BASW Scotland’s tribute to John Waterhouse

BASW Scotland has paid tribute to John Waterhouse, an experienced criminal justice social worker and contributor to the British Journal of Social Work, who died earlier this month.

A former lecturer in social work at Edinburgh University, John specialised in criminal justice social work in his most recent role at the Social Work Inspectorate where he worked until recently retiring.

He arrived in the social work profession after graduating in Modern Languages from Merton College, Oxford, in 1965, before completing the Certificate in Applied Social Studies at Bristol University in 1968. He then spent four years with the probation service in inner London.

Commenting on his death, BNASW Scotland manager Ruth Stark said: “I will remember John’s commitment to making sure that criminal justice social work remained within our general social work provision, at times a tough struggle with a number of different policy changes in his time as advisor to various Scottish ministers.

“I will remember his cheery smile whenever I met with him, his dry sense of humour and his optimism that we would get through whatever difficulty might be facing social work in the end. Our thoughts are with his widow, and their family.”

He is survived by his wife, Professor Lorraine Waterhouse of Edinburgh University, who is also a social worker.