Ford was less lucky in meeting the waiflike Jean Rhys, whose talent he encouraged (he was a great encourager).

A great encourager of young talent in all aspects of the arts, he was the Honorary President of Switch Drama Company youth theatre.

Pearson was a natural enthusiast, a great encourager with a love of eccentricity and wit, a man who remained young in spirit all his life.

He was a great encourager of good monastic and parish music.

By bestowing the name Piercea in 1759 on a West Indian plant, Miller honoured his noble friend, 'not only a great encourager of botanical skills, but greatly skilled in the science itself'.

Hope's a great encourager.

Dr Isaac (Paddy) Waugh, father of Joan, was a great encourager of his daughter's School.

He is a great encourager of "the engaged" life, taking his students on extra-curricular field studies to Washington, D.C. and Mexico, and urging them to resist the world around them if they feel so inclined.

He's a very aggressive batsman, but he finds the time to be a great encourager of his partners, and Phil Bainbridge is convinced that he's never run faster than when they were in together against Lancashire.

Fluent in French and competent in German, Storie-Pugh was also a great encourager of pan-European co-operation, and was a key members of the Federation of Veterinarians of the EEC (FVE).