Victor’s recent years at the University saw him join the aquarium team at Hull.
In the 1990s, Victor also had the privilege of visiting Buckingham Palace at the invitation of the then-Vice-Chancellor David Dilks.
“I don’t know if they are still doing it today, but universities were given a couple of visits to the Palace each for functions and other events. That was a fantastic experience, and something I will never forget,” he said.
Victor joked that, at the time of his visit around 25 years ago, the Palace gardens and grounds were “not quite as fancy” as he expected.
“As someone interested in plants and gardens, I expected the grounds to be a bit more formal – they were quite normal really,” he said.
Victor will take retirement from the University at the end of the year.
He said he hopes, once COVID-19 has settled, to spend his retirement years with Susan on cruises around the world, as well as more time outdoors walking and tending to the garden.
“What I would say, with everything we have seen in the last year, is that I have seen the University face a lot of challenges over 54 years,” Victor said.
“COVID has been difficult for everyone, but the University will come through it - as it always has done before, in challenging times.”