In boyhood, his home was in Stapleford, where his father was a Yardmaster with the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. Ron is remembered by some of those who travelled to school on the Derby to Nottingham bus, as one of the better behaved passengers on the upper deck, in that he mostly avoided the occasional cap-snatching that went on. He was an obviously clever boy, always close to the top of the form, but not inclined to sport. In the sixth form private study periods held in the library, he was helpful to others engaged in mathematics, being inclined to state the answer first, then afterwards supplying the supporting reasoning.

Shortly before leaving school in December 1950, he won a major scholarship in Mathematics and Physics to Jesus College, Cambridge, but almost immediately found himself doing National Service with the Royal Signals in Catterick, where he trained as a radio mechanic, and subsequently taught the same skills to others. He eventually got to Cambridge in October 1952, where he was classed as a Wrangler in Part II of the Mathematical Tripos in 1954, with a Distinction in Part III the following year.

After leaving Cambridge, he worked in industry for four years, before being made redundant when his department was closed down. At this stage he became Lecturer in Mathematics at City University in London. Six years later, in October 1965, he was appointed Senior Lecturer at the University of Bradford, and subsequently Reader in
Numerical Analysis there. Whilst at Bradford he obtained his PhD, by submission of published work rather than by writing a thesis.

In January 1985, he became Reader in Mathematics at the University of the South Pacific (in Suva, Fiji). He revelled in the appointment as a wonderful place to live, augmented by his high regard for his students, who he described as fantastic. Unfortunately the university could afford to pay only third world salaries, and since his retirement was rapidly approaching, he felt he had to seek more lucrative employment. He found this by moving to Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, where he became Professor of Mathematics and Computing. He found Oman was another wonderful place to live, and he thoroughly enjoyed his time there. He was happy to stay until he retired just before his sixtieth birthday. Having spent some years in warmer climes, he and his wife Pam could not face returning to live in England, and first made their retirement home in Cyprus. In 2009, his increasing health and mobility problems led them to relocate nearer family, splitting their time between Manchester and the Algarve.

Ron had 48 publications to his name, almost all on mathematical subjects, and in the academic world he is recognised as having had a long and productive career in the mathematical sciences, focussing on the numerical solution of partial differential equations (PDEs), particularly those important in applications. He wrote in addition several important textbooks, including work on the use of small computers for the analysis of numerical solutions to PDEs, as such machines became widely available in the 1980s.

He married Pamela, whom he had met in Cambridge, a few weeks after leaving university. They celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in August 2005. They had two daughters, four grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.