Very sad news that Colin Ford, the former Keeper of Film and Photography at the NPG, has died.
He was an incredibly important pioneer of the study of photography, appointed by Roy Strong who, like Colin, recognised that the NPG should study and collect photography. He was at the NPG from 1972 to 1981 when he left to establish the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television at Bradford.
Oddly, he came from nearly exactly the same part of north London as Roy, was at school at Enfield Grammar School, and lived there in Gentleman’s Row.
I am posting an unexpected picture of him as a young man in his memory:-
| Charles | Saumarez | Smith | 
As you say, Colin was a hugely important influence on the developing field of the history of photography. And I was pleased to work closely with him when we presented a new exhibition of Julia Margaret Cameron, which he curated, in 2003.
Colin was a friend as well as a colleague for several decades. He was very kind to me when I was a young rookie curator at the RPS in the early 1980s. We had planned to visit him in Enfield, once he was out of hospital, in the New Year. Our thoughts are with Sue & the family.