He was born in
Jarrow in north-east
England on 14 October 1902, the son of Thomas Lightfoot. He was educated locally, but excelled, winning a place at
Cambridge University where he graduated BA in 1923 and continued as a postgraduate, gaining a further MA. In 1929 he began lecturing in mathematics at
Heriot-Watt College in
Edinburgh. In 1931 he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Sir
Edmund Taylor Whittaker,
James Cameron Smail, Sir
Charles Galton Darwin, and
Edward Thomas Copson. In 1943 he moved to the south of England to take on the role of Principal of
South East Essex Technical College. In 1950 he moved to head
Chelsea Polytechnic. He served as President of the Association of Technical Institutions 1955–6. He died in
London on 14 November 1962. ==Family==