Deborah was the London health protection pillar I have known and relied on throughout my public health career. Some memories particularly stand out, like Ebola, Grenfell and of course most recently Covid. Deborah was such a wonderful professional and colleague, rational, considered and calm, and so supportive, whatever the ask was. I was so very much looking forward to continuing working with her in the London system, after the gruelling times of Covid, and cannot quite comprehend the cruel reality of her loss. She leaves a tremendous legacy and a large pool of colleagues who learned so much from her. Thank you Deborah and let’s try to make you proud. With much love Dagmar x