industry is very significant. At a time when the EEC was developing contact lens and contact lens solutions regulations, Micky, as he was widely known, worked to ensure that the regulations were not damaging to the industry. After extensive negotiations in Brussels, this was achieved.

“Micky headed the initiative to form the pan-European Federation of Contact Lens Manufacturers, Euromcontact, and became its first secretary general. From this he oversaw the formation of the European Contact Lens Forum, which brought together European associations of optometrists, opticians, ophthalmologists and contact lens manufacturers. These achievements may seem administrative and arcane, but they made a profound difference that benefits the contact lens business today.”